New Beer Friday 12/28/18

On a personal note, I'd like to say thanks to all of you that still bother to stop by the Utah Beer Blog for all of you local beer news; even though the content is not as free flowing as it once was, I hope 2019 will allow for more time to get you all of the exclusive beer news that you crave.

This was a record year for Utah's beer scene, we welcomed Toasted Barrel Brewery, SaltFire Brewing Co., Policy Kings Brewery, Cerveza Zólopez Beer Co., T.F. Brewing, Roosters' B Street Brewery and St. George's Silver Reef Brewing Co.; Sugar House's brand new Hopkins Brewing Co. is scheduled to open on Dec. 31. And if all goes as planned you can expect to see at least another 6 or 7 breweries in 2019. So please stay close and please have a safe 2019. Now On to New Beer Friday.

Even in a week where generally nothing happens, you can always rely on a few breweries to step up and get us some new beers. It's not a huge New Beer Friday, but it's enough to wrap up a pretty great year for beer,

2 Row English Brown: This has a beautiful ruby/brown color that is brilliantly clear, with a moderate to thin amount of foam on top. The aroma has plenty of malts with toffee, caramel and nutty bread. Not as nutty as you'd expect from some brown ales. The taste is full of toffee, toasted crackers and some dark fruits from the malt. A nice winter brew that is the perfect change of pace from a brewery that is known for it's hoppy beers. 5.5% - Available at 2 Row

Kiitos Pro/Am Winter Porter: The first of Kiitos’ Pro/Am Series. This 7% Porter is brewed with coconut, coffee and cocoa nibs and was brewed in collaboration with Salt Lake City homebrewer Andrew Frost. Frosted Morning Pow Porter won a gold medal at the 10th Annual Beehive Brewoff. The result is a chocolatey Porter that isn’t too sweet but has notes of coconut and vanilla to round it out. Coffee comes through more as it warms. Very drinkable with alcohol that is well hidden. Damn tasty. Found at Kiitos and Beer Bar.

Ommegang 20th Anniversary: I didn't have the stamina for a 11.1% beer; not to mention it comes in a 750ml bottle. Look for a beer that has dark fruits blended with wood, molasses and a little chocolate with definite bourbon notes. Found at Beer Bar. I'm also hearing it's at some DABC stores.

Cheers!

A Winter Solstice New Beer Friday

It's a special "Resilience" New Beer Friday this week. When Sierra Nevada Brewing Company put the call out to breweries to help raise much needed support for the victims of the California "Camp Fires". Breweries from all over the country stepped up to contribute by producing a special beer that would help fund recovery efforts. The beer is called Resilience IPA. Sierra Nevada, along with Utah's Salt Flats and Uinta Breweries brewed up individual batches of this special beer with 100 percent of the proceeds from each breweries going to this special cause. These beers are limited in supply so don't wait too long or you will miss your chance.

Uinta - Resilience IPA: Pours an amber color with a white head with decent retention and leaves some lacing on the glass. Smells of bready malt and floral, citrusy hops. Citrusy, floral hops lead the way with lots of grapefruit flavor. A bit of sweetness in the strong malt backbone is overshadowed by the firm bitterness. Medium bodied. Available tomorrow at 11am at the Uinta Brewhouse Pub in 32oz Crowlers. Get there early folks because this one will be gone super quick. $8 - all proceeds benefiting the Sierra Nevada Campfire Relief Fund.  Uinta will also be contributing portion of proceeds from items purchased at their retail store and any additional 4.0% Crowler fills to-go from the pub.

Salt Flats - Resilience: Pours a clear copper with a white head. Smells of pine, hops, light citrus, and some malt. Tastes of tons of pine, fresh and bitter hops, light citrus zest, and a nice malt balance. Medium in body and carbonation. Overall a pretty good session IPA. This 4.0% version of Resilience is currently out and available at Salt Flats and the Garage Grill in Draper. As with the Uinta version, 100% of the sales from this beer go to the Sierra Nevada Campfire Relief Fund.

Salt Flats - Tank Slapper Double Rye IPA: Aroma is spicy rye, bready malt, floral and piney hops backed by citrus. Taste is bitter across the tongue with grapefruit, piney and peppery hops. The malt comes in next with the spicy rye and a caramel malt sweetness. The finish is clean, grapefruity and peppery. 9.0%. Available at Salt Flats and the Garage Grill.

Uinta - Experimental IPA: I haven't had this one yet, it will debut this morning. This IPA is loaded with Citra & El Dorado Hops. 6.5%. In an effort to raise more money for the Sierra Nevada Campfire Relief Fund. Uinta is also donating 100% of of the money from this beer as well.

Epic - Experimental NEIPA: from Epic’s R&D department. The aroma is a blend of mango, peach, and other tropical fruit. On the tongue you get mandarin oranges, bananas, and peaches. It's like a sort of tropical fruit punch. The mouth is resinous and sticky. Available in Epic's high point growlers until they last.

Squatters - Outer Daarrgness: This Rum Barrel aged version of Outer Darkness has a nose of cherry, chocolate, rum and maple. The taste is a nice mix of rum, maple syrup, dark fruits, molasses, and milk chocolate. Mouth is nice and full. Overall, an outstanding stout. 11.6%. Available at the Beer Store

Fisher - The Great White: It smells of bitter, and slightly dank pine needles, peppy orange and white grapefruit rind. Crackers and doughy pale malt come next with the addition of leafy and tropical fruit hops. The finish has leafy pine resins. 6.7%. Available at Fisher starting today at 10am. Very Limited.

Proper - Coffee Pale Ale: Definitely starts with big coffee upfront, immediately it transitions into dry malts with floral/piney hops. It’s like having two beers in one glass. Finishes quite dry. Love the coffee selection. 4.0%. Available at Proper.

Zólupez Stout: This malty stout is spiced with three chile peppers (pasilla, del arbol, habanero) each leaving different hints of bitter herbs and citrus. It’s spicy hot and unfiltered, so best to enjoy with food, not alone. Brewed with actual chocolate- your palate with recognize it. Bottle condition fermentation. 6.97%. Available Saturday at Cerveza Zolupez.

Cheers and Hoppy Holidays!

New Beer Friday 12/14/18

Are you wondering if you're actually experiencing New Beer Friday? If so, I'd like to introduce to you the new 'New Beer Friday' test applicator from Utah Beer Labs. Simply drink a beer and pee (not on yourself) on the applicator, then throw it away and check the Utah Beer Blog for updates. Happy Friday!      

Squatters - War on Xmas: This nitro porter is infused with orange and orange peel. The orange part is super subtle with the base beer doing most of the work. The porter is mostly chocolate with a bit of coffee. hints of orange in the finish. Very tasty. 4.0% - Available at Squatters

Kiitos - Holiday Ale: You can smell this one coming a mile a way as cinnamon explodes from the rim of the glass. This basically reminds me of a ginger snap cookie with subtle malts and a lot of spice. It finishes "snappy" and prickly. 4.0% - Available at Kiitos  

Toasted Barrel - Barrel Aged Sour: I missed out on this one, but I hope to have tasting notes later this afternoon when New Beer Friday joins Mick and Allen on KBER101at 3:30pm.

Shades Brewing- O.J. Simcoe: This new IPA is obviously driven with Simcoe hops. It's in that gray area between pale ale and IPA. Lots of citrus fruitiness with light tropical notes. Finishes softly bitter and dry. Super quaffable at 5.5%. Available starting today at Shades Brewing

Proper - Ahern Nut Brown: Nuttty and toasty caramel dominate this ale. Great balance with just enough floral/pine bitterness to balance it out. Finishes with bread like toastiness. Very Yummy. 4.0% - Available at Proper Brewing.

Mare Island - Hydraulic Sandwich: Orange peel and grapefruit in the nose. The taste has a good dose of tropical fruit-like hops with citrus and caramel rounding it out. Medium bitterness in the finish. 7.1% - Available at DABC.

Ritual - Art of Dankness: Aromas of berries, melon and citrus combine with bandy sweet malt. It tastes very sweet and malty up front with notes of fresh bread and sugar. The back end has a fruitiness from the hops that imparts a flavors of berries and fresh grass. Finishes a bit malty. 9.2% - Available at DABC.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/7/18

You won't want to leave your beer unattended this week; as we have great selection of local beers that cover damn near every flavor profile a beer nerd could hope for. Have a great weekend!

Avenues Proper - Ivar the Boneless: This is a Sahti; it's an old world beer style that hails from Finland and normally uses no hops. This beer has a pilsner like feel with hints of must rye and toast. Instead of hop bittereness your met with subtle notes of licorice and anise. As far as I know nobody in the market has ever made a Sahti; It's a beer worth getting to know. 4.0% - Available only at Avenues Proper 

RoHa - Millennium Falcon Pale Ale: The taste is malt-forward - sweet with a roasty touch. A subtle touch of hops give the finish an herbal/leafy dryness to balance the sweetness and the mild roast. 4.0% - Available at RoHa.

2 Row - Jalapeno Sour: A lot of people have been cocking their heads when they hear about this beer. It actually came together just fine. The flavor starts lemony tart; not too bracing as to not be quite so acidic. The pepper element is fairly subtle with the Jalapeno's meat driving the show flavor wise. On a heat scale I'd put this at a solid 4 out of 10. Worth checking out. 5.3% - Available at better beer pubs and of course at 2 Row. 

T.F. Brewing - Schwartzbier: Super dark black body, fluffy off white bubbly head that lingers. Huge roasty aroma and flavor with hints of coffee bean, subtle dark chocolate along with clean and crisp  biscuity malts. A slight hint of floral hops in the finish. A damn tasty black bier. 4.0% - Available at T.F. Brewing. 

Fisher - Ledge Hole IPL: The nose was dominated by citrus hops - grapefruit stood out. The taste copies the nose with citrusy and piney flavors - grapefruit and lemon. Mouth feel is light-medium bodied with a lingering hoppy aftertaste - but not too bitter. Very Nice. 4.0% - Available at Fisher.

Wasatch - Chocolate Coffee Cream: The aroma features wheat crackers and mild coffee. The flavor has notes of milk chocolate, wheat thins, mild coffee and toffee. The mouthfeel is very light with spritzy carbonation. Overall this is a really tasty beer - quite light in body, but with nice layers of flavor, enjoyable like a light coffee drink. 4.0% - Available in cans at the Utah Brewers Cooperative.

Tune in to KBER 101 as we discuss these and other beers with Mick and Allenat at 3:30pm today.

Cheers!

Utah Breweries Brew Resilience IPA For "Camp Fire" Relief

Salt Flats and Uinta Brewing have joined in a nation-wide fundraising effort created by Sierra Nevada Brewery to support the impacted by the “The Camp Fire” in Paradise, California. 

As you may know, on November 8th, the Camp Fire broke out near the town of Paradise, California, and within minutes raged through the community, obliterating a football field per second of everything in its path, destroying nearly 10,000 homes, killing many residents and leveling the town

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. has created a beer called Resilience India Pale Ale, and asked other breweries to join in the effort; Utah's Own Salt Flats Brewing and Uinta Brewing have answered the call.
of 27,000 people. It is the most destructive wildfire in California's history.
Both breweries  have already brewed their versions of Resilience IPA and each brewery will allocate 100% of the total sales of this special IPA and donate to support those who have been impacted by
The Camp Fire.

Both Salt Flats and Uinta brewed Resilience IPA on November 27th and will have it available on or around December 14, 2018.

Look for the Salt Flats version at Toscano, Garage Grill, and Salt Flats Taproom while Uinta's can be found at their Brew House Pub.



Kudos to the Salt Flats and Uinta for getting on board with this special brew.


Cheers!