New Beer Friday 6/28/19

Dust off that cassette case and get out your favorite make-out tape because you're definitely going to get frisky and loose after checking out this week's New Beer Friday offerings. Yes, I know that I'm dating myself....
 
TF Brewing - Rye or Die: So, I’m just going to say it. This beer absolutely looks different. Rye is an oily grain; much more than barley or wheat. If you take the time you’ll notice that this beer has a different groove in appearance and flavor. This lager has fuller mouthfeel that has a hint of spicy rye rye up front. Toasty grains and herbal hops round it out; providing a clean finish. Super drinkable. This is an excellent summer lager. 4.0% - Available at TF Brewing. 

TF Squirrel: This “fruity” IPA is a straight up New England style IPA that has that super turbid appearance that the fans of haze crave. The aroma is full of wonderful citrus peel qualities (mostly grapefruit). Taste wise it follows the nose pretty close with addition of orange pith, mango and pineapple. There’s very little bitterness, but what bitters I do detect come off as dry ruby red grapefruit peel. Alcohol is well hidden. Very nice. 6.5% - Available at TF Brewing starting today.

Roosters - El Doce: I missed out on this Mexican style lager. 4.0% - Available at Roosters' locations

Epic - Baptist Reserve 2019: This is a blend of all of the BBB variants that were made in 2018, the standard BBB, Baptista and Quad Barrel BBB. Look for a silky fudge brownie beer with coffee and bourbon that offers up just a tinge of cinnamon in the finish. 11.7% - Available starting today at Epic in SLC.

Epic - Pakka Berry Seltzer: Pakka is a new brand of alcoholic seltzers that are coming soon from Epic. This has a deep Rosé color and has a flavors that is full of vague berries. Like many alcoholic seltzers this is very light and dry with prickly carbonation. It was gone before I knew it. Made with real berries. Best alcoholic seltzer I’ve had. 4.5% - Limited growlers available at Epic Brewing.

Hopkins - Solstice Lager: There's a heavy amount of toast here that almost comes of as roastiness. The hops are mostly floral with some citrus peel qualities. It has a somewhat vegital finish that is somewhat dry. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins.

Wasatch Top of Main Belgian Dark Strong Ale: Missed out on this one. Look for it later today at Wasatch's Park City brewery and possible the UBC's West Side Tavern in SLC. 10.3% only 160 cases available. So... don’t “F” it up. You'll probably want to get on this one sooner than later.

Wasatch Treeline Mountain IPA: Screw New England and screw the West Coast. Wasatch is contributing to the exploding "Mountain Style IPA". Yes, I said Mountain IPA. These IPAs are more pine & berry based; reflecting the flavors of the Rockies for this new and emerging style. This IPA has medium to light body with a lighter hop profile that has notes of melon, berry and piny/resinous finish. It's super crushable and a welcome change of pace. 6.0% - Found at the UBC's West Side Tavern in SLC.

Wasatch Devastator Brandy Barrel: Boozy aroma with dark fruits. The taste follows with more brandy that transitions into chewy Christmas fruit cake and toffee. A big dose of raisin and dates hits the tongue next with cocoa and bread pudding rounding out the complex flavors. This is a wonderful barrel aged dopple bock that really is really worth checking out. 10.8% - Found at the UBC's West Side Tavern in SLC.

Don't forget that tomorrow is the Utah Brewers Guild Festival. Get your tickets online or at the gate 

And in a programing note: New Beer Friday on KBER 101 is moving to 2:30pm on Fridays instead of 3:30. Check us out on the radio or online.

Cheers!

Founders Is Coming to Utah

Better late than never, eh? Founders Brewing Company announced Wednesday that they were adding Utah to their distribution footprint; making the beehive state their 49th territory (only Hawaii remains).

Founders will be partnering with two wholesalers, General and Wasatch Distributors,” said CEO and Co-Founder Mike Stevens. “For years, craft beer enthusiasts have been asking us to bring them Founders and, with the recent changes made by the state legislature to increase allowable ABVs to 5%, that time has come. Founders is a perfect fit for Utah’s recreational climate and gives us more reason to spend time in such a beautiful state.”

When the ABV law changes this November, you can count on seeing (at the very least) All Day IPA in grocery and C-stores in addition to draft at on-premise retail accounts. Look for other other Founders favorites include, Backwoods Bastard, Dirty Bastard and Rubaeus Raspberry Ale to eventually hit bars, restaurants and DABC stores. 

You can plan on seeing Founders' suds in the next few weeks (mid July). Anyone one have thoughts on this new entry into the market?

Cheers!

The Innagural Utah Brewers Guild Festival

This Saturday The Utah Brewers Guild will be hosting a unique beer festival in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City. There are a few things that make this beer festival unique: It's put on by the breweries to support brewery causes; such as independent beer festivals, beer gatherings and pro Utah beer causes.

Also, it's one of the first brew fests to take advantage of downtown SLC's urban settings by utilizing the seclusion and charm of the city's Regent Street.

Finally, this is a collaboration beer festival. All of the participating breweries have teamed up with one and other to make a special beer that will only be available at the festival. A part from the collaboration beers you will also have the opportunity to try other high and low point beers from the local attendees.

There are two ticket tiers:
VIP Admission includes a swag bag and early access to the event’s exclusive brews before the kegs kick! VIP is from 1-6 pm.
General Admission is from 2-6pm.

Each ticket includes 12, 3oz. tasters and can be purchased here. Feel free to purchase mor etickets if you feel that not enough.

It looks like there will be two Key Lime Milkshake IPAs going head to head. Which will prevail as the festival favorite? Keep track and let your opinion be known!

Food trucks and live music will also be on site.

Sorry kiddos, this is a 21+ only event. 

If you'd like to volunteer for the event, sign up here!

McCarthey Plaza is on Regent Street (the alley parallel to State and and Main Streets, behind the Eccles theater in downtown Salt Lake City).

To the right is a list of the breweries and their collaboration beers. Hope to see you there.

Cheers!

Saltfire's Guest Tap Program

In an act of craft beer based altruism, Saltfire Brewing Company will be teaming up with local breweries to serve up draft beers at their South Salt Lake City brewery. As many of you know, Saltfire brews exclusively high point beer (above 4.0%) - which means that they have no draft handles in their brewhouse's pub.

Beginning this Friday, June 28th. you're going to start seeing beers from Proper Brewing Co. at Salfire in a tap takeover format that will happen for an undermined amount of time. These tap takeovers will periodically feature different beers from various local brewers over the next few months. In between the special tap takeovers you'll be able to find various guest taps with beers that the Salfire crew deem "complimentary" to their current bottle section. The first tap takeover will run from 6-10pm.

What a great idea! It's stuff like this that helps to solidify a strong, local craft beer community.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday: Summer Solstice Edition

Welcome to summer! It's currently 48 degrees as I write this. Luckily, our beer selections today will fit the bill, no matter the temperature. Happy New Beer Friday!

Park City - Belgian White: This witbier has a nose full of wheat bread aromas along with a hint of lemon peel. It's more hefeweizen-like. Taste wise the yeast is a bit more prevalent with some minor yeast phenols adding a bit of spiciness. The Belgian character doesn't really come out too much in this, so depending on your love for witbiers this may, or may not work for you. Clean taste. 4.0% - Should be popping up in most grocery stores.

Shades - Brut IPA: Super clear and golden in color. Some faint citrus peel in the aroma with very little else. The taste is bone dry. All of the sugar were pretty much wiped out creating a super dry IPA that has just a touch citrus and floral bitterness. Of all of the bruts that I've had, this is by far the brutiest. Highly drinkable, and with all of that sugar zapped away, it's very low in calories. 4.0% - Available on draft at Shades. 

Shades Citrus Bomb Kveik: Looks and smells like citrus juice. Little to no head retention. Upon first swig you get a lot citrus twang that is nice and mouth watering. Sweetness is moderate to low; it's  like a dry alcoholic version of Sunny D. made with tangerine, grapefruit, blood orange and Citra hops. 6.0% - Available at Shades and your better craft beer pubs.

Shades Premium Lager: This lager has a nice spicy and grassy Saaz hop aroma. The taste follows the nose, with a good balance of biscuit malts and somewhat faint citrus hops. There's also a certain herbal grassiness, with light spicy notes as well. Finishes with a light bitterness and light herbal/spicy note lingering in the aftertaste. 4.0% - This draft beer is supposed to debut today at Shades.

Wasatch - Top of  Main Series BA English Style Barley Wine: This new barley wine was aged in pino noir barrels. It has a aomas of light caramel, biscuits, malt sugars and very light red wine notes.
The taste is similar to the nose. Loads of sweet toffee and caramel with prune and a hint of pecan. An almost port like red wine flavor comes next with a little bit of oak and vanilla rounding it out. It has a nice aged quality already. Alcohol seems fairly weel hidden. Very nice.10.4% - Found at Wasatch Park City and the West Side Tavern in SLC.

Wasatch  - Top of  Main Series BA Baltic Porter: This Baltic was aged in brandy barrels. The nose has a good dose of cocoa and spicy wine, with a hint of booze. The taste starts off with pleasant notes of roasted malt and caramel. Cocoa and vague dark fruits emerge next combining with the brandy barrel for a spicy vinous twang. The end is dry with a hint of lingering heat. Nice and complex. 9.9% - Found at Wasatch Park City and the West Side Tavern in SLC.

Illuminated Brew Works - Brony: The nose was dry with light citrus peel and vague fruits. Taste wise the beer has melon, strawberry and caramel up front with tangerine peel bitterness. The fruitiness is suble as lingers in the background for the most part - letting the bitterness do a fair amount of the heavy lifting. The finish has a light fruitiness with little lingering bitterness. A tasty IPA. 7.0% - Found at Beer Bar and Bayou.

Cheers!

New Brews Soon For You: Saltfire, Wasatch, Kiitos, Red Rock

We haven't had a New Brews Soon for You in a while, This edition has a pretty interesting lot of beers that soon will be on our beer horizons, sooner than later (we hope).

Pictured above is Saltfire's Mobius Trip. This is a golden ale that is currently relaxing in Chardonnay barrels in the South salt Lake brewery's beer spa. Local cherries were also added to add extra depth to what appears to be Salfire's first barrel aged sour. Damn! my mouth is watering just talking about it. That artwork is badass as well, I need that on a t-shirt. This beer will finish at a respectable 8.0%. Stay Tuned.

Second on our beer preview is Red Rock's Otto. This will be an American style Imperial Pilsner. It will dial in at 7.0% and feature a hop profile that will scream 'American Hops'. Look for a sweet malt character with tropical fruits and citrus in stead of the traditional grassy and herbal hop profile. Look for it down the road in Red Rock's 500 ml. bottles. Sounds tasty!

Wasatch is looking to fill the hoppy void creating an IPA that sits
between the West Coast style, New England style and the Session Style. I imagine that Treeline is the beer that Wasatch hopes will bring together all of the IPA factions into one shining 12 ounce can. My previous experiences with Wasatch's latest IPAs tell me that this will be a complex IPA for sure and I'm definitely on board with the lower 6.0% ABV.  Yes!

Finally on our preview tour is a farewell beer from Kiitos, dedicated to Real Salt Lake's Nick Rimando. This is Rimando's final season in the MLS and Kiitos is sending him into his farewell season with this special Rimondo's pale ale. This will be a 5.0% beer and it will be packaged in Kiitos' 500 ml. cans. As Real's season is already underway, I imagine that it won't be too long before we start seeing this pale ale on the shelves at Kiitos. Rimndo previously made a witbier with Epic Brewing a few years back, I guess Rimando and craft beer is a timeless combination.

Remember these are previews of what's coming to Utah's beer market and are not on sale yet. When they are, we'll get you the info you'll need. Stay close for more new brews that will be coming soon for you.

Cheers!

Images found at shipcomplient.com

Be Prepared for No 5% Beer on November 1st

When the ABV in Utah's beer make the climb from 4.0% to 5.0% in November be prepared for the inevitable hiccup that will accompany it. If your planning on walking into your favorite grocery or C-store November 1st, and plan on grabbing some newly amplified brews, you may have to wait a few days.

Due to an oversight, the state of Utah has made no plans to allow grocery stores to stock-up their inventories in preparation for the big switch. Basically: it will be illegal for stores to possess 5.0% beer until the actual day of the switch.

This will create a massive overload on stores, distributors and breweries that self distribute. Just imagine the cluster fuck of people clambering into stores expecting to buy new brands or newly reformulated beers, only to be met with the same selection or empty shelves.

There are basically two ways to avoid this. First: Amend the law (in special session) to allow for a grace period for grocery stores to stock up for the switch. Second: Allow the stores a week to stock up with a promise from the DABC to not to prosecute during that proceeding week (assuming stores don't try to sell it). Option two seems less likely, given it would set a precedent in 'looking the other way'.

I guess this post is meant to prepare you for the disappointment of no new 5.0% beers on November, 1st - and less about torches and pitchforks headed towards capitol hill. Let's face it, poorly written alcohol laws are a mainstay of Utah, like fry sauce and carrots in green jello. We'll keep an eye open on this to see if a fix is put into place.

Cheers! 

Photo Courtesy Westword/Johnathan Shikes

New Beer Friday 6/14/19

In an effort to help you avoid a "melt down", our intrepid New Beer Friday team has scoured the six corners of our state to bring you this comprehensive quench list of tasty (and mostly local) brews.

In addition to New Beer Friday, there are a couple of beer festival happening around the Wasatch Front. Ogden's Wee Beer Festival is happening this Saturday from 3 - 9pm. Look for 45+ local craft brews, food trucks, yard games, and more. Ticket prices: $12.00 includes a 4 oz. sample glass and three beer tickets.

Snowbird's 11th Annual Brewfest is happening Saturday and Sunday with 30+ local and regional brews, live music and food including a Father's Day BBQ on Sunday. Oh yeah, and you can still ski the mountain.

Wasatch - Soop Joose: This sooper juicy (get it?) IPA has a nose filled with orange, grapefruit, peach and floral hops.  The taste is lightly sweet and complex. There is grapefruit, orange, peach and floral components. Finishes with a nice pithy bitterness. Light and creamy in the mouth. 7.0% - Available at West Side Tavern and all Wasatch/Squatters locations

Epic - Utah Session Wit: The flavor profile exhibits a fine balance of citric acidity and grainy, bready wheat sweetness. The spicing is agreeable and understated; coriander melding seamlessly with static clove notes and phenol undertone. Orange peel provides more pithy bitterness rather than flavor, and serves to offset residual sweetness, lending a quenching near-dryness. A very nice witbier. 4.0% - Available at most Grocery/C-stores.

Silver Reef - Color Country Red: Light caramel, toasted biscuit, nuttiness, herbal, grass with light pear and spicy Belgian yeast. The nose is pleasant with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malt and earthy hops. 4.0%  - Available at East Liberty Tap House, Craft by Proper,

Silver Reef - Agua De Deablo: Missed out on this one. 4.0% - Available at East Liberty Tap House 

Proper - Haka Juicy Pale Ale: The beer hits with a piney bitterness surrounded by that zesty blood orange flavor, with some light bready malts moving the beer along. The finish is dry as the bitter comes back in towards the finish with earthy bitterness. 4.0% - Available at Proper, Craft by Proper.

Hopkins - Stonewall Sour Saison: Lacto aroma with some stone fruits. Taste is moderately tart with some saison yeast spices.  The funkier aspects have a tough time cutting through the sour but it's there. Quenchable. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins

UTOG The OG Juice: This one just became available yesterday at the brewery. No notes yet. 5.5% - Available at UTOG.

Toasted Barrel Andy's Ale: Brewed to help celebrate the 60th birthday of Andy the Condor. This beer is a black rye saison and it was released at the brewery yesterday. 6.3% - Available at Toasted Barrel

Ex Novo/Culmination - Relief Society: Only a brewer from Utah could come up with this name. Made with LDS hops (Laurel, Denali and Simcoe) this IPA has nice citrus qualities with a moderate amount of bitterness. 8.0% - Found at Beer Bar.

Ex Novo - The most Interesting Lager in the World: It's not the most interesting lager in the world but it is a very nice pilsner that is super tasty and worth checking out. 5.0% - Found at Beer Bar

Rogue - Marionberry Sour: Musty and jammy with a bit of dry sourness. Lingering berry flavors continue on through to the finish. It's actually quite nice. 6.5% - Found at the Bayou and at select DABC.

Lagunitas - Phase Change: Nice aroma of mild tropical fruits and citrus. The taste follows with more citrus caramel malts and a nice hop bite in the end. Finish is mild with a hint of tartness.Damn tasty. 7.4% - Found at the Bayou, Slackwater and at select DABC.

Cheers!

Surly Beers in Utah

Good news for fans of Surly Brewing Company; the famed Minneapolis based brewery is headed to the beehive state. Earlier this week our friends at Utah Craft announced that they have inked a deal that will bring in the makers of Todd the Axeman, Coffee Bender, and Darkness to our thirsty boarders.

For now, Utah Craft will distributing Todd the Axeman IPA to beer establishments only; you know, as they get the ball rolling. As sales solidify, I imagine their selection will increase - along with the addition of special orders. Look for Surly's Todd the Axeman IPA in July, 2019.

Cheers!

Summer Tap Take Overs at Main Street Social

Main St. Social, one of Heber Utah's preeminent craft beer spots is looking to educate Wasatch County's beer drinkers on the some of the best of what Utah's breweries have to offer. This summer Main St. Social has developed a beer garden on their outdoor patio, based on the concept of revolving tap takeovers. Every two weeks the Heber pub is partnering with a Utah brewery and will exclusively feature their beer both on draft as well as their high point offerings. Currently Main St. Social has eight breweries in the rotation and a few of those are even creating brewery exclusives for their beer garden. 

Representatives from each brewery will be available at each brewery's opening night (Thursdays).  offering insights into the beers and what inspired them.
 
Right now the schedule is:

Park City Brewery - June 6th

Kiitos - June 20th

RoHa - July 5th

Proper - July 19th

Shades - August 1st

(more breweries and dates to come)

Main St. Social is offering 4oz tasters of all draft beers (in addition to standard pints) and trying to feature a few exotic beers you won't typically see in Heber (like Lake Effect, the tasty Proper gose).

Each "tap take over" will run for two weekends and be open Thursday - Saturday 5pm until 9pm and Sunday from 11am to 2pm during their brunch service. Park City Brewery's tap takeover is currently happening with many of their current offering on draft and in cans. 

 

Main St. Social's goal is to highlight Utah's craft beer scene while exposing people in their community to experience beers outside their comfort zone. 

If you're in the neighborhood check out this great venue and the opportunity to expand you beer horizons. Cheers!

New Beer Friday 06/07/19

Boy, you miss one New Beer Friday and people start sending out the rescue dogs. Thanks for the concern though, everything is fine, I just went on vacation. This week we're back - big as ever with new suds to help get your weekend rolling.

Kiitos - Barrel Select Imperial Stout: Starts off with the sweet bourbon over roasted coffee and cocoa bean. The taste replicates the aroma boozy bourbon sweetness that slides into the finish. On the palate, this one sits at about a medium body with a great sipping quality about it.This is a beast at 13.2% - Available at Kiitos.

Kiitos - Huell Melon Pale: Named for the hops used, this pale ale starts with a grassy, euro-hop profile that then transitions into green melon rind. The malt sweetness is light and complimentary. Finishes quite bitter. 4.0% - Available at Kiitos.  

2 Row - Extra: This copper hued lager has a light grain sweetness, that is also vaguely nutty and toasty. The hops are nice and floral with a hint of spice. This is super crushable and a highly drinkable lager. 5.0% - Available at  2 Row.

Fisher - Doc Sarvis: This pale ale has a grassy hop character, almost noble-like hop flavor with citrus peel and pineapple. It's got a nice hop flavor that turns a bit spicy towards the finish. 4.0% - Available at Fisher.

UTOG/Zolupez - Mandarina Kolsch: This new collaboration between Ogden's newest beer purveyors was just released yesterday, Sadly I missed it. Mandarina Bavaria hops have an intense pineapple, lemon and citrus flavors with a resinous, herbal followup. Should be tasty brew. 4.0% - Available at UTOG. 

Talisman 3rd Anniversary Ale: This Flanders Red Wild Sour Ale was aged for 15 months in Pinot Noir Wine Barrels from Talisman Wines in Northern California. It will be released today at 11am in the brewery's bottle shop. 9.5% - Available at Talisman.

Toasted Barrel - Imperial Stout: This hit yesterday at the brewery and I missed it. 8.7% - Available at Toasted Barrel.

Elevation - Pineapple Acide: Mildly tart with mild pineapple notes and malts. There's some slight wheat cracker tones as well; finishing with a hint of spicy hop bitterness. 4.5% - Found at Bayou and DABC

Stone - Enjoy By 07/04/19: Piney, herbal and zesty up front with some sweet chewy malts backing it up. It's quite bitter in the finish, showcasing a huge hop bill. Probably not their best offering, but it's still pretty good. 9.4% - Found at Beerhive.

I'm sure I missed something, help us all out if I did. Cheers!

Utah's 2019 International Beer Awards Medalists

Last week I had the pleasure to participate in the International Beer Awards: a professional beer competition open to breweries from all over the world. For nearly a week we spent 8 hour combing over the some of the beers from all over North America (mostly the west) to find the best examples of craft and national brands. Utah's brewers did exceptionally well in the competition. Here's a list of Utah's medal winning beers, if you get a chance, get out and sample some of these brilliant lagers and ales. Click on the brewery for a better view and for the full list of winners, please click here.
Cheers!