RedRock's Furlong Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout

I hope everyone had a great, long holiday weekend. Now that it's time to get back to the grind, we have some great news on a special release from RedRock Brewing. 

Over the past year, a special batch of RedRock's Drioma Imperial Stout has been quietly aging in bourbon barrels - waiting for it's timer in the light. It looks like that day coming very soon.

The Furlong is brewed with roasted barley to impart notes of coffee and dark chocolate. RedRock's brewers used rich dark malts for bold flavor and then age it all in freshly used Kentucky Bourbon Barrels for a year. 

Furlong will go on sale to the public on December 9^th.  There will be a 6-bottle limit at the RR Beer Store. Stay close for updates.

‘Na zdorovie!

Uinta Stomping Grounds Coffee Stout

Uinta is officially out of control! The state's largest brewery just keeps-on-keep'n-on with new brews being added to their portfolio. I think this makes this one the seventh or eighth new release from Uinta since August.

This latest beer will be part of Uinta's Crooked Line of beers. It's a coffee stout that will be made with Salt Lake City's Publik Coffee Roasters. The beer looks to be a Foreign/Export stout at it's base and will dial in at 8.1% ABV. Foreign/Export Stouts are typically found in the tropical regions of the world and have higher alcohol with a very pronounced roasted character. I had a chance to to sample one of the experimental blends last week. It will likely be coffee forward, but the coffee won't encompass the entire beer.

As the beer's coffee blend is still be formulated, it's probable still a few weeks away from being released. As soon as it's release draws near we'll tell where and when.

Cheers!

Uinta Cutthroat+ (Plus)

What's that? Another new version of Cutthroat you say? Bring it on! It looks like Uinta is continuing to breath new life into their tried and true flagship brand.

This newest incarnation of appears to be called Cutthroat+ (plus). It uses Cocoa Nibs, Orange Peel & Cayenne Pepper in it's recipe. Sounds like a peppery Chocolate Orange stick... I love Chocolate Orange sticks!  Look for this 4.0% ABV beer to be packaged in Uinta's new 22oz bottles and it should be hitting grocery store shelves and tap handles in the next few weeks. Stay close for the official release date.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 11/20/15

There are some really wonderful offering today. Your tongues will not be disappointing this afternoon/evening. Join us for the radio edition of New Beer Friday around 3:30pm on KBER 101. We'll be discussion these new brews and other local beer happenings. 
 
Uinta Port O' Call Belgian Dark - Pours a mahogany color with ruby high;lights with a small-ish head that fades quickly. The nose has some dank dark fruit aromas with with a bit of musty grape skin. The taste starts with a bit of sweet plum and a hint of spicy dates. This transitions into a more prune-like tartness that compliments the Port and Cabernet wine character that raps up the back end. Nicely fruity and complex. Let it warm up a little for the best experience. 9.4% ABV Available now at Uinta's Brewery Pub, Bottle Shop, better beer bars and soon to select DABC stores.

Uinta Brighton Revolver Session IPA - This year's version of the Brighton Revolver IPA features Ella and Calypso hops. It pours a somewhat hazy golden straw color with a firm two fingers of foam.  The nose has mostly tangerine peel in the nose with a bit of malt sweetness beneath. The taste starts with great lemon, grapefruit and orange peel notes that explode on the tongue. Next come a bed of creamy caramel malts that feel round and full in the mouth. The end has a bit of grapefruit bitterness. Finishes moderately dry. Holy Shit! This is the best Session IPA I've had in months! It has a great body for it's low ABV. A must try while it's super fresh. 4.0% ABV @ Uinta Brewery pub on tap right now. Soon to grocery and convenience store and where you'll find Uinta seasonal taps.

Epic Big Bad Baptist Beer Bar/Bulleit Barrel  - Pours black with soem nice copper hued foam. The nose is big with rich coffee aromas. The tastes follows with great coffee flavors to start. A bit of char and roasted malt comes next. Some molasses sweetness creeps in and traditions into subtle vanilla bourbon sweetness. The sweetness from the Bourbon keeps the harsher notes from the coffee and roastiness in check. Great balance, highly drinkable for big beer. 12.3% ABV  This version of Big Bad Baptist can only be found at The Beer Bar in Salt Lake City.

Anheuser Busch Best Damn Apple Ale - I've haven't had a chance to try this, though trusted beer geek Craig Folkman has. He describes it as having a clear golden straw color with a small white head that dissipates quickly to a small white ring, no lacing. Aroma of a green apple jolly rancher. Flavors of candy apples, sugary, plastic, finishes sweet. Not too bad. 4.0% ABV @ Most Grocery and Convenience stores. Craig, thanks for letting me hi-jack your review!

Shades of Pale Mischance White IPA - Pours a murky off white/straw color with a large pillowy head. The nose is fresh with citrus meat grapefruit. The taste fallows with citrusy hop that have some berry like qualities as well. Thin bready malt round out the hops proving a bit of doughy sweetness. A nicely refreshing and light White IPA. 4.0% ABV @ Shades of Pale's Tap room.

I got some bad info on yesterday's post on the Beer Bar Big Bad Baptist. The whiskey barrels used were not Bulleit but Buffalo trace. When reading it just swap those whiskeys and add Frankfort, KY instead of Lawrenceburg KY. My apologies.

Cheers!

Beer Bar & Epic Collaboration Beer

The info given on the whiskey barrel for the following beer is  wrong. It's my fault for not double checking my source. My apologies. Buffalo Trace is the maker of the whiskey and barrel. 

Bfeen to Bar X lately? If you have you may have noticed that they love whiskey - Bourbons in particular. Bar X's owners love Bourbons so much that they often travel to various noted distilleries around the country selecting specific barrels that they can call their own. 

Last year Bar X/Beer Bar co-owners  Duncan Burell and Richard Noel traveled to the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky where they make Bulleit Bourbon. There, the two sampled multiple barrels of the high rye content whiskey until they found some that "spoke to them". The distillery customized labels for Bar X packaged the bottles and sent the whiskey and the spent barrels to Salt Lake City. Those barrel are the heart of this story.

Spent Bourbon barrels are a hot commodity right now. A decade ago their best use was to become garden planters or artsy-fartsy coffee tables. Today they fetch top dollar so that breweries can age their barleywines, stouts or "whatever" in them. Rich and Duncan - who are also huge beer fans, did the math and searched out a local brewery to fill their empty barrels. Epic Brewing Co. was their final choice.

A local version of Epic's famed Big Bad Baptist was chosen to fill the Bulleit Barrels. Made with coffee from SLC's Blue Copper Coffee, the barrels created a special 1-off batch of Big Bad Baptist that will be exclusive to Beer Bar. Now comes the fun part.

This evening, Beer Bar will be having a release party from 6:00 - 8:00pm. Epic and Blue Copper will be there to talk about and answer any questions about the coffee/beer and there will be free samples of Blue Copper's cold brew that was used in the beer. Beer Bar will be selling 6 and 8oz. pours of the Baptist along with samples of the exclusive Bar-X Bulleit Bourbon.

Coffee, Bourbon and Beer? I think this will be a good day.

Cheers!

Port O' Call is Here

Uinta is releasing their highly anticipated Belgian Style Dark Ale, Port o' Call. What makes this beer unique from a average Belgian dark is it's time spent in Port Wine barrels. For the past six months, the ale developed vinous characters blended with toffee and caramel malt notes. With a distinctly Belgian nose, Port O’ Call pours a dark copper with a creamy head accenting spicy yeast with hints of clove and banana and has an ABV of 9.4%.

Port O’ Call will be released in 750ml cork and caged bottles and is a small seasonal release that for Utahans can only be purchased at Uinta's Brewery (to take home) or at some of the better beer bars along the Wasatch Front. I hope to have a full review for you by Friday. The Holidays are indeed looking bright!

Cheers!

!0 Years on Utah Beer

"you ever notice that your shit is 'stuff' and everybody else's 'stuff' is shit"? George Carlin coined that phrase back in the 70s and it's still a brilliant observation on how we as individuals compare the things we each hold dear. There are many who think my overly enthusiastic appreciation for beer and Star Wars is moronic and a waste of time - as I may find someones super fanaticism over Baseball statistics coma inducing. I guess what I'm saying is, I don't know why I chose to bore you with all of this Utah Beer crap, but I did it and I'm very appreciative that you bother to waste your bandwidth here.

It was 10 years ago today that I got a weird hair up my ass and decided to commit myself to the cause of promoting Utah's beer culture. This blog was and still is a mostly therapeutic exercise for me. Being a beer geek in Utah a for that first twenty years of my beer drinking life was a bit oxymoronic. For most of that time the words "Utah" and "beer" were as synonymous as "fish" and "bicycle" to most beer lovers outside of our boarders. Thank to our growing craft beer community - that perception is changing.

I hope this doesn't come across as self congratulatory. I'm just glad some of you have found my therapy, critiques and rants useful in some way... and if you think about it - ten years talking about any narrow/niche subject is pretty cool - no matter what the subject is. I don't know if I have another ten years of "beer geek'n" left in me, but as long as any one person gives a shit, I'll try to do my best. Thanks again for bothering to visit.

Cheers!

Photo Credit: Fransisco Kjolseth | Salt Lake Tribune

New Beer Friday 11/13/15

Congratulations, you've made it this far. Now you just have to take it! No worries though... there no trap - just good beer and cider in this week's New Beer Friday. Just a reminder that New Beer Friday has it's own radio segment now on KBER 101 Fridays at 3:30pm on Mick and Allen's show. Tune in if you have the time. 

Bohemian Session Bock - Bohemian Brewery’s latest Brewer’Stache is made from the second runnings of their upcoming Doppelbock. Meaning, after collecting enough strong wort for a high alcohol Doppelbock there was enough sugar left in the mash to make a second session beer.  The Session Bock is unfiltered with a hazy reddish brown appearance.  The flavor is sweet and toasty with hints of toffee and caramel.  The beer finishes with rich malts and hints of dark fruit from the German lager yeast. The 4.0% Session Bock is available on draft today at the Brewery and we'll of course keep you up to date on the new BoHo Dopplebock as it's release date get near

Upslope Blood Orange Saison - Pours a clear golden, cider color with a thin but tight white head. The nose has oranges peel with some spices. The taste starts with oranges and some spicy/estery yeast. some thin doughy wheat flavors come next with notes of coriander and white pepper rounding out the back end. 6.0% ABV @ Slackwater Soon to DABC

Mountain West Ruby Hard Cider - Pours a brilliant clear golden color with a nose of dry apple. The taste follows the nose with subtle apple sweetness combined with some minor green apple tartness. Finishes nicely dry. This is my kind of cider. Brilliant! 6.8% ABV

Squatters Rye Chai -  This beer is a chai tea infused dark rye ale that is served on nitro. 4.0% ABV @ Squatters Downtown Brewpub.

Squatters Rauchbier -  A rye a ale that is brewed with smoked malt.  This imparts a smoky dryness to the beer  that is meant to complement the sweeter malts in the brew. 4.0% ABV @  Squatters Downtown Brewpub

Returning Favorites

Wasatch Winter First One Down - The former Wasatch Winterfest, pours a clear ruby color with a moderate fluffy off-white cap of foam. The nose is bright with citrus and pine with subtle spicy caramel malt beneath. The flavor starts out with grapefruity hops and a bit of orange zest. Next comes a faint hint of gingerbread then transitions to a rich maltiness. I think there may be a little roastiness in there as well. Very nicely balanced with a well hidden 7.1% abv.


New Belgium Accumulation: The nose is a hoppy blend of grass, grapefruit and lemon with a touch of earthiness. The taste is similar, tart and grassy, but more earthy and with a pleasant spiciness as the flavor lingers on the tongue. Better than most White IPAs, still not better than Ghostrider. 6.2% ABV
@ Bayou, soon to DABC

Full Sail Session Fest: Pours a nice shiny copper color with just a bit of haze. Little bit of eggshell colored head makes a brief appearance. The nose is of toasted grain, slight caramel & floral hops in the background.  The taste starts with biscuits and toast alongside some caramel malty goodness make for a nice refreshing brew. Hops add just a bit to florals to balance things out. Mouthfeel is light, crisp, and refreshing. Flavors don't exactly 'wow' you but it's still got enough going on to keep it interesting. @ Bayou - DABC

Also, Congrats to Epic and Uinta for medaling in the 2015 Brussels Beer Challenge. Uinta's Cutthroat came away with a gold medal for best Bitter and Epic's Big Bad Baptist came away with a silver medal in the coffee beer category. Shades of Pale's Tap Room is finally opening. Head on over to the brewery tomorrow and check it out. They'll have food truck(s), music and of course Beer!

Cheers!

The 2015 Holiday Beer Tasting

 Damn, that was fast! We are all filled up for now. Please contact me to get on the stand-by list. There are always cancellations.

There are many ways to celebrate the Holidays. Around here we like like to share great beer. If you're of like mind then I encourage you to RSVP - right now, for the 2015 Holiday Beer Tasting. I guarantee you will not find a better selection of national and international beers to sample in the west.

This is the only invite to the gathering. Too often I get people saying, "nobody told me"! This party is a "thank you" for bothering to visit the Utah Beer Blog and being a proactive member of Utah's craft beer community. So, if your reading this, you know about the party. If you missed it - I'm sorry. Social Media isn't conducive to having an intimate party of this size.

The Holiday Tasting is held at a private home and it's location will be given out only to those who RSVP. We will have to put a cap on the number of people attending due to the size of the venue. So get your RSVP in ASAP. It fills up very fast.

A lot of very generous people offer up some of their prized bottles and favorite creations. So we ask that this be limited to "Beer People". People who know beer or are interested in learning more about craft beer. Please feel free to bring a guest if you don't want to come solo. Speaking of "Beer People". Some of our local craft brewers will be in attendance as well as industry professionals. It'll be a nice opportunity for you to get to know them - and they you.

RSVPs will be limited to two people this year. It's all about giving everybody who wants to attend the opportunity to attend.

First off - This is not a "shit show" so, bring your A game. If you can't handle your drink, then you should probably pass. Also, plan your ride home - There's no sleep overs.

Second - Bring a nice bottle or two of beer, cider or mead to share. You don't have to bring Pliny the Younger, but something out of the ordinary would be nice. Home Brew and Kegs are welcome as well. If you do bring a keg, let me know ahead of time.

Third - Bring a proper tasting glass. We'll have some plastic cup if you forget, but I'd hate for you to use them.

Forth - Food will be provided, but if you would like to bring something to share that would be great.

Please RSVP to utahbeer@gmail.com (we filled up in less than 24 hours last year)

Absolutely no one under 21.

Where: Draper, Utah

When: The evening of Saturday December, 12th

Don't hesitate to RSVP or ask questions! Again, this post is the only invite to the gathering. Any questions?

Cheers!

Mountain West Cidery Open Today

The Title says it all, Mountain West Hard Cider is now open for business and selling their debut label Ruby. Mountain West is owned and operated by a husband-and-wife duo, along with their head cider maker, Joel Goodwillie. As a team, they share a passion for the mountains, locally-owned business, and obviously: good times with good friends. Relying on Joel’s award-winning years of experience as a wine and cider maker, the three of them are ready to show people that The West isn’t just for beer anymore.

The trio uses local ingredients from the Mountain West to craft everyday, seasonal, and artisan hard apple ciders. Ruby is just a taste of things to come. Please welcome these folks to Utah's craft beverage scene by heading over to the cidery - located at 425 North 400 West in Salt lake City, UT - just two doors south from RedRock Brewing Company. Their doors open at 11am. Welcome to the family!

Cheers! 

New Beer Friday 11/6/15

There's a ton of goodness today on New Beer Friday - This week there will be a special radio version of New Beer Friday as well on KBER 101. Should be on around 3:30pm. We'll be spreading the "beer love" to the masses. Tune in if you can!

Uinta Holiday Cutthroat - looks like good ol' Cutthroat. The noses spicy with cinnamon and nutmeg some piney hops as well. The taste starts with more spices - cinnamon and spruce tips. Clove comes in next with a bit of malt. The end is all pine bitterness. Finishes quite dry. 4.0% ABV @ Uinta now and should be popping up at grocery stores and bars with a Uinta seasonal tap

Annex Session Razz - This is the third version of Epic's successful Brainless on Raspberries Ale. The second version is Lil' Brainless Raspberries a 5.2% version - now we have the Session Razz a 4% Session Ale. Session Razz Pours a clear ruby/fuchsia color with an average pinkish cap of foam. The fruit and the yeast are the stars here. First off - you get subtle tart raspberries up front. There is some hint of thin malts as well. Spicy/estery yeast take it from there, providing a nice counter to the berries. Refreshing and satisfying for a low abv fruit beer. highly recommended. 4.0% ABV @ The Annex - Beer Bar

Squatters Rauchbier -Not tried this one yet. 4.0% ABV

Squatters Hazelnut Brown - Not tried this one yet. 4.0% ABV On Cask

Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat - Pours into a hazy amber/orange color with an off white head. The nose was spicy with cinnamon and nutmeg. The taste follows the nose with heavy nutmeg and cinnamon with a fair amount of wheat and malt balance. For what it is, this is this not a bad pumpkin ale. You could do much worse in the market. 4.0% ABV @ Grocery/Convenienc Stores

Zion The Local Peach - Described as a Saison with tart peach character. Some funky yeast spiciness as well. 4.0% ABV @ Zion Canyon Brewpub

Zion Pumpkin Please -Described as being subtly spiced with a thin to medium mouth feel. 4.0% ABV @ Zion Canyon Brewpub

Epic Session Series IPA - This is a new series that will be coming from Epic. This Session IPA is basically a 4% version of Escape to Colorado. It has a wonderfully, pungent citrsy nose with a light quenching body. All mosaic hops in this beer. 4% ABV @ The Annex - Beer Bar and pubs with Annex tap handles.

Estrella Damm - Pours a pale straw color with a medium white head. The nose is mostly grain and malt. The flavor starts with grassy hops then transitions to malty sweetness. It's semi dry in the finish. Not to bad for an adjunct lager. 5.2% ABV @ Beer Bar

Estrella Inedit wit - Pours a hazy straw gold color with a spicy nose of coriander and cloves, banana, sweet malt. The taste follows with more coriander and light clove, The end has a healthy dose of sweet maltis. Fairly light body. Pretty good but not mind blowing. 4.8% ABV @ Beer Bar

RedRock Dortmunder - Pours a deep golden color, with an inch and half thick head. The nose is bready,  followed by small amounts of aherbal grassy hops. The taste starts with strong malts and toasted bread, then finishes with a mild grass bitterness. Medium bodied, yet very crisp and refreshing, smooth feel alll the way through. @ RedRock and better beer bars
 
Returning Favorites

RedRock Secale - This barrel aged lager has a bock base with some rye malt spicing up sweetness. And if that wasn't enough, they finished it off in High West Rye whiskey barrels. This is one damn fine barrel aged bock. Don't miss out on this one. 

Deschutes Jubelale - As basic spiced holiday ales go, this beer delivers on all levels. Chicory, molasses and figs. Oh yeah!

Sierra Nevada Celebration - It's not the holidays at Utah Beer Central without this yearly favorite. Straight forward, wonderful American IPA.

Ninkasi Dawn of the Red - Get this while they're still fresh. Citrusy hops, fruity malts - delicious!

Uinta Yard Sale lager - A clean and semi-malty amber lager.

RedRock Secale - Malty and spicy with a rye whiskey backbone. Brilliant!

Prost!

RedRock's New Dortmunder Fest Beer

RedRock Brewing has added a new beer into their "high gravity" line up! The Dortmunder Fest beer is a classic German style lager is know as a working class beer that was first conceived of the 19th century. Dortmund style lagers are pale golden in color with a dry hoppy/biscuity nose that exhibit a classic clean character full-bodied with a subtle maltiness and a sturdy mouth-feel. They're akin to the traditional German Pilsner with a with an overall dry tone and presence.

RedRock's is made with 100% German Pilsner, Munich and specialty malts from Germany's Weyermann Maltsters. It dials in at 5.4% ABV. and is availble now at RedRock's Beer Store (443 N 400 W).

I'll try to have a review on it by Friday.

Prost!