The 2015 Utah Brewers Guild - Harvest Festival

The Utah Brewers Guild is having a party this Sunday!  If you're not familiar with the UBG - it's an organization comprised of all of Utah's breweries that focuses on beer appreciation and education. This event is a fundraiser for the guild, so that they can do more community oriented festivities like this.

The theme for this event is Harvest Festival. There will be limited amount a fresh, wet hopped beers for you to try. If you're not familiar with the term,  "wet hopped" It's process of taking fresh from the bine (not vine) hops and add them to the beer - less than 24 hours from picking. This process adds a new dimension to the hop profiles of the beer - giving them a fresher more accentuated than normal taste.

Everyone that has made a wet hopped beer will be bringing one to sample. there with also be other harvest style beers to try. The event will be held at The Beer Bar - in their back lot and goes from Noon - 4pm. The cost is $10 - that gets you three sample, you can purchase more after that. This a 21+ event - no children.  Hope to see you there!

Prost!

Moab Pale Ale Coming Soon

It looks like Moab Brewing has a new Pale Ale headed to grocery stores and watering holes. Right now all we can tell you is that it'll be packaged in 16oz. (tall boy) cans and that it should be popping up before the holidays. This makes me happy! Loves me some session pales. Of course, when they pop up - we'll share where.

Cheers!

Snowbasin 2015 Beer Fest

Mark October 3rd on your calendars, because it time for the 2015 Snowbasin Beer Fest! There will be a three different packages to get you started. The Das Beer Kit: $35 includes a Logo Mug, and 5 Tokens - Beer Master Kit: $45 includes a Logo Mug and 10 Tokens - The Sweetheart Deal - great for couples - $75 includes Two Logo Mugs and 15 Tokens. Additional tokens $2.50 each. Note: each token gets you a 7 oz. pour. Mugs are not for sale individually, only in packages.

Sample beers from:
Bohemian Brewery
Uinta Brewing
Squatters Beers
Wasatch Beers
Red Rock Brewery
Roosters Brewery
10 Barrel Brewing 
Payette Brewing
Moab Brewing
Rogue Brewing
Shades of Pale Brewing
Deschutes Brewing
Sierra Nevada Brewing
Blue Moon
Shocktop

Oktoberfest style food available for purchase and there's free live music from Young Dubliners, Andy Frasco and Swagger.The Fest runs from Noon to 6pm.

Prost!

New Beer Friday - Pumpkin and Salt Edition

The theme for this week's New Beer Friday seems to be Pumpkin and Salt. Thankfully not together! If you find pumpkin or salt appealing in your beer then you're going to be a happy little beer geek this weekend.

Shipyard Pumpkinhead - Pours a semi-cloudy, pale, orange color. The nose has strong notes of spices of nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and brown sugar. The taste is a lot like the nose with notes of pumpkin and spices of nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, all-spice and brown sugar. There is not much in the way of malt nor is there any hops bitterness to speak of. This is not a remarkable pumpkin ale by any means but if your a fan of the style it'll get the job done. 4.7% ABV @ DABC

Uinta Jacked B Nimble - Pours aa ebony color with ruby highlights. the nose has nutmeg, clove, cinnamon and some boozy whiskey notes. The taste starts with the basic pumpkin pie spices along with some vanilla/bourbon notes. Gingerbread comes next - it works well with the Bourbon. The end is where you'll find most of the roasted malt character - some char and bittering hops rounding out the finish. This is quite a tasty beer, much more complex than the Shipyard. However, I like the overall palate of Uinta's original Oaked Jacked better. I's love to hear your feedback on the two versions. 11.0% ABV @ Uinta, most better beer bars.

Bonneville Pumpkin Ale - Pours a ruby/amber color with a nose of allspice and clove. The taste starts with rich caramel and nutmeg and other specialty malts. Milk sugar sweetness comes next giving the malt added boost and body while proving balance to the spices. 4.0% ABV @ Bonneville Brewery, Allstar Lanes

Bohemian Brewer'stache German Pilsner - Pours a clear gold color with good sized, stark white head. The nose was herbal with toasted malt and minerals. The taste starts nice and crisp with biscuity malts and a very slight caramel sweetness. lemon peel and spicy/grass hops come next followed by a slight honey smack. Finishes toasty, hoppy and dry. This is a great pils. Little to no sulphur and highly drinkable. Get this seasonal while it lasts. 4.0% ABV @ Bohemian and where there's a Bohemian "Brewer'stache" tap handle.

Epic Los Locos Lager - Pours a hazy golden straw color with a sturdy cap dense foam. The nose is grainy with hints of lime and grass. The taste is similar with grainy Malts and some sweet corn. Lime pops next with a slight sodium bite in the end. Finishes slightly grassy and dry. One of the nicer Mexican style lagers you will ever try. I'm not sure what.  the ABV is on this one. Only available at Epic - packaged in growlers. Very limited. See yesterday's post.

Anderson Valley Blood Orange Gose - Pours a hazy golden color with a small carbonated head. The nose has a crisp citrus aroma with a hint of sodium and orange peel. The taste starts lemony and tart with some dry orange peel flavors peeking through as well. Salt comes next providing some balance to the puckering tartness. The saltiness is not that strong but is definitely evident. Blood Oranges are definatly sweet - you'll get none of that here. This beer is all about the sourness and tartness of the fruit. 4.0% ABV @ Beer Bar (on tap!). This should be popping up in grocery stores in the next few weeks.

Estrella Damm Daura - Not tried this one yet. it's described as having a clear yellow color with an aroma of grain and frosted corn flake aromas. Taste is much the same with toast, grain, and sweetened corn flake flavors on the finish. There is a very mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is an above average beer that still tastes like a normal beer of this style even though it is gluten removed. 5.4% ABV @ Beer Bar

Cheers!

It's an Epic Thursday

For today's weekly growler at Epic Brewing, you're in for a special treat. The Los Locos Lager is a Mexican style lager that is brewed with white corn, lime juice and sea salt. This beer is specially made as a house beer for the Los Chingones Mexican Restaurant located in Denver. It only pops up sporadically at very few locations in Denver and as far as I know it's never been offered for sale outside Colorado.

Needless to say, this is a must try this week. If it's popular enough it will likely find itself as a canned seasonal offering from Epic. Don't forget to exchange your old growler!

Speaking of Epic, The Annex by Epic will be open for Saturdays Fall Crawl bar crawl in Sugar House and will offering two new beers for you to try. One will be session version of Lil' Brainless Raspberries (that's version #3 if your keeping score at home) and a Rye Lager. No word yet on whether this will be The Annex's official re-opening, so if you really want to try these beers, you'd better plant your ass at the Annex on Saturday.

Salud!

The SugarHouse Fall Crawl

Need something to do this weekend? Well, I hear that Salt Lake City's Sugar House district is putting on a bar crawl this Saturday (Sept. 19th) to help benefit the Sharing Place: a charity that provides a safe and caring environment for grieving children, teens.

The concept is simple. Start at any of the nine participating locations - pick up your passport or "bar list", have a beer or two, get it stamped and move on to the next stop. Once you've "crawled" to all your stops turn in your completed card before 5pm for a drawing that could net you two tickets to next week's Great American Beer Festival, Gift Cards, Brewmaster Dinners and more.

The event will run from Noon to 5pm and there will be live music on the plaza. *I'm still waiting to hear if the Annex will be open for the event. As soon as I know I'll update it here and on the Utah Beer social media accounts. As for now here's your stops in no particular order.

*The annex will be open for the Fall Crawl, with new beers and a special menu.

Trolley Wings
Campfire Lounge
Tap Room
Fiddler's Elbow
SugarHouse Pub 
*The Annex
Mellow Mushroom
Wasatch Brewpub
The Bar in SugarHouse
Fat's Grill

Prizes for the best individual and group photos with use of ‪ #‎thesharingplace (individual), ‪#‎iheartsugarhouse‬ and #shpubcrawl (group) hashtags. So costumes or group themes might be a good idea. Hope to see you there!

Cheers!

Mountain West Cider

I love it when I can start out the week with a new brewery announcement. It almost feels like a holiday around here on days like this. Though this post technically has to do with a cidery instead of a brewery it's still a tremendous honor to welcome Mountain West Cider to the Utah Beer family.

Mountain West Cider is perhaps the first (hard) cidery in Utah since prohibition (if not ever). I've been looking for evidence of a exclusive cider house in Utah, but as of now I've not come across one. The Hive Winery in Layton has been making their Stinger Hard Cider for a few years and Slide Ridge Honey Farms had a very brief  go with cider hybrid called CaCysir, but these places are not dedicated to hard ciders only.

Employing an experienced cider master and having a dedicated passion for locally-produced products, Mountain West Cider will be crafting year-round, seasonal, and artisan hard ciders. for all of us happy local adults. The cidery is nearly online and ciders are expected to be for sale in the coming months.

Mountain West Cider is located at 425 N. 400 W. in Salt Lake City (two door south of RedRock Brewing Company's production brewery)

Utah law does allow hard ciders to above 4% ABV be poured on draft. I'm not sure what their plans are in this regard, but we'll fill you in as we get more info. Welcome to the faminly!

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 9/11/15

Today we just have two beers for New Beer Friday. More may come in later in the day - keep checking back for updates.

Anderson Valley Fall Hornin' - Havn't tried this one yet. It's described as having inviting aromas of caramelized malt and baking bread with highlights of cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin and seasonal spices. The pleasantly creamy mouthfeel and silky body embrace the sweet caramel flavors and tang of spices (with just hint of hops) that ends in a smooth, round finish. 6.0% ABV @ DABC

Avenues Proper Wetter Off Red - Not tried this one yet either. It's an American Red Ale hopped with 100% Amarillo from Oregon. They were shipped overnight and put into the beer less than 24 hours from coming off the bine. The aroma is grassy with some caramel malt and light citrus. The flavor continues this with a solid malt backbone accented by sweet resin and light stone fruit. The finish is bitter and juicy. Truly a seasonal ale, and in limited supply, so get it while it's here! 4.0% ABV @ Avenues Proper 

As promised, we have an additional NBF entry. Vernal Brewing Co. Is releasing a very limited amount (10 pre packaged growlers) of their new .50 Calibur IPA. Me no try yet. 8.6% ABV only at Vernal Brewing Co. 

Sköl!

Epic's Growler of the Week and a Gose Update

Your Epic Growler of the week is Copper Cone Pale Ale. This is a favorite of mine. It pours a hazy dark copper color with a thick, one finger of sticky head. The nose is fruity with citrus, pine, a mild malt backbone and floral bouquet. The taste starts with mild pine resin, and sweet caramel. Next comes an earthy citrus character with a mild spiciness. It all culminates in a nice balance that makes for a very enjoyable pale ale.

I also have an update on the Anderson Valley Kimme the Yink and the Holy Gose beers. Another special order has been recieved, so they'll be popping up in the bars that choose to stock it. However, the beers are still about a month away from hitting grocery store shelves. The distributor says, they'll come up in the next rotation.

Cheers!

Uinta's Jacked B Nimble Imperial Black Pumpkin Ale

Pumpkin beers lately have been getting a bit of a bad rap in the beer geek community as of late. Too many breweries have worked them into their repertoire and turned them into their default autumn beer. If I were to approach you at this time in 2005 and offered you a Pumpkin ale you'd probably look at me like I was broken. Now a days everything gets the pumpkin spice treatment down to our meatloaf.

Luckily, the pumpkin beers that come out of Utah are pretty damn good and worth revisiting. Some have actual pumpkin - others just the spices that make them unique. One of my favorite Pumpkin ales comes from Uinta Brewing. Oaked Jacked Imperial Pumpkin Ale is a big pumpkin ale aged in Bourbon barrels. The barrel complements the base beer perfectly adding rich vanilla/whiskey notes that are rich and inviting.

You can imagine my joy when I heard that Uinta was brewing a sister beer to compliment Oaked Jacked's rich character. Jacked B Nimble is an Imperial Black Pumpkin Ale that is also aged in Bourbon barrels and brewed with roasted malt and rye. The addition of the darker malts and rye will likely add some body and a spiced "snap" from the rye. This will come in the Uinta's Crooked Line signature 750ml cork and caged bottle and will dial in at 11.0% ABV. Nearly a full percent bigger than Oaked Jacked.  

This should be popping up in a few weeks and will likely only be available the brewery, not at DABC stores. Of course we'll announce the official release.

Slainte!

Uinta Cutthroat - Wet Hop Session Pale Ale

It's harvest time in the beer world. That means tons of wet hopped beers. If you're not familiar with the term "wet hopping" is the process of hopping beer with fresh (day old) hops and using them instead of the normal dried hops.

Normally this time of year we'd be looking forward Uinta's Wet 'n Wyld Pale Ale. A Simcoe hop driven beer that locals stampede for. This year Uinta Brewing is looking towards another stapple pale ale in their arsenal Cutthroat Pale Ale. Since it's inception in 1993, Cutthroat has always been a Cascade hop driven beer. And that's not about to change now. The Brewery received a massive amount of Cascade hop that were picked a day prior and quickly thrown into the beer. It should be ready in a couple week or so.

This is a draft only beer. In Utah it will be Wet Hopped Cutthroat - out of state it will be Wet Hop Uinta Session Pale Ale. Stay close for the release date.

Cheers!

Photo Courtesy: Isaac Winter

The Annex Temporarily Closes

Some of you may have noticed that the Annex by Epic Brewing has not been open for business this past weekend. I don't have all of the info, but here are some of the reasons behind it. There were apparently some issues concerning the Annex's management - including the chef. Though the menu was highly regarded many found it pricey and not too approachable. Look for a new, more complementary menu when the brewpub reopens.

It's no secret that Epic is all about the beer. There were concerns that the previous management wasn't treating the beer end of the business with the attention that it deserved - Epic is correcting this by getting more knowledgeable "beer people" in place to meet customers needs. The Annex's brewery is still in operation and will not stop making beer. The suds will continue to go out to the Annex's accounts.

Epic didn't want service to suffer during this transition, so they opted to close rather than experiment on the customers. With this down time they are also going to take the opportunity to spruce-up the place - polish floors etc.  

So that's basically it. Epic didn't feel things were up to their standards, now they're fixing it. The brewpub shouldn't be closed for long. We'll of course let you know when they're open again.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 9/4/15

It's not a huge New Beer Friday - it's about quality not quantity right?

Hoppers Rye IPA - Described as having aromas of toffee, rye and grapefruit. Flavors of toasted malts, rye, citrus and grass. 4.0% ABV. Only at Hoppers

Avenues Proper SMaSH Beer (Single Malt, Single Hop) - This incarnation is comprised of Pilsner Malt & Calypso Hops. 4.0% ABV. Only at Aves Proper

Lagunitas Imperial Pilsner - The nose has malt, grain, bread, and grass. The taste is much the same with toasty grain, vague berries and a blast of bitter grass and spiciness. Finishes dry with a hint of grainy sweetness. 8.1% ABV @Bayou, BeerHive & Beer Bar

Deschutes Bond Street Brown - Solid toasted malt character with a ghost like roasted grain in the back that goes chocolaty with a dark cocoa flavor. Modest woody hop notes.  Rich maltiness is sticky and toasty. This beer will work well Summer or Fall. This beer has been discontinued so when it's gone it's gone. 4.8% ABV. @ BarrelHouse

Cheers!

Snake River Brewing Returns to Salt Lake

After an absence of about ten years, Snake River Brewing Company is returning to The Wasatch Front. Not really sure why Snake River packed it in, but it was most likely financial reasons. Anyway they're due back soon.

Look for five beers to start with from their base line-up of beers.

Monarch Pilsner - A floral and herbal pils with some light malts a touch of lemon zest. 

Jenny Lake Lager - an amber colored Vienna style lager. The rich, caramel flavor is balanced with the use of several hop varieties.

Snake River Pale Ale - an American pale brewed with plenty of Cascade hops. It has a citrusy hop flavor which is followed by a crisp, firmly bitter finish.

Pako's IPA - This IPA will have the hopheads rejoicing. 6.8% ABV and 60+ IBUs with explosive hop aroma from a pungent Simcoe/columbus blend.

Zonker Stout - A rich, well-balanced foreign style stout with a huge amount of roasted barley as well as chocolate, black, and caramel malts.

Utah Craft Beverages will be bringing these in. As soon as they pop up we'll spread the love.

Also, today is Growler Day at Epic Brewing. This week's offering is Hop Syndrome - A perfect beer for the Labor Day weekend. These growlers sell fast, don't wait too long. And as always - don't forget your exchange growler.

Cheers!

The 3rd Annual Grace Bier Brauen

Home Brewed beers entries are now being accepted for the 3rd annual Grace Bier Brauen. Follow this link (www.gracebierbrauen.com for registering, entry fees, etc.) and beer may be dropped off at Salt City Brew Supply until September 5th. (during regular business hours)

This year's competition will be using 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines for judging and is an AHA/BJCP sanctioned competition. The beer competion is apart of Grace Lutheran's annual Oktoberfest celebration that takes place on September 19th from Noon to 9:00 and is fun for the entire family. Look for German food, beer and music, local vendors, games, silent auction, and helicopter rides, this event fills Sandy, Utah with the sights and sounds of a Bavarian extravaganza!

Prost!

New Belgium's Fat Tire Get's Downsized

This fall your going to notice something different about New Belgium's flagship brand, Fat Tire. For the first time NB will be releasing a lower-alcohol version of its amber ale. The beer will be 4% ABV (3.2% ABW), meaning it can be sold in supermarkets and convenience stores in Colorado, Kansas and Utah, and eventually in Oklahoma.

Primarily the real reason for this move was to get it on draft in bars in Utah, which as we all know has strict limits on beer above 4% on draft. New Belgium spokesman Bryan Simpson says “We wanted to provide better access to our beer both on and off-premise in Utah,” he explained in an e-mail to Westword.com. Simpson also added that NB has concerns about how the Utah DABC stores their beer warm as well as the "considerable markup" associated with Utah's high alcohol beers. “We’ve actually made 3.2 percent versions of Fat Tire for festivals where that was required, so we know we can get a good flavor match,” Simpson says. “This helps open up some opportunities in states where 3.2 percent sales are happening.”

So what does this all mean for Utah? In a nutshell - you're going to get 4% Fat Tire packaged in cans - in Grocery stores and on tap in bars and restaurants. The state will no longer have "regular" Fat Tire (5.2%) in DABC stores, but other New Belgium beers that are currently for sale will continue to be sold there. This does not affect their other brands, just Fat Tire Amber Ale.

The label provided above is is the new "3.2" label you'll notice it doesn't list the alcohol by volume anywhere on it. What are your thought? Will this affect your consumption, increase it or are you indifferent?

Cheers!

Source: Westword.com