New Beer Friday 6/27/14

Had a lot of "research" to do last night. I do it for you my brothers and sisters in beer land. Here's some of the data I was able to collect for this weeks New beer Friday.

Squatters Hop Riot: Grapefruit hops in the nose. Quite a bitter citrus flavor, very smooth and a bit creamy with wheat and malt. Very drinkable. Not particularly complex but very decent Session IPA. 4.0% ABV @ Squatters

Bohemian Düsseldorfer Altbier:  pours a clear reddish brown with a moderate cap of beige head. The nose has strong toast with some medium caramel sweetness - hint of pine. The taste has strong malt up front with toasty crackers char and cocoa. Grassy and herbal hops pop in next with a hint of earthy cherry and biscuit in the finish. The flavor is complex and defiantly worth getting your hands on. 6.0% ABV @ Bohemian, Beerhive, Beer Bar, Liquor Stores next week. 

Bohemian Export Lager: pours a clear golden hue with two fingers of thick soapy white foam. The nose is full of  biscuit and bread, some mild grassy/floral hops "punch-up" from behind. The taste starts off bready with some toasty malt as well. Hints of lemon and grassy alfalfa-like hops round out the end. It finishes dry, clean, and with a mild floral hops notes. 5.3% ABV
@ Bohemian, Beerhive, Beer Bar, Liquor Stores next week.

Boulevard Love Child # 4: I havn't had a chance to try this one yet, from what I understand it's a little different from Love Child #3. #4 is made by blending batches of beer, aged for between 11 months and 5 years in whiskey barrels (50%), wine foeders (15%), and stainless steel tanks (35%). The beer gets it's funk from Boulevard's Saison-Brett Lactobaccillus and Brettanomyces yeast strains. 9.0% ABV @Beerhive

Firestone Walker Opel: Hazy or clear - depending on what part of the bottle you get. The nose is lemony with floral/herbal hop notes - light yeast ester as well. The taste starts with great lemon and tangerine flavors with awesome phenolic notes from the yeast. There's a vinous/herbal white grape flavor that comes next with some citrus rind hops. The end slightly pilsner-esque with some herbal/grassy notes. As Saisons go, this isn't quite textbook. As a damn fine summer beer it's off the charts! It has exceeded my high expectations. Firestone walker can do no wrong. 7.5% ABV @Beerhive

Uinta's 801 Pilsner hit shelves and taps much earlier than scheduled. It's pretty much everywhere by now. Go get 'em!

What did I miss?

Prost!

Bohemian's New Line of Beers Are Here!

After what seems like decades the boys and girls at Bohemian Brewing are finally rolling out their new line of high(er) gravity beers. Beginning today you will be able to pick up Bohemians new Export Lager and tomorrow they'll debut Bohemian's Altus Albier.

Export Lager is a Dortmunder style lager that hails from the Dortmund region of Germany, they are brilliant golden lagers that are known for their clean biscuity malt character with notes grassy and floral bitterness. They're like a more full bodied German Pilsner.

Bohemian Export Lager pours a clear golden hue with two fingers of thick soapy white foam. The nose is full of  biscuit and bread, some mild grassy/floral hops "punch-up" from behind. The taste starts off bready with some toasty malt as well. Hints of lemon and grassy alfalfa-like hops round out the end. It finishes dry, clean, and with a mild floral hops notes.

Altbiers are a German style brown ale that get their smooth flavor by extended conditioning in the fermentors. The extra time in the tanks mellows out the ale's fruitiness and brings out the toasty grain in the ale, which produces an exceptionally delicate beer. 

Bohemian Altus Altbier pours a clear reddish brown with a moderate cap of beige head. The nose has strong toast with some medium caramel sweetness - hint of pine. The taste has strong malt up front with toasty crackers and cocoa. Grassy and herbal hops pop in next with a hint of earthy cherry and biscuit in the finish. The flavor is complex and defiantly worth getting your hands on.

The brewers at Bohemian have been working on these beers for well over a year. They have undergone dozens of formulation to arrive at this point. I think you'll be able to taste the devotion the Boho's brewers have for these beers.

The Alt is due to hit shelves on Wednesday and both beers should be available in Bohemian's newly licensed package agency store. As always, call be fore making the trip.

Prost!

New Beer Friday: Summer Solstice Edition

The longest day of the year is upon us. The list of today New Beer Friday offering reflect summer and a strong sense of diversity. All of these beers emulate our local brewers passion, from the traditional to the cutting edge. 

Bohemian Bohemian Sommer Landbier: Landbier (“lunt”-bier) is a German designation for beers that are made to be refreshing and sessionable. They trace their origins back to the necessity for isolated farmsteads to produce their own beer from what was on hand.  It’s for these reasons Landbiers are not a style, as each would be very different from their neighbors. Taking these rustic origins to heart Bohemian’s Landbier is a simple beer for extreme crushability. This straw colored beer was left unfilitered to reflect the simplicity of their origins with pale wheat and a touch of smoked malt to add fullness to Kolsch barley for a smooth grainy malt character.  Single hopped using Hallertau Tradition adds subtle floral notes with hints of lemon grass. This beer is not scheduled to be be tapped until Saturday or Sunday, so call ahead or watch social media. 4.0% ABV @ Bohemian 

The Annex Brett Pale Ale: fermented with Brettanomyces Bruxellensis, a unique “wild” yeast associated with the Brussels region of Belgium. The complex aroma is reminiscent of a rustic agrarian setting, combining pine, dandelion, hay, and wool. As a counterpoint to the aroma, the taste is bright and sharp with tangy orange-citrus and spice. The malt is short and upfront with hints of dark rye and crust and is balanced by a crisp well rounded bitterness on the finish. 4.0% ABV This will be tapped at today at 5pm @ The Annex.

Hoppers New Zealand Draught: Back by popular demand. The last time Hoppers had this one on they burned through the whole batch just over two weeks. Beautiful bright amber red color - The Rakau hops are so nice, with nice pine and tropical fruit notes. Nicely balanced and so easy to drink. Made with the same lager yeast as their award winning pilsener and helles. 4.0% ABV @ Hoppers.


Firkin Friday at the Bayou: The Annex's American Wheat made with dried lemon and hibiscus. Tapping is at 3pm.


Prost!

"801" Uinta's New Community Building Beer

In an effort to engage the local community Uinta Brewing is releasing a new Utah-only brand designed to support local organizations and movements within the state. The new beer called 801 Pilsner is labeled as their "Community Builder" brand and will be donating proceeds and generating awareness for local non-profit organizations. Partnering non-profits will alternate and the featured organization's logo will be incorporated on the 801 packaging.

For the initial release of 801, Uinta has partnered with the Utah Avalanche Center, an organization that Uinta has been supporting for 20 years. The Utah Avalanche Center's mission is to provide backcountry riders with the tools and information they need to stay on top of the great snow in Utah.

This German style pilsner pour a brilliantly clear and yellow gold color with bright white cap of sudsy foam. The nose has a strong grassy/herbal smell with sweet pale malt smell beneath. The taste is similar to the nose. The taste begins with toasty crackers, some lemon and floral hops. A light malty sweetness comes next - that sweetness fades as a spicy/herbal bitterness creeps in towards the end. The finish is mostly dry with a hint of sweetness. It's unique flavor profile comes from its centuries old German yeast strain - that keeps buttery/sulfur notes to a minimum.

 Uinta's 801 Pilsner is scheduled to hit shelves the first week of July. Utah Art Festival goers will have the opportunity to experience the 801 brand which will be the featured beer festival wide June 26-29, 2014.

Prost!

A Recap on the DABC's Meeting with Lawmakers

We're providing some links in regards to the Administrative Rules Committee's meeting with the DABC yesterday. For the most part the meeting was opportunity for some lawmakers to tell Executive Director Salvador Petilos and his people to pull their collective heads out of their asses and think about the potential economic impacts that come from the decisions they make.

The DABC's side of this is basically, "we don't make the the laws, just enforce them". Which is true. Sen. John Valentine of Orem is the real economic cancer here. Everyone of these bullshit rules and laws have his sanctimonious fingerprints all over them.

I'm not defending the state's liquor monopoly, but I get the reasons behind why relatively intelligent people do asinine things, while their strings are being pulled. If your concerned about the whole Oktoberfest thing, I wouldn't be - Sounds like the DABC got the message about which way these legislators want the wind to blow.

Fox13 News has a story here, that encapsulates the basics of yesterday's meeting and if you want to listen to the meeting we have the audio recording as well.

Cheers!

Photo Courtesy: KCPW

The Snowbird Oktoberfest Fiasco, Gets a Hearing

A few weeks ago we told you about the Utah DABC's renewed focus on how they would start dealing with single event permits that serve beer, wine and liquor. Basically the DABC stated that the intent of the rules for the single event permits were for non-profit orginazations only and that they would start to more closely scrutinize those "for profit" entities seeking permits.

The story went international, Utah was once again that "weird little freak show" in the west that was taking a microscopic non-issue and blowing it up into an economic catastrophe. Sen. Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, wants answers and is bring lawmakers to Utah's Capitol Hill where the Administrative Rules Committee will meet with DABC's Executive Director Salvador Petilos, to discuss what is termed “change in permit review practice.”

Dabakis says, the bad PR has hurt Utah’s economic development and tourism and that this latest fiasco about "no beer at Oktoberfest" follows on the heels of the ridiculed "Intent to Dine" requirement from earlier in the year. Debakis went on stating, "These are not laws, they do not make us safer, they are just weird interpretations of rules made by DABC that make Utah look weird.”

This morning's Administrative Rules Committee meeting is open to the public and will start at 9:00am in the House of Representative's Building - room 30. If you can attend, I urge you to show up and chime in.

We'll try to get you the highlights from the meeting asap.

Cheers.

Pictured above: DABC Director Salvador Petilos - Courtesy Salt Lake Tribune

New Beer Friday the 13th!

Happy Friday everyone! Some of these may have been out for a while as I was on vacation last week and missed New Beer Friday.

Avenues Proper Marmalade Wheat: Named for Salt Lake's Marmalade neighborhood and inspired by a simple breakfast of toast with orange jam, this wheat ale is packed with flavor. The unfiltered beer pours a hazy orange with a white head and has a toasty wheat and citrus aroma. They used two kinds of dried orange peel, whole fresh oranges, Simcoe hops famed for their tangerine flavors and house-toasted wheat in the brewing process. The flavor starts warm and rich with little caramel sweetness in the body and a lasting, slightly bitter finish. The sharp orange flavors pair with the bready wheat to make a nicely balanced pint. For fans of pale ales and wit beers alike! 4.0% ABV @Avenues Proper

Bonneville Sun Twist: This refreshingly light beer was brewed with lemon peel and ginger to commemorate the birth of Head Brewer Dave Watson's first child! Congratulations Dave and Lindsay! 4.0% ABV @ Bonneville - Avenues Proper

Squatters Strawberry Kolsch: Somewhat hazy straw color. The nose is mostly malty with a bit of lemon and strawberry The taste starts toasty and malty with some cereal notes. A bit o' honey comes next with a tiny burst of strawberry in the finish. I thought the strawberry was pretty subtle, other thought it was quite pronounced. I thought it was a nice summer beer. What did you think? 4.0% ABV @ Squatters Brewpub

Mother Earth Pin Up Pale Ale: The nose is floral with big pine notes. The tastes starts with a little mango fruitiness and a dank spiciness. Herbal and cirtusy hops come next with a resiny pine citrus finish. Thin-ish body quite drinkable! 5.6% ABV @ Beerhive

Mother Earth Big Mother Triple: This has a great nose of boozy tropical and citrus fruit with some grape notes as well. This is a complex "triple IPA", with orange, grapefruit, melon, and grape flavors leading the way. There's also some sweet bread, high bitterness, and definite alcohol harshness. A definite American interpretation an the style. 10.8% ABV  @ Beerhive

Payette Outlaw IPA:  Golden/orange in color with slight haze. The nose has juicy citrus with bitter orange and grapefruit rind. hint of malt as well. The taste starts with nice grapefruit up front with a bit of sweet malt lingering in the background. Citrus peel and toast round out the end. finishes on the dry side. Quite tasty! 6.5% ABV

Firestone Walker Easy Jack: The nose has lots of grapefruit with some tropical elements. A hint of malt as well. The taste starts with clean grapefruit and lemongrass. Malt sweetness is at a minimum which creates a dry lime-like finish. A very clean and focused beer. 4.5% ABV

For Firkin Friday at the Bayou today, Hoppers is offering up the Aussie Lager. It's double dry hopped with Australian Summer hops. Once during conditioning and again in the firkin. It's light amber/orange in color. Malts have a toast and honey like flavor. The hops have an apricot flavor with a mild tropical   flower aroma and pine resin in the finish. Sounds perfect for a warm day like today. Tapping is at 3pm. 4.0% ABV




If I missed something new, please share!

Prost!

The Sixth Annual Snowbird Brewfest

Sad you weren't able to make it out to the Mountain brewers Festival last weekend? me too, but don't worry. We have the perfect next best option for you and your dad this weekend. This Saturday and Sunday is the Sixth Annual Snowbird Brewfest. Originally created to compliment a barbecue competition, the brewfest portion quickly became the dominant partner has grown ever since.

The barbecue portion of the Brewfest is on Saturday from 11am to 7pm and is an all you can eat affair on the plaza deck. The Brewfest itself will run both days June 14 - June 15 from 11 am - 7 pm. There will be sixteen breweries pouring beer including
Lagunitas Brewing Co.
Bohemian Brewery
Epic Brewing Co.
Moab Brewery
Sierra Nevada
New Belgium Brewery
Full Sail
Deschutes Brewery
Sam Adams Beers
Angry Orchard Ciders
Uinta Brewing Co.
Red Rock Brewery
Wasatch Beers
Squatters
Roosters
Hoppers Grill & Brewing Co.

Three-ounce samples will be available for $1 each. It's shaping up to be a perfect weekend for a brewfest, hope to see you there.

Prost!

Utah's Winners at the 2014 North American Brewers Association Awards

Avenues Proper Restaurant & Publick House
Bronze RoggenSchwarz - Schwarzbier (Black Beer)

Bohemian Brewery
Bronze Viennese Amber Lager - Vienna Lager

Bonneville Brewing Company
Bronze Antelope Amber Ale - (Special) Best Bitter
Silver Redline Irish Red - Irish-Style Red Ale

Desert Edge Brewery
Bronze Desert Hell
Bronze Augustus Amber
Bronze Latter Day Stout
Bronze Downhill Dunkel

Epic Brewing Company
Silver Straight Up Saison - Saison
Gold Brainless Belgian-Style Golden Ale - Belgian-Style Pale(Golden) Strong Ale

Hoppers Grill & Brewing Co.
Silver Helles Festbier - Helles Lager
Silver This is the Pilsener - Bohemian-Style Pilsner

Moab Brewery
Silver DeadHorse Amber Ale
Silver Squeaky Bike Nut Brown
Bronze Desert Select Export Stout
Bronze Desert Select Tripel
Gold Rocket Bike Lager

Redrock Brewing Co
Gold Redrock Blonde Ale
Bronze Redrock Paardebloem Bronze Bamberg Rauch bier
Silver Redrock Reve Belgian Tripple

Uinta Brewing Company
Gold Cutthroat
Gold Anniversary Barley Wine
Silver Monkshine
Silver 21st Birthday Suit

Utah Brewers Cooperative
Silver Wasatch Last One In
Silver Squatters Wee Peat
Bronze Squatters Hell's Keep
Bronze Squatters Bumper Crop

Here's a list of all of the winners

Cheers!

Trader IPA now in Cans

Session IPAs have become a pretty big trend throughout the U.S. as of late. The idea of have a nice full flavored IPA without the 7% punch has been finding traction with all manner of beer drinkers. Originally brewed in 1994, Trader Session IPA is widely considered to be the original session IPA. Back in '94 it was simply called Uinta "India"
and has been a favorite in Utah ever since.

The new packaging is available now at the brewery in Salt Lake City and should be popping up on store shelves in the coming days.

Also in Uinta news: The next time you find yourself at a Yard House Restaurant consider trying their new house ales. The Yard House has partnered with Uinta Brewing Company to introduce three new house beers. Yard House is now pouring a House Honey Blonde, an IPA and a White Ale, all from Uinta.

Cheers!