The Zion Curtain Bill Revealed to be a Dissaster

Only in Utah can you take a shitty law that 70% of the people hate and find a way to make it even worse. That's happened to the newly unveiled Zion Curtain bill. After being revealed yesterday, the specifics of HB442, a bill that was supposed to bring sanity back to the restaurant industry was revealed to have an insane amount of modifications that turned the bill into a massive steaming pile of shit. Included in this petty and spiteful piece of legislation is:

• A restructuring of the licenses for restaurants and bars, further separating the two.
• Shrinking the distance restaurants that serve liquor must be from community locations like churches and schools.
• Mandatory ID checks for anyone who sits in a "dispensary area" where alcohol is poured.
• No more than two drinks before a patron at a time.
• Beer labels must comply to a state standard, including making sure there is no confusion between a malted beverage and a soda pop.
• Creates a pair of anti-underage drinking programs in eighth and 10th grades.
• More training for waiters, bartenders and restaurants.
• The Utah Department of Public Safety will do more to track sales to underage people.
• "Booze carts" are forbidden.
• Beer in grocery and convenience stores will be limited in where it can be displayed (to one or two areas).
• A hike of 2% in the cost of liquor.

 Some of the major sticking point with those in the restaurant industry would be the newly conceived "Zion Zone" that would that would protrude 20 plus feet away from the restaurant's bar, compromising the size of the main dining area. The other bullshit is that "restructuring of the licenses" that would dismantle the gray area's that separate bars and restaurants. This would force places like Red Rock and Squatters to choose between their liquor licences and their customer's children.

As it stands, this bullshit compromise is no compromise. It's a reminder to you normal adults that those (Latter Day Saints) in the legislature are still in charge and you are nothing more than a guest in your own home. Don't let this pass as it's currently written - it could still change. Please keep your eyes on this closely and act appropriately.

If that not enough to send you over the edge, we must also work to defeat HB155 the 0.05 BAC bill, which is of great concern as it would make criminals out of responsible restaurant patrons who enjoy an alcoholic beverage with their meal, negatively impact the restaurant industry and image of our state. Please help out in smashing HB155. This bill has already passed the house and is will be up for committee in the Senate. THESE BILLS CURRENTLY THREATENS TO PASS INTO LEGISLATION! We need to focus our attention on the senate NOW. Please click this link: https://le.utah.gov/GIS/findDistrict.jsp to find out who your Senator is and contact them today! Stay united, finish this year strong and we will have an unprecedented 2017 session. For more information please see the talking points below.

New Beer Friday - Fisher Edition

Not only is it New Beer Friday, but it's New Brewery Friday as well. After nearly a year of waiting the A. Fisher Brewing Company officially (re)opens to the public tomorrow. The Fisher boys hope to have 12 beers on tap by Saturday morning, I have some tasting notes on most of those - some won't be tapped until Saturday morning. Let's get to it! Note: The Fisher Beers go on sale to the public on Saturday 2/25

Fisher Classic Pilsner - Great toasty cracker flavors with some sweet dough. The hops are asertive with grass and hebal bitterness. I guess it's appropriate that the flagship brand be the most tasty and interesting. 4.0% ABV

Fisher Red Ale - On the fruitier side for a re ale. Look for caramel malts with some slight berry notes along with complimentary tropical hops. One of the more popular beers of the night. 4.0% ABV

Fisher Pale Ale - Sadly, never got around to this one - and I'm a pale ale nut! 4.0% ABV

Fisher Hefeweizen - Straight-up classic banana and clove here. The yeast is running the show with beer. delish! 4.0% ABV

Fisher Porter - Roasty and bold as you'd expect, with some unexpected liquorish notes. Not quite to style but enjoyable non the less. 4.0% ABV

Fisher Hoppy Lager - This lager is a vienna at it's base and has a good dose of vanilla malts with big herbal/grassy hops punching out. A nice IPL. 4.0% ABV

Fisher White IPA - There's a very aromatic nose of citrus peel here, along with light biscuit malt. The hops finish it off with nice citrus and tropical flavors. Very nice! 4.0% ABV

Fisher Cascadian Dark Ale - Me no have.... 4.0% ABV

Proper Brewing Lime Cheeks Mexican Style Vienna Lager - The malts suggest corn, though there is none. The hops are grassy with a bit of spiciness. Subtle lime tartness rounds out the back end. Easily crushable. 4.0% ABV @ Proper Brewing

Bohemian Bremish Gold - slightly tart sweet brown malt. Nice lemony tartness, combined with a bit of light toffee malts. The result is a brilliantly modest but balanced tart beer. Well worth you time. 4.0% ABV @ Bohemian

Base Camp 4th Anniversary Barrel Aged Imperial Saison - I thought was going to be a phenolic bomb, happily it isn't. there's plenty of saison here but the rest is pleasant vine berries aged in vague red wine barrels. the alcohol is very well hidden as well. 10.5% ABV @ Beer Bar, Beerhive,

Prost!

The A. Fisher Brewing Co. "Re-opens" This Weekend

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last year, we here in Utah's craft beer community have been waiting patiently for the resurrection of one of Utah's most iconic breweries from the 19th and 20th Centuries, the A. Fisher Brewing Co. Originally founded in 1886 by German immigrant Albert Fisher, the Fisher Brewing Co. operated in SLC for 76 years - 80 if you count the years it operated as Lucky Lager Brewing. This gives Fisher the honor of being Utah's longest lived brewery ever. Even more impressive it managed to survive the prohibition dark ages from 1920 - 1933.

This Saturday begins a new chapter in Fisher's life as the brewery returns after a 57 year drought. Look for a wider array of beers than was previously available from the old brewery, including Fisher's iconic Lager, which will always be on tap.

The beer begins to flow at 11am on Saturday with various food trucks arriving throughout the day to take care of your noshing needs. Fisher's new place is located at 320 w. 800 s. in Salt Lake City. If you're feeling nostalgic after your stay at the brewery on Saturday, I invite you to visit the old Fisher Mansion - the location of the original brewery (located at 1206 W. 200 S. in Salt Lake City, Utah) and "spill a little" in honor of this happy day.

Stay close, I'll try to have an update for you on what beers will be available this weekend. Cheers to Tom (Albert's descendant), Colby, Steve and Tim for a job well done!

Prost!

New Beer Friday

Sorry New Beer Friday is a little late today, two homicides this morning have been messing with my blog time. Anyway, here ya go!

Hopworks Long Root Ale - It has a musty tangerine peel aroma with a taste that is semi-malty with a spiciness that may be the kernza. There's a nice mellow fruity taste as well with a bit of mosaic like hops. Nice pale ale. 5.5% ABV @ Beer Bar

2 Row Mosaic Random - The nose is full of melon, grapefruit, berries and pine. The taste is tropical and citrus. I get a little bit of malt, and touch of piney bitterness at the end but it's mainly juicy tropical hops and a little tartness, lemon peel. Another winner from Utah's IPA Machine. 8.5% ABV @ 2 Row, soon to better beer bars.

Stone Jindia Double IPA - The nose has Juniper, vague berries, grapefruit, and caramel. The taste is a muddled mash up of ginger, lemon and juniper with a bit of citrus peel to balance it out. You definitely get a gin feel from the juniper, but the ginger and lemon grass turn it into a spice bomb. If you love ginger? I'd give this a try. It's not quite my jam. 8.7% ABV @ Beerhive

Stone Pataskala Red IPA- The nose has a lot of malt and toffee with pine and orange peel. The taste is very malt forward as well, with a bit of spicy hops and big dry maltiness. Pine dominates the hop profile with a bit of citrus underneath. Finishes fairly dry. This may be more IPA than a Red. It's okay. 7.3% ABV @ BeerHive

Stone Give Me IPA or Give Me Death - The nose has berries mixed with citrus fruits and earthy tones. The taste starts bitter up front with a nice blend of raspberries, blackberries, pine, and herbal hops. The fruit is subtle but present, it works very well with the hops. The malts are spot on and provide a nice balance to this beer. Finishes semi-dry. My favorite of the new Stone releases. 8.0% ABV. @ BeerHive

Cheers!

Valentine's Day Sours for the Sweet!

Valentine's Day is generally reserved for the sweet. Not this year, if you're a beer geek and and really want to impress your significant other then today is all about those sour of heart. Today, we have two beer releases; and trust me, even if you don't have anyone to cause your lips to pucker today, these beers will fill the bill, nicely.

Epic's Oak and Orchard Sour - This brand new beer is a dark sour with plum is aged in whiskey barrels and blended with party of souring critters to create a fruity and puckering ale that will get your lips smacking in more ways that one. Epic has about 1000 bottle available in Utah, so there's no need to stampede the bottle shop, but if I know you guys, you're already lining up. Epic opens today at 11am.

The 2017 Rêve is also being released today at all Red Rock Brewpubs (Downtown, Fashion Place and Park City Junction). However, RedRock's Beer Store release will be delayed this year, and is currently scheduled for Saturday, February 25th at .11:00am. In case your're not familiar, Rêve is a Belgian Style Tripel aged in Oak and is inoculated with Brettanomyces and Bruxellensis yeast strains add a snappy tartness to this beer. The 2017 Rêve is available in 750ml and 500ml bottles. 10.3%ABV.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 2/10/17

Well, it's not really biggly today, but I did find three new brews for you. Hang in there, it's nearly the weekend.

Shades of Pale's Double Trouble -  Pours out a nice, rich golden color, with small, soft, fluffy head. Hops dominate the aroma, some nice citrus, fruity sweetness. Taste continues with more of the hop forward flavors, some juicy tropical fruits. Lingering bitter bite with a slightly boozy finish. 10% ABV @ Shades of Pale

Desert Edge's Cluster Fuggle - This is an unfiltered  California Common (Steam) beer brewed with Cluster and Fuggle hops. The aroma is slightly fruity with toasty malt. The flavor is grainy malt with subdued floral hops and a dry finish. Medium bitterness balances the sweet malt flavor for a malty but dry copper colored beer. 4.0% ABV @ Desert Edge

Desert Edge's ALTernative Facts - This is a German Altbier brewed with large portions of Vienna and Munich malts. The aroma is full of sweet grainy malt. This beer is malty with the flavors of light toast and bread crust and a hint of spicy hops. Overall a malty German amber ale with assertive bitterness and dry finish. 4.0% ABV @ Desert Edge

I'm sure I missed something. What did you find out there?

Cheers!

Uinta's Rotating Park Series Golden Ale

Over the last couple of months we've been previewing Uinta's new Golden Ale that will feature rotating tributes to the diverse and the natural beauty that our National Park system promotes and protects. 

While the beer inside the can will remain the same, the outer packaging will feature a rotating line-up of National Parks. Brewed with Carapils and Crystal malts and a moderate addition of Willamette and Sterling hops, Uinta’s Golden Ale is described as being approachable and refreshing with an ABV of 5.3%. 

Golden Ale Park Series is hoped to be available in six-pack cans at the brewery and Utah State

Liquor stores by late February 2017 pending Utah State approvals (because the DABC is brilliantly efficient). Utah’s own, Arches National Park, is scheduled to be third in the rotating series. Uinta hopes state approvals will happen ahead of Arches release. The beer is currently being distributed across Uinta’s 37-State distribution footprint.

#parkbeer from Uinta Brewing on Vimeo.

Cheers!

Shades of Pale's New Double Trouble DIPA

Tomorrow, Shades of Pale will be releasing Double Trouble, their newest IPA. This new IPA is a Northeast Style DIPA that dials in at 10% ABV. This beer is described as having incredible grapefruit aroma, with citrus fruits flavors and medium bitterness - extremely juicy, super fruity and boast a high drinkability (At 10%, I'd not test that theory with out Lyft).   

This new DIPA will go on sale Thursday morning and it will be packaged in 12 oz bottles. If you want to take some home to the "man cave" or the "she shed" you'll only be able to purchase them at the brewery.

Prost!

Baja Brewing Coming in 2017

Baja, California's first craft brewery will be sending their unique styles of craft beer to Utah in the coming months. "Since its inception in 2007, Baja Brewing Company has been pushing the boundaries of Mexican beer". Says, Jordan Gardenhire, Founder and Brewmaster of Baja Brewing Company. The company’s mission from the start was to bring a craft brewing culture to Mexico similar to that in Colorado, where Gardenhire first began brewing beer while in college at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

With three brewpubs in Los Cabos, BBC features eight different beer styles, plus seasonal beers, focusing on all-natural and local ingredients. The brewery distributes throughout Southern Baja and Mexico and in 2012, entered the U.S. market with its flagship blonde ale, Cabotella (CAH-bo-TAY-uh), a play on words meaning “Cabo in a bottle.” In early 2016, BBC began importing its Mexican IPA, which is named Peyote Pale Ale in Mexico but called Por Favor in the U.S.

Besides Utah, look for BBC's to appear in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Illinois. As soon as deals are finalized, we'll provide the when and where.

Salude!

New Beer Friday 2/3/17

My self imposed beer exile is finally over - And just in time, because there a shload of new stuff covering the board this week.

RedRock India Red Lager - Haven't tried this one yet. Look for Fruity caramel malts with big citrus hops. 4.0% ABV @ RedRock Downtown

RedRock Lady Ga Gose - Lemon tartness with a moderate amount of sodium bite. A nice Gose. 4.0% ABV @ RedRock

Ballast Point Red Velvet Nitro - Not tried this one yet. The deep red color comes from beets, which add a rich, earthy character that complements the chocolate flavor and aroma. The foamy head of the nitro pour is the “icing”, adding a creamy smoothness to the mouthfeel. But this liquid dessert still finishes like a beer – not sweet, but just as satisfying. 5.5% ABV @ Beer Bar, Slackwater

Ballast Point Manta Ray - The nose has lots of tropical fruits. Mango, papaya, passion fruit, and some citrus. The taste is more citrusy with some tropical fruit notes. Bitterness at the end with some pine. A bit boozey. Some toasted malts. 8.5% ABV @ Beer Bar

Deschutes Black Butte XXVIII - The nose is a blend of coffee, raisins, chocolate, bourbon, prune and alcohol. The taste is a complex blend of chocolate, coffee, bourbon, oak, raisins, apricots, pine and vanilla. Very nice addition to the series. 11.5% ABV  @ DABC, BeerHive

Desert Edge Waimea IPA - This is a session IPA brewed with Waimea hops from New Zealand and a bit of citra in the dry hop. The aroma is mango and citrus. The flavor is the same with underlying grassy and botanical flavors with a hint of ripe melon. The malt flavor has just enough bready malt and light caramel to balance the hops. A firm bitterness keeps all the fruity flavors in check for highly drinkable session IPA. 4.0% ABV @ Desert Edge

Melvin Lambda3 - Brewed with 4+ lbs of Simcoe and Mosaic hops per barrel, then double dry-hopped. Flavors of peach, stone fruit, and herbal forest. 11.0% ABV @ Beer Bar, BeerHive, Slackwater

Melvin Drunken Master - The nose has pine resin with peach, melon and mango. The taste is slightly sweet with mild hints of toffee/caramel, heavy tropical fruits, hernal hops finishing with a moderate hop bitterness. @ Beer Bar, BeerHive, Slackwater

Melvin Citradamus - A lot of tangerine and grapefruit happening here with a good deal of tropical fruits as well. Malts subtle and caramely  9.0% @ Beer Bar, BeerHive, Slackwater

Great Divide Barrel Aged Yeti -  The Nose has chocolate, roasted malt, toffee, raisins, plums and figs. The taste is similar with the addition of a very sweet base. It tends to take away from the barrel that is already a bit subtle. Needs more of those bourbon/vanilla/coconut flavors that you want in a BBS. 12.5% ABV @ Beer Bar

Sierra Nevada Sidecar - This beer has a pop of bright orange flavor that emphasizes the natural citrus-heavy character of Cascade, Equinox and Mandarina hops. Brewed with orange peel added directly to the kettle, and all the classic hop flavor you'd come to expect from our all-new take on the hop-forward fruit beer. @ Beer Bar 

Sierra Nevada Tropical Torpedo - Mmango, papaya, and passion fruit dominate this version of Torpedo. 6.7% ABV @ Beer Bar

Squatters Outer Darkness Cans  Not new, but it is in new packaging. Handy-dandy 12 oz. cans!

Cheers!