Bonneville Bottles Comming Soon

Tooele's Bonneville Brewing Co. will soon be bringing their tasty suds to a grocery or C-store near you in the coming months. Look for Bonneville to debut with four labels including their Free Roller Session IPA - a piney and citrusy quencher and Redline Irish Red - another hop forward ale with the addition of sweeter/fruity malts. 

All of these initial offering will be 4% ABV, with the possibility of higher gravity beers down the road. If you haven't had a chance to try Brewmaster, Dave Watson's beers yet your missing out. These are some of these most well executed beers in our market. They're true to style beers, that are unapologetically true to style. It's not often I can blindly try a series of beers and be 100% confident in knowing what style I'm drinking.

Look for Bonneville's bottled beers towards the end of summer or you can enjoy them today at the Tooele brewery, All Star Lanes or at your better beer bars along the Wasatch Front.

Cheers!

Photo courtesy: SLUG Magazine/Logan Sorenson

Talisman's New Season Line of Beers

Ogden's Talisman Brewing Company will soon be offering a new rotating seasonal line called, umm... Season. Here's your first look at the label - you'll start seeing 22 oz. bottles popping up in grocery and C-stores in the coming weeks.

The first offering will be a 4.0% ABV Blood Orange Wheat Ale. This beer is currently available to buy right now at the brewery, but only for growler fills. Once bottling commences we'll let you know.

Cheers!

Label found Shipcomplient.com

Uinta Mid-Year Previews

We got our hands on some new images of what you can expect to see from Uinta Brewing in the coming months.

First up [pictured above] is Pit Stop Kettle Soured Apricot IPA. The name says it all. It will be packaged in Uinta's 750ml. bottles. This looks like a warm weather beer, expect to see it sooner rather than later. This will likely be a 4.0% ABV beer.

Uinta's Fest German Style Helles will be coming along towards Fall. This is a style that Uinta has surprisingly not done before.It's tailor made for Autumn and Oktoberfest celebrations in particular.
A little more subdued than it's Marzen cousin. It will dial in around 5.5% ABV.

Finally we have another surprising beer style that Uinta has never made, as stout. Yeah, Labyrinth is mostly a stout in every sense of the word, but they insist on calling it a "black ale" so that's what it is. Simply called Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout, this beer will have a lower ABV than some of it's barrel aged brothers [7.0%]  which will increase it's drinkabilty and will be less heavy on the pallet. Due to the them on the label I would expect to see this down the road a little way.

Stay close for their releases.

Cheers!

Images found at Shipcomplient.com

New Beer Friday 6/24/16

There's way too much happening. Let's get to it!

Great Divide Brewing out of Denver Colorado has quietly slipped into our market and they've brought with them quite a few of their very popular brews. Some of these will start popping up around the Wasatch Front as soon as today. If you start to see them appear, please share where you saw them. Woot!

Great Divide Titan IPA
Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout 
Great Divide Colette farmhouse 
Great Divide Hoss Oktoberfest lager
Great Divide Oatmeal Yeti
Great Divide Barrel Aged Hibernation

Strap Tank/Proper Brewing Collaboration - Properly Tanked: Have not had this one yet. It's only available at Strap Tank Brewing Co. 4.0% ABV

New Belgium - Tart Lychee: The nose has soft fruit - strawberry, lychee, musty yeast. The taste has some lychee sour/tart tropical fruit flavors with a almost wheat like malt taste balancing it out. Slight cinnamon taste as well in the finish.7.5% ABV @ Beer Bar, BeerHive

Shades of Pale - German Pils: Just released yesterday. Have not tried it. 4.0% ABV @ Shades of Pale

Shades of Pale - X36 Pale Ale: Released tomorrow and will only be available at the Hill Airforce Base's Air Show 7.5% ABV

Ska - True Blonde: The nose has grainy malt, grassy, lemons. some yeast. The taste has light lemon, sweet grainy malt. Yeasty and dusty. No hops to speak of. Finish is short and on the sweet malty side. A little cardboard as well. 5.3% ABV @Slackwater

Ska - Decadent Imp IPA: The nose has sweet caramel toffee and resiny hops. Flavor is similar, heavy and sticky caramel with a moderate hop bitterness and plenty of heft to it. Alcohol starts to creep out a bit towards the end. 10% ABV @ Slackwater

Ska - Modus Mandarina IPA: The nose has mandarin orange, caramel and floral hops. Tastes of  grapefruit and mandarin orange. Orange zest bitterness on the finish. Caramel makes an interesting but complimentary companion to the citrus. It subtle enough to let the fruit shine but strong enough to give this beer some body and character. 6.8% ABV @ Slackwater

Selkirk Abby - Saint Stephan: Saison. Not tried this one yet. 7.9% ABV @ Slackwater

Selkirk Abby - Infidel: Imperial Belgian IPA. Not tried this one yet. 8.2% ABV @ Slackwater

Selkirk Abby - Guilt: Belgian Coffee Porter Not tried this one yet. 8.3% ABV @ Slackwater

Selkirk Abby - Deacon: Belgian Pale Ale Not tried this one yet. 5.5% ABV @ Slackwater

Selkirk Abby - Saint Augustine: Rye Saison. Not tried this one yet. 6.7% ABV @ Slackwater

RedRock Tangerine Grapefruit Pale Ale: Tastes great, though not much of a pale ale. It does have a nice acidic quality which is nice. Grapefruit tartness and leafy citrus hops. Nice beer to help beat the heat! 4.0% ABV @ RedRock., The Bayou

La Trappe Isid'or: Nose of caramel malt, stone fruit, Belgian yeast and spicing; hints of banana and plum. Classic Belgian strong ale flavors, caramel malt, light and dark stone fruit, Belgian yeast, very light clove. Medium creamy body. A bit lighter in taste intensity compared to other Belgian pales, but very pleasant and well made. 7.5% ABV @Slackwater

Cuvée des Jacobins Rouge: The nose has sour cherries, lemon and a wild yeastiness. Tatse starts with a hit of lemon juice sourness, quickly progressing to a fruitier balance of sour cherry and unripe berries and aged red vinegar. A nice mild funkiness gives depth and balance, even a hint earthy herbs. Worlds of flavours here. There is a hint of sweet fruit but finishes dry. 5.5%ABV @ Slackwater

Cheers!

Forbidden Peach Belgian Style Fruit Ale

RedRock Brewing has a new wild ale headed our way in the coming weeks. Forbidden Peach was brewed with more than 700 lbs of Brigham City peaches - the beer was then aged in Chardonnay wine barrels and dosed with two strains of Brettanomyces and was finally dry-hopped with Citra hops.

This new wild ale sounds wonderful. It should be going on sale in about three weeks. Stay close fore updates.

Cheers! 

Hoppers Brings Back Bottles

Most people in Utah's beer community know Hoppers Brewing as that Midvale staple that has been serving locally made beer for years. If you're relatively new to Utah's craft beer scene you may not be aware that Hopper had a very popular and highly regarded bottling program at one time.

Starting in 2010 Hoppers began by releasing Double Black a 6.4% "Schwartz-Bock" along with an amped-up version of This is the Pils, The First SnoAle, Hot Headed Red Head and Summerset  Saison. All of these picked up various awards at the time, but Hoppers' previous owners didn't see the merchandising profits they were hoping for and mothballed the Storehouse Reserve line of beers.

Today is a new day. Hoppers new owners are all on board and have thrown their support behind Hoppers' Brewmaster and Secret Agent, Donovan Steele as he begins to resurrect their bottling program.

As we speak, Donovan is fermenting a new batch of his Summerset Saision, A hop forward take on the style that should be available to take home or enjoy there in a couple of weeks. Look for it in 750 ml. bottles. More new and old favorites are expected in the coming months as well.

Utah's year of beer keeps on getting better and better.

Prost!

New Beer Friday 6/17/16

Petrus Aged Red Ale - Taste has a slight sourness to it, some oak, and a sweet cherry aftertaste. Complex flavors, but the brunt of the flavors come from the cherry. Could use a little more sourness for balance. 8.5% ABV @ Bayou

Kasteel Barista Chocolate Quad - Rich chocolate but coffee definitely plays a roll in the taste and gives it a sweet bitterness. Feels a bit like a porter, lacks the depth in body but it has a hoppy feel to it which as the brew warms it becomes more and more complex. 11.0% ABV @ Bayou

Deschutes Hop Slice IPA - The nose is fresh with nice citrusy hops. Taste follows with a slight lemony sweetness at first, floral hops throughout, finishes with a medium grapefruit bitterness. Light body with medium carbonation, really easy to drink. A really good session IPA, fresh and easy drinking. 4.5% ABV @Bayou, Beerhve

Returning Favorites

Epic's Los Locos is now for sale in 22oz. bottles at Epic's bottleshop. 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.

RedRock/Pelican CoHOPeration is back as well. The hops in this beer are amazingly intact. Front and mid body the citrus and florals seem to dominate the palate. Gritty pale, and caramel tastes appear. Finishes very rind-like with notes of berries and some dry spiciness from the rye malt. Very soft and mild, with a decent carbonation. Not extremely sweet; but very dry and bitter. 6.9% ABV @RedRock

Cheers!

Branagan's Brewery Coming to Sandy City

The south end of the Salt Lake Valley has had a bit of a beer problem over the last one hundred years. It's not a problem of over consumption, it's a problem due to lack of locally made suds. In my opinion every community should have it's own local brews, just as you'd find a local bakery or ice cream shop.

The main reason you haven't seen local breweries pop up in the south part of Salt Lake County may have to do with a slightly overly self-righteous view on the manufacturing of alcohol. If drinking it is sinful, making it must be down right demonic, right?

Thankfully those attitudes are changing. Municipalities are starting to see that it's more beneficial to keep tourist's tax dollars close to home rather than have them visit other towns. The first benefactor of this new attitude on locally made brews is likely to be Heather Branagan of the forthcoming Banagan's Brewery.  

Heather like many of us Heather started as a home brewer and developed her passion via the kitchen, carboy and travel. Branagan's will focus on English, Irish, and Scottish beer style with some barrel aging as well. The restaurant will feature a menu of slightly higher end pub cuisine.

Heather is working with Sandy City now on permits and licensing right now, and has a location in the area of 9000 s. just east of I-15. Stay close for updates on Branagan's progress.

For more on Branagan's Brewery check out my story in the current [Beer] Issue of SLUG Magazine.

Slainte!

Melvin Brewing Company Coming to Salt Lake

Some of the most sought after IPAs in the country will soon be making their way to Salt Lake city soon. Melvin Brewing Company, currently headquarter in Jackson, WY is currently building a brand new 20,000 square foot brewing facility among the mountains and rivers of Alpine, Wyoming with an anticipated July 2015 startup.

This new brewing facility will ramp-up Melvin's production greatly and open the gates to new markets - one of which is set to include Utah's Wasatch Front.

Melvin Brewing currently makes five year round beers. Two of them, their Melvin IPA and 2x4 DIPA are some of the more coveted IPAs in the west. Melvin has also entered the session beer game with their new Clinic Session India Ale, this beer will likely hit grocery stores and tap handles all over northern Utah.

Look for Melvin's stuff to hit our market in early Autumn.

Cheers!

The Eighth Annual Snowbird Brewfest

Father's Day is this Sunday and with it comes Snowbird's Annual Brewfest. This year's fest will take place June 18 - June 19, and go from 12 pm - 6 pm. There will be live music, food stations, crafters/vendors while the Father's Day BBQ goes off on the Plaza Deck. Admission is FREE. Now for what isn't free - Pricing:

• $5 parking (cash only)
• $15 for Brewfest mug and 3 tokens
• $2 for additional tokens
• 4 oz. beer samples range from 1-2 tokens

There will also be TWENTY-SIX local and national breweries sampling 3-5 of their finest brews. The breweries include:
    Angry Orchard Hard Cider
    Ballast Point
    Bohemian Brewery
    Bonneville Brewery
    Boulder Beers
    Deschutes Brewery
    Epic Brewing
    Utah Sessions Series by Epic Brewing
    Lagunitas Brewing Company
    Leinenkugel's Brewery
    Mike's Hard Lemonade
    Moab Brewery
    Mountain West Cider Company
    Pabst Blue Ribbon
    Park City Brewery
    Payette Brewing Co.
    Proper Brewing Co.
    Red Rock Brewing Co.
    Roosters Brewing Co.
    Samuel Adams
    Schofferhofer
    Ska Brewing Co.
    Small Town Brewery
    Uinta Brewing Co.
    Wasatch Brewery
    Squatters Craft Brewery

Now, some of you may notice that Ska Brewing Company is on that list. Ska's beer has never been in the Utah Market before except for the Epic/Ska Collaboration beer called Skeptic. I'm waiting to hear back from Ska to verify their entry into the market. I'll let you know when they let me know. Hope to see you at the Fest.

Prost!

New Beer Friday 6/10/16

Since I took last week off, some of these beers may not be new to you, but may be to many. I'd also like to thank Brian Coleman, Owner/Brewer at 2 Row Brewing for indulging my request for a Summer Lager. Hopefully my limited brain cells (6) and Brian's genius knack for hopping beer has resulted in an summer quencher that'll tackle your thirst - while making your tongue happy.

2 Row Mikey's Citra IPL -  we designed this beer for maximum crushability.  It has the qualities of a Pilsner but it's hopped with northwestern citrus flavors. The malts are semi-honey sweet  and the hops   Consist of tangerine and orange bitterness.  It all comes together quite nicely. 5.5% ABV @ Beer Bar, Bayou & 2 Row

RedRock White Rainbow -  haven't tried this one yet. 6.2% ABV @ RedRock locations.

Bohemian Smoked Helles - This is a pale yellow lager brewed with malts which were smoked over beechwood, a fast-fading German tradition.  These malts impart a subtle smokiness to the aroma and flavor of the beer, something very common prior to modern brewing.  Served unfiltered, and brewed up to the standards of the Reinheitsgebot (The German Beer Purity Law of 1516), this rustic lager is like a taste of history. 4.0% ABV @ Bohemian

Bohemian German Pale Ale - Hoppier than the typical Bohemian beer, their new German Pale Ale is inspired by contemporary German brewers, who are making beers outside their traditional comfort zone.  While it’s not old-fashioned, it is German through and through.  Fermented with Kölsch yeast, this beer has a clean flavor profile that allows the Mittelfruh and Opal hops to shine through.  Floral, citrus and spicy hop flavors dominate this beer while a pleasant caramel character waits below.4.0% ABV @ Bohemian

Talisman Blood Orange Honey Wheat -  not tried this one yet. Only for growler fills. 4.0% ABV @ Talisman

Hoppers Farmhouse Ale - Breadt malts with some toast. Spicy eatery yeasty notes as well. Great summer ale. 4.0% ABV @ Hoppers

The Return of Fisher Brewing

In the early 1870s a man named Albert Fisher immigrated from Germany to the United States and eventually settled in Salt Lake City. Albert was a brewer by trade and he quick put his skill set to work shortly after arriving in Utah.

In 1884, Albert Fisher purchased 15 acres of land on 200 South on the east bank of the Jordan River (1206 West) where he established the A. Fisher Brewing Company.

The A. Fisher Brewing Company quickly became the largest brewery in Utah and in 1893 he constructed a grand residence (which still stands) adjacent to the brewery along the banks of the Jordan River.

132 years later four men - one of which is one of Albert Fisher's descendant is resurrecting Utah's most historically successful brewery. Tom Riemondy (Fisher descendant), Steven Brown, Colby Frazier and Tim Dwyer have secured the rights to the name and imagery associated with the old brewery are busily transforming their new brewery located in Salt Lake's Granary District into Utah's first legacy brewery.

Fisher's flagship beer will be akin to the beers of that era. Fisher's Classic American Pilsner will always be on tap and will be accompanied by 13 other beer taps that will showcase four main beers with 10 rotating seasonal beers—all dialing in at 4% ABV - with higher ABV beers down the road.

The image above is the historic logo that appeared on Fisher's bottle caps though out most of the breweries run and will appear in much of their new branding.

I recently wrote a more detailed story about the new Fisher Brewery in SLUG Magazine's Beer Issue. Please feel free to check it out.

Fisher Brewing Company hopes to be online summer 2016.

Prost!

RedRock Gineva

You may have noticed in the NABA awards section of yesterday's post that RedRock Brewing won a Silver Medal for a beer called Gineva. This beer is described as being a Belgian style with notes of  juniper, orange and kaffir lime leaves.

Since it has already been tried and judged as a winning beer I imagine we'll like it too! look for it in the coming days at RedRock's Bottleshop and better beer bars. 5.5% ABV

Cheers!

Label found at Shipcompliant.com

SLUG's 9th Annul Beer Issue and Utah's NABA Winners

The bitch is back! Sorry for the lack of content over the last ten days, but my ass has been on vacation. Normally I'd try to try to keep updates coming while on holiday, but I'm a little penned-out.

Part of the reason for my writers fatigue comes courtesy of SLUG Magazine's 9th Annual Beer Issue. Myself - along with seven other talented SLUG Mag contributors have put together a shload of local beer stories that spotlight the best of what Utah's craft beer scene has to offer. If you have the time think about picking up this months issue. It's guaranteed to make you thirsty. Or you can check it out here.  Much thanks to SLUG Editor, Alex Ortega for keeping the train on the rails.

Also, I along with over a hundred other judges spent last week judging beers for the North American Brewers Association's Beer Competition. Here's a list of Utah's Winners. for the full list of winners click here.


Bohemian Brewery - Cottonwood Common Bronze

Bonneville Brewing - Antelope Amber Bronze
Bonneville Brewing - Ton Up Silver

Desert Edge Brewing - Schwartz Bier Silver
Desert Edge Brewing - Downhill Dunkle Silver

Epic Brewing - Mid Mountain Mild Gold
Epic Brewing - Galloway Porter Bronze
Epic Brewing - Los Locos Lager Bronze
Epic Brewing - 825 Stout Silver
Epic Brewing - Brainless Belgian Golden Ale Silver
Epic Brewing - Brainless IPA Silver
Epic Brewing - Utah Session Golden Ale Silver
Epic Brewing - Big Bad Baptist Silver

Moab Brewing - Rocket Bike Gold

Mountain West Hard Cider - Ruby Silver
Mountain West Hard Cider - 7 Mile Bronze

Proper Brewing - Proper Beer - Gold

RedRock Brewing - Ginever - Silver
RedRock Brewing - Bobby Brown the Cat Gold
RedRock Brewing - Le Quatra Bronze

Squatters - Chasing Tail Bronze
Squatters - Live and Let Live Gold

Uinta Brewing - Bier de Mars Bronze
Uinta Brewing - 2016 Birthday Suit Bronze
Uinta Brewing - Cucumber Farmhouse Silver

Wasatch Brewery - Last One In Gold
Wasatch Brewery/Oskar Blues - Beerito Silver (Wasatch technically doesn't get credit for this but they should)

Cheers!