New Beer Friday 9/27/19

You can defiantly tell it's autumn by the beers that have been released this week. When the evenings develop that slight chill these are the types of beers you'll want. Happy New Beer Friday.

Epic - Big Bad Baptist Chocolate Rapture: The second release in the 2019 Big Bad Baptists is a chocolate dream. Rich, roasted coffee bean nose with a good amount of earthy potent chocolate. The taste largely echoes the aroma, with notes of caramel syrups, roasted barley malts, and dark chocolate undertones, matched by a rich, roasted coffee bean flavor, generating a balance of fruit, acidity and roast characteristics. Finishes moderately dry with a lingering roasted coffee finish and hints of bourbon manage to make an appearance. Best enjoyed on the warm-side. Available starting today at Epic's SLC brewery.

Saltfire - Mobius Trip: This barrel aged golden sour has been sleeping in chardonnay casks for 15 months. Cherries were also added for more depth. This a collaborative beer made with home brewer, Rob Rutledge an award winning brewer of sour beers. Mobius Trip officially goes on sale this Saturday at Saltfire. I'll have some tasting notes on this at 2:30pm on KBER 101 with Mick and Allen.

Desert Edge - Wet Hop Chinook: Juicy citrus fruit aromas make my mouth water. I could sit and smell it all day. The hops smack you in the face. Sweet malt is present but the hop rule here. Finishes more bitter than expected, but I'm not complaining. Very noice. 4.0% - Available at Desert Edge.

Proper - Winchester: This American golden ale utilizes oats and rye, which make for a pleasant combo in this very light golden hued beer. The hops take on a slight citrus quality with a floral finish. 4.0 - Available at Proper. 

TF Brewing - Smoked Helles: The smoke element here is quite light and it adds a round sweetness to the beer that would otherwise be there. You still retain the a hint of nuttiness and the spicy floral component of the Saaz hops. Quite nice. 4.0% - Only at TF Brewing

TF Brewing-  Oktoberfest Märzen: TF released a smoked version of this later last month. This is the traditional version that feature a good dose of caramel and vanilla flavors that come across as creamy smooth. the hops are subtle with herbal spiciness and let the malts do most of the heavy lifting. Very nice. 4.0% - Only available at TF

TF Brewing - Dos People’s Doppelbock: Lots of bready malt, dark chocolate, light roast, faint booziness, and just a touch of syrupy sweetness. Medium-full bodied with slightly sharp carbonation but also very smooth and creamy in the mouth. Lingering stickiness and aftertaste leaves plenty of malty, sweet, complex breadiness and a late emerging floral hop bitterness. 7.9% - Only available at TF Brewing.

Fisher - Baby Beast: This Belgian style table beer is mostly yeast driven with light malts and hops. The flavor is mostly phenolic spices with a slight floral snap at the end.  4.0% - only at Fisher

Fisher - Falling Leaves Lager: This pleasant looking amber lager is light and toasty with some malt driven nuttiness. The hops are traditional with a nice grassy quality that drifts into the floral side of the spectrum by the finish. 4.0% - only at Fisher

Hopkins - Munich Dunkel:  The aroma is malty sweet and bready, while the flavor profile is rich and complex, displaying notes of toasted bread, chocolate, and graham cracker. Bitterness is minimal. The flavor is reminiscent of Golden Graham cereal. A delicious dark lager without the roasty character of a stout or a porter.

UTOG - Top Shelf: The smell is lightly hopped up front, still a nice dosage of caramel malts appear. The taste is mainly sweet, becomes slightly bitter, and has a sticky sweet aftertaste and finish. On the palate, she sits about a light to medium, comes across as a fairly sessionable IPA.

Dogfish Head - American Beauty: This American Pale Al has an earthy- orange quality with a good amount of slightly sweet honey grains. The hops take over from here adding orange peel, floral, and herbal bitterness. Plenty of malt depth with a moderate bitterness in the middle, continuing through to the finish coupled with the floral hops and slightly sweet malts.Nice pale ale. 6.5% - found at DABC.

Stone - Tropic of Thunder: They're selling this as traditional lager, but it tastes more like an IPA. So, think IPL. The aroma is full of tangerine, peach and pear. with a hint of floral hops. There's a ton of fruit to go around, with a touch of honey and grain. There's a faint herbal bitterness in the finish. It all comes together quite well. 5.8%  found at DABC

New Belgium - Hop Avenger: Missed this one. It's brand new and not too many people have tried this one anywhere. Have you? Tell us a bout it. 7.7% - found at DABC.

Cheers!

Stein Holding Competition at TF Brewing

In a feat of strength and stein grasping prowess, I became a god among men. The time was 2018, the place was Bohemian Brewery’s Oktoberfest Celebration. The strongest, most virulent men from all over the globe clambered for the right to be be crowned the ‘Stein God’. Wait.... I’m being told things didn’t happen that way? Oh well, that’s how I remember it; truth be told?  I did manage to eat out a win against some very nice, fun loving and very able beer lovers.

If you want to be a beer god like me, consider checking out the Templin Family Brewery’s Oktoberfest Celebration this Saturday September 28th. Besides shloads of fresh, fresh German beers there will be a sanctioned Stein Holding Competition. TF Brewing  just became the only Utah member of the U.S. Steinholding Association.

If you’d like participate in the Masskrugstemmen Competition here's the info you're going to need.

Sign-up sheet will be at the brewery day of the event.

Basic Rules:
1. One liter dimpled glass stein filled with beer to the 1L. line. Approximately weighing in at 5lbs.
2. Arm must be completely straight and parallel with the ground. No bending at the elbow.
3. Stein must be gripped by the handle.  Thumb cannot rest on the stein handle, it must rest with the other fingers.
4. Opposite arm must remain at the competitors side.
5. If any amount of bier spills or drips off the stein you are disqualified.

Visit www.ussteinholding.com for more information about the Association as well as a detailed version of the rules and regulations. Hope to see you there!

Prost!

New Beer Friday 9/20/19

Epic - Big Bad Baptist Vanilla and Brandy Barrel-Aged Stout: Epic's first of five BBB variants is here! This version of Big Bad Baptist was aged in brandy barrels and has vanilla, roasted cacao nibs and coffee. It wonderfully smooth with coffee and cocoa jumping out at first. When the barrel kicks in, it comes across as vinous plum and fig. It's nicely complex best when enjoyed on the warmer side. Right now this in only available at the SLC brewery.

Avenues Proper Brett Pale Ale: This latest batch of Brett Pale Ale brewed with Sorachi Ace and Huell Melon hops. It showcases an incredibly well-balanced combination of dry, fruity, and funky flavors. Find it on draft exclusively at Avenues Proper. 4.0%

Fisher White Star: This nitro pale ale is big with citrus peel bitterness and a good dose of pine bitterness in the finish. Really drinkable for the amount of bitterness. 4.0% - Available at Fisher.

Fisher Rye Me a River: This rye ale has a nice dose of rye that slightly spicy with malts that are on the lighter side. Hops are mostly floral with a hint of citrus. 4.0% - Available at Fisher.

Melvin Thaiger Style: This a nice, well balanced IPA that features a lemony hop profile. Some Mosaic citrus flavors as well.  I love the hop profile here and the 5.5% makes it highly drinkable. Found at Beer Bar.

Cheers!

Hoppers La Nymphe Biére D'été

Hoppers doesn't make many high point beers as of late, but when they do they are extraordinary. The newest beer in Hoppers line of limited edition ales was actually designed for summer; however the universe being the uncooperative place that is, decided September would be more appropriate. And in this case I agree.

La Nymphe Biére D'été is made with local Solstice malts and was fermented with traditional French Ale yeast. The result is a beer full of fruity yeast esters that scream peach, fig and bubblegum. Crackery malts are on full display as well along with an ever-so-slight touch of alcohol as well.

Taste-wise, it starts off with a nice, bready malt character. Not a particularly heavy or dark, but bready nonetheless. There are additional snaps of crackers and honey. The French yeast is clustered around the middle and end, offering up some white grape and pear. Grassy and floral hops of the noble variety also give a gentle, earthen grassiness on the finish. The 8.1% is practically in the basement as it comes across more like a 6.5% ale. 

For such a simple beer this really offers up some complex elements that works as a sipper, a quaffer  or as a table beer. This is one beer you'll want on your bar or cellar. La Nymphe is presented in a 750 milliliter bottle and goes on sale today at 11am. Only at Hoppers (for now).

Cheers!

New Beer Friday the 13th - 9/19

Shades - Berry Pie Kveik: The flavors here are basically a berry medly. The fruits are semi sweet with some lactose for balance. Graham cracker comes in next to give it the full pie effect. Very drinkable and enjoyable. It won't last long, get it before it's gone. 6.5% - Available at Shades, also found at Craft by Proper and Bayou. 

Epic - Deep Pocket: This is Epic's first Helles and it's pretty solid. It offers a touch of sweetness with a good dose of spicy German hops. The malt character is soft and bready and the finish is slightly bitter. 5.0% - Available at Epic in growlers.

TF Brewing - Luckenbach: This American brown ale is mostly toasty and malty with some pine bitterness backing it up. It's on the edge of being dry, but the malts have enough sweetness to keep it balanced. 4.0% - Available at TF Brewing.

Level Crossing - Jazz Loon: Can you Spot the Easter egg on the can? This new lager is made with all German hops but it's not your typical German pils. Mild melon and clementine meld with a grassy hop character. The malts are toasty and sweet giving the hops something to play with. A nice change of pace pils. 5.3% - Available starting today at Level Crossing.

Wasatch/Level Crossing - Collaboration IPA: There's a real nice aroma here, starting with zesty citrus oils of lemon and tangerine. The hops get into an herbal spicy like component as well. The taste keeps it simple. Juiced flavor with slight malty sweetness accents; an excellent and somewhat varied fruity hop flavor. Nice qualities of grapefruit to orange citrus juice with a spritzy lemon oil mixed in. 7.0% - Available at most Wasatch locations. Coming soon to Level Crossing.

Toasted Barrel - Chardonnay Apricot Sour: Haven't tried this yet, it hits later today. 2 lbs of apricot puree per gallon in this barrel aged sour. Can't wait to try this one. 6.6%.

2 Row Feelin' Fruity: This is another apricot infused beer. This is Feelin' Hazy with apricot added. The fruit adds a lot of body and depth to this beer. A hint of tartness from the stone fruit provides a welcome zip to this NEIPA. Very Nice! 8.6% - Found at Bayou.

2 Row Dunkel: Smells quite dry. Once on the tongue it's much maltier. Flavor-wise it's dominated by notes of bread, nuts, and perhaps a touch of chocolate. An enjoyable lager. 6.6% - Available at 2 Row.

Bonneville - Pumpkin Ale: Made with real pumpkin, traditional spices and lactose for a nice round mouthfeel. One of the better pumpkin beers you'll try. Available at Bonneville, Soon to All Star Lanes. 

Dogfish Head - World Wide Stout: This beast of a beer generally dials in anywhere between 15 - 20% and is made with a massive amount of barley to get it there. The nose is super boozy with roasted malts and char. The flavor is fairly sweet with chocolate and espresso up front with hints of vanilla and more hot alcohol in the finish. It has a very thick and oily mouthfeel. Found at the Bayou and Beerhive.

Cheers!

New Brews Soon For You: Wasatch, UTOG, TF Brewing, and Red Rock

We haven't done a New Brews Soon for You feature in quite a while, and in that time a lot has come to pass; yet more seems to be steadily coming. This preview of beer seems to have a theme. See if you can figure it out.
 

Wasatch - Oktoberfest: This is another new beer that will be coming from Wasatch's Kick Back Series. These beers are all produced up in Park City at Wasatch's Original brewery. Oktoberfest lagers are mostly known to be Marzens - a generally malty beer with big caramel and vanilla undertones. The packaging on this doesn't state the the style so, we'll have to wait until I can ask Head Brewer, Nils (with out waking him up at 4am).

UTOG - Top Shelf: Now We Get into the IPA Portion of NBS4U. If you're not a fan of IPAs then this portion of the blog will bore you. Top Shelf looks to be a session IPA that is currently set to be 4.0% ABV. I'm guessing by the time it hits, it will likely be making the transition to 5.0% or at least close to that. This IPA will be packaged in 16 ounce cans.

TF - Jellyfish: When the Templin Family Brewing Co., debuted they're first Juicy IPA, called Squirrel a couple of months ago It was a huge hit; selling out in just over five hours. If Squirrel's popularity is any indication, TF's new Jellyfish "Hazy" should treat local beer nerds just fine. What is the difference between a Hazy and a Juicy IPA? Who the Hell knows! I'm guessing the Juicy IPAs are known for low/medium bitterness with a quality of hop derived juicy fruitiness. The Hazy IPAs are obviously dense and hazy in appearance with similar fruit-like profiles. So basically, Juicy IPAs don't necessarily have to be murky or turbid. Jellyfish with be in 16 ounce cans at dial in at 7.7% ABV.    

Red Rock Buffalo Point: (pictured above) If Hazy and Juicy IPAs are basically the same thing, then where the hell does the New England IPA thing fit in? Well, they all fall under the same umbrella of the NEIPA. People who don't nerd out on beers like we do are more likely to gravitate to descriptors like "hazy" and "juicy", versus "New England Style". Anyway, if the popularity of Red Rock's Elephino is any indication of  how their new Buffalo Point New England India Style Pale Ale will be received by beer lovers, it's destined for great things. Plus it has that NEIPA beer code that we nerds love to geek on. Look for it in 500 milliliter bottles and it will come in at  6.2%.

Stay close for more NBS4U in the coming days. And remember, these are previews, none of these beers are for sale as of yet. We'll fill you in when they hit.

Cheers!

All images found at Shipcompliant.com

New Beer Friday 9/6/19

Hoppers - Bungalow Kölsch: Missed this one. Look for toasty and fruity malts with a good dose noble hops. 4.0% - Available at Hoppers.

Heber Valley- Blackberry Saison: Missed this one too. Look for wheaty and spicy yeast base with blackberry accents. 4.0% - Available at Heber Valley.

Hopkins/Wasatch - Locals Only: This collaboration beer was made with 100% local ingredients. It's malty with fruity yeast esters and hops that lean to the citrusy part of the spectrum. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins and at Squatters 30th Anniversary party.

Dogfish Head - Punkin Ale: Smells and tastes of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin, brown sugar, malts and some vanilla. Medium to heavy body.  7.0% - Found at DABC

Returning 

RoHa's - Freshies Wet Hop: Made with wild hop from around the area; this special ale is different every year, due to the unpredictable nature of the hops. 4.0% - Available at RoHa.

Cheers!

And the Second Squatters Trivia Winner is...

Congrats to Eric Buehner for being the only one to know that Peter Burrell was the first Head Brewer employed at Squatters. Peter signed on for the first year to get things up and running before moving on the to the west coast.

Burrell was succeeded Dan Burrick, Jennifer Talley and Jason Stock. That's only four Head Brewers in 30 years; sounds like a pretty good gig to me. Thanks for participating, in the Squatters trivia, I hope to do more trivia giveaways in the future.

Cheers!

More Free Tickets for Squatters 30th Anniversary Party

I have two more general admission tickets to give away to this Sunday's Squatters 30th Anniversary Party. I thought last week's question was pretty tough, but the beer nerds of Utah proved me wrong, yet again.

In case you missed the answer to last week's question, "what was Squatters' first beer"? It was City Creek Pale Ale.

Now on to this week's Squatters trivia. Just answer this (hopefully) tougher trivia question.

Who was the first brewer at Squatters?

Email your answer to utahbeer@gmail.com - I'll announce the winner this evening, Tuesday 9/3. If you don't get a reply from me then you probably didn't win.

Cheers and good luck!