New Beer Friday 12/18/20

We've had a lot of local beers over the last few weeks. This week is mostly about the out of market selection. Enjoy!

Policy Kings - Festival City Lager: This is the first lager to come out of Policy Kings and is named for the town of Cedar City. No notes on this. Please check it out. 5.0% - Only at Policy Kings. 

Uinta - Oatmeal Stout: Nice cocoa notes with some roasted malt and caramel. It has a nice creamy body. Would be excellent on nitro. 5.0% - Limited batch, only at Uinta on draft.

Kiitos - Winter IPA: Missed this. made with Loral and Citra hops. 5.0% - Only on draft at Kiitos.

Toasted Barrel -Tequila Barrel-aged Lime Gose: I missed this one. Sure sounds tasty though. 8.0% - Only at Toasted Barrel.

Duclaw - PastryArchy (Candy Cane): Duclaw Brewing (Not White Claw) is new to our market and is based out of Baltimore. Smells like a candy cane with chocolate. It tastes like hot chocolate with a candy cane in it. Full of powdered cocoa and earthy hops in the end. Finish.es with peppermint.  8.5% - Found at Slackwater in Sandy

Revision - Moon Wolf: Zesty citrus, tangerine, lemon, lime, and grapefruit, tropical fruit, papaya, apricot, peach, and a touch of mango and passion fruit, resinous pine, spicy grassy notes, biscuity malt, and caramel sweetness. Avery nice hazy from Revision. 7.0% -Found at Slackwater in Sandy.

Elysian - Rolling Stone:  Cereal grain in the aroma, along with some spicy hop notes. Crisp flavor...dry with some hop bitterness. Nice hop flavor in the finish. Straightforward lager. 4.8% - Found at Green Pig.

Ninkasi - Steady Orbit: Missed this one. 4.5% - Found at Slackwater in Sandy.

Returning Favorites

The following Fisher beers are back and in limited edition packaging in 15 ounce cans.

Fisher - Double IPA:

Fisher - Hazification:

Fisher - Sweater Party:

Fisher - Classic American Lager:

Saltfire Barrel Aged Imperial Dirty Chai Stout: 

Uinta - Brighton IPA:

Uinta - Deer Valley Black Beer:

Uinta - Powder Mountain Pilsner:

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/11/20

Two breweries debuted their first ever packaged beers this week. On top of that, we have another strong local showing full of big flavored beers designed for the holidays.

Policy Kings - 01-01-01: Policy King's first official packaged beer pours a light gold hazy color with a nice thick and creamy off white head. Aroma is more on the citrus side for hazy IPAs..lemon rind, orange and a bit of peach. But pleasing none the less. Again the flavor is more of a citrus/floral IPA, not the fruit bomb expected, It has a fairly nice medium mouthfeel that is appropriate for the hazy style. 7.6% - Available at Policy Kings.

Desert Edge - 2020 IPA: Desert Edge has been brewing beer since the mid 90s. This is their first official "high point" release in all time; I must say their debut is absolutely wonderful.  Aroma of pale malt, citrus and tropical hops, orange, grapefruit, pineapple and mango. Flavor is mildly caramel and pale malt, citrus hops, orange, grapefruit, dried papaya, mango and exotic mixed tropical fruit; finishes with nice moderate citrus and slightly piney hops. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess, nice mouth feel. This is a hazy I can get behind. 

Epic - Grandma Van's Candy Cane Stout: The flavors here are semisweet chocolate and flavors of roasted malt and bitter roasted notes. At first sip, you might not even realize that this is infused with mint if you weren't paying attention. Though that's likely a good thing, since you don't want the mint to overpower the flavor. Once again, the peppermint comes through in more of an herbal, even earthy vein than the kind of artificial profile in mint candy. In fact, the mint imparts zero sweetness whatsoever, relying on the chocolate malt and cacao to counteract the bitterness from the roasted flavor profiles. Think Brownies with mint icing. 6.0% - Available at Epic.

Shades - Slurry Series Sugar Plum: This beer is thick – like tomato juice thick. This is a super fruity and tart milkshake style sour beer. Marshamallow and lactose counter the base sweetness creating a well rounded fruit bomb. Perfect for the holidays. 5.0% - Available at Shades. Not vegan friendly.

Hopkins - Strawberry Zinfandel Sour: This has a bright vinous nose. The taste follows with mostly Zinfandel grapes dominating. The strawberry part is for the most part dominated by the grape. The tartness from the base beer gives the whole package a unripened sour profile. I found it quite drinkable. 5.0% - Only at Hopkins. 

Proper - Barrel Aged Geol: Most barrel-aged barleywines tend to nap in whiskey barrels. Proper's new barrel-aged version of Geol (Yule) was aged in Pino Noir barrels. The aroma is sweet and slightly vinous with some oak. The taste is surprisingly, not super sweet. The barrel treatment here has mellowed what is normally a big malt profile. The Pino portion combines to make an almost Port-like flavor with a nice punch of drying oak. A very nice take on the barleywine. 10.6% 

Kiitos - Mocha Brown: This has a nose full of coffee aromas. The taste follows, but is more intense. There's a ton of cold drip medium roast coffee flavors. It has a nice fresh taste with some drying toast from the base beer. If you love coffee, this will make you day. 5.0% - Only at Kiitos.

Level Crossing - XII.XI.XIII Barleywine: Brewed to honor the birth of Head Brewer, Chris Detrick's son. This is an American Style Barleywine which is more hoppy than the English style. And this delivers with a full 222 IBUs. This is a hoppy and bitter beast. There's a nice amount of toffee at the base and then it kicks into hop overdrive. This beer was designed for aging; to be laid down for many, many years. So, buy a few for your cellar.  12.1%

Lone Pine - Quantum Cuddle Kitten: Missed this one. 8.2% - Found at Slackwater in Sandy.

Returning Favorites

Tf Brewing - HollaHaze

Proper Geol

RoHa - Millenium Falcon

This week Hopkins Brewing is celebrating 2 years in business and have a special Small Batch selection for the weekend. 

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/4/20

There's no mystery here. Great beers for all tastes are dialed in and ready to go for you. If you missed my post from Tuesday, the last beer in our charity collaboration series is pouring right now at Fisher. Thanks again to Fisher , 2 Row, TF and Epic for making these beers happen.

Fisher - Rye-On Mikey: This is the final collaboration in our 15 year anniversary series. This is of course, a rye pale that has a big citrus aroma with a sweet malty palate that is complimented with a medium amount of rye spiciness. On the hop-side we threw in mostly Amarillo to give it a medium bitterness and a very pleasant citrus peel profile. You can enjoy this 5.0% ale at the brewery or snag some crowlers to go.

Fisher/Ken Sanders - George Hayduke: The second in a series of beers based on the book, The Monkey Wrench Gang is another rye pale ale. This is much less hoppy than Rye-On Mikey. Rye forward with citrus and herbal hops. Medium maltiness with good balance. 5.0% Available Saturday.

Squatters- Olde Castle:  The aroma has notes of caramel and a little bit of grass and nut. Along with these smells comes some smells of dark fruit and a hint of herbs. The taste begins with a lightly toasted malt flavor that has a decent showing of a slightly bready flavors and some caramel. Upfront there is a little bit of a toasted nut flavor mixed with the rest as well. As the taste advances the nut gets a bit stronger, while some hoppy flavors of an herbal and earthy nature join the taste profile. 6.0% ABV Available at most Squatters/Wasatch locations. 

TF - TochterVat: This is a father/daughter project, brewed by assistant brewer, Rita Behles and her her dad, Joe. Fruity malts with herbal hops that take on rose and clover notes. It's very botanical with light toast and a hint of granola. Never had a lager like this. Very nice. 5.0% - Available at TF

Hopkins - Strawberry Sorghum: Light toast, and a hint of strawberry. Hop aromas are low, grain aromas are between medium and medium low. Taste starts with lightly sweet caramel bread crust and a hint of strawberry, light spice, a hint of anise, and a little bit of sorghum flavor. 5.0% - Available at Hopkins.

Shades - Eggnog Cream Ale: Poured a cloudy golden copper body with minimal head and lace. The aroma has this boozy, woody aspect to it with hints of dairy and sweetness to it. The beer is medium bodied and thick at times, almost a sticky dessert sipper at times, with touches of lactic quality. Some spices and booze shine through and warm me up and there is a bit of sweetness like vanilla coming through. 6.5% - Available at Shades. Not vegan friendly.

Melvin - Star Valley: Missed this one. 5.0% - Found at Slackwater (Sandy)

Revision - Sparkle Muffin: Missed this one. 7.0% - Found at Slackwater (Sandy)

Revision - To Dream: Missed this one. 7.0% - Found at Slackwater (Sandy)

Prairie - Seasick Crocodile: Missed this one. 6.3% - Found at Slackwater (Sandy)

Cheers!

Our Fourth, 15th Anniversary Beer Is???

Our fourth and final 15th Anniversary charity beer is available starting today! Utah Beer teamed up with the guys at Fisher Brewing to brew-up a special pale ale designed for high drinkability. 

Rye-on Mikey is of course a rye pale that has a big citrus aroma with a sweet malty palate that is complimented with a medium amount of rye spiciness. On the hop-side we threw in mostly Amarillo to give it a medium bitterness and a very pleasant citrus peel profile. You can enjoy this 5.0% ale at the brewery or snag some crowlers to go.

Demand at the Utah Food Bank is way up right now, and they could use the coin coming from all of these beers sooner than later. I'd like to thank you all for your feedback and interest in these beers; they were a lot of fun to create. I'd like to thank Jordan and Dave from Epic, Kevin and "the Jakes" from TF Brewing, Brian and Wendell at 2 Row  and of course Tom, Tim, Steve and Colby from Fisher. 

You can taste their enthusiasm in each of their beers and we hope your enjoyment of the beers is equal to the fun we had in making them. If you've missed one or the other, you can still find all four at their respective breweries. 

Prost! 

  

New Beer Black Friday 11/27/20

 

 

 

I hope you all had a nice holiday of food and social distancing. If it's flavor you crave, this is your New Beer Friday. If you missed my update on Wednesday, the third beer in our 15 year Anniversary brewery collaboration is out. The breweries are donating a portion of their sales on the beers to the Utah Food Bank. And if you bring a food donation to Epic, They will provide you with an autographed bottle of our special vanilla porter. Why you'd want my chicken scratchings on your bottle is beyond me. But, this is the time of COVID, and we're limited to fun interactions. Have a great weekend! 

 

Epic - Utah Beer Blog 15th Anniversary Vanilla Porter: The nose is a tad faint after the initial foam has shrunk away, but there's a good bit of sweetness, some vanilla, and a bit of roastiness hanging out in the background.  The taste is roasty on the first sip, blending in a bit of that raisin from the aroma with a dark bready malt flavor and... yeah, this is DEFINITELY a vanilla beer, It's not overpowering and it feels like the there was a small dollop cream and vanilla. On later sips, the raisiny thing fades away a bit and it's more like roasty/malty straight into nice smooth sweetish vanilla The finish is slightly bitter, which helps balance the vanilla bean. 5.5%.

 

Shades - Our Maine Man: You get almond right off in the nose with some tart berry. Cranberry builds on the beer's base accentuating the tartness from both. This is a tart beer with a nutty almond finish. No lactose added to this one. 6.5% Available at Shades.  

Shades - Yams Y'all: The aromas is nutty with some maple. The taste follows with some tartness from the base beer. There's a a slight earthiness, provably from the yam with some pleasant vanilla and pecan rounding it out. Not vegan friendly due to lactose. 6.5% Available at Shades

 

Roosters - Snowbasin 80th Anniversary Pale Ale: Missed this one. This will be around for a while. 5.0% - Available at all Roosters locations and Snowbasin Resort in cans and on draft.

Fisher - Pineapple Plum: This nicely tart. The plumb and the base beer duke it out sour supremacy. The pineapple gets a little lost but it's definitely there. It's a lip-smacker! 5.0% - Only at Fisher.

RoHa - Dorothy: This is the third beer in RoHa's Golden Girls Series of beers. This is a brett pale ale with a funky nose full of funky brett. The taste is less funky but you still get that doughy barnyard yeastiness. There's a hint of vague berry sourness from the yeast with medium bitterness and a slightly minty finish. 5.0% - Only in crowlers to go at RoHa.

Proper - Whispers of the Primordial: I missed this Smoked Helles made with pineapple. 5.0% - Available at Proper.

Toasted Barrel - Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout: Missed this as well. Look for a chocolate forward stout with notes of cinnamon and chilies. 8.5% - Only at Toasted Barrel.

 

Illuminated Brew Works - War on Xmas: Missed this one. This Imperial Stout is described as being combination of egg nog and Christmas cookies. Brewed with lactose sugar, Indonesian vanilla beans, Vietnamese cassia bark cinnamon and nutmeg. Not vegan friendly. 11.0% Found at DABC.

Cheers!

15 Year Collaborations Continue with Utah Beer Blog Vanilla Porter

Just in time for Thanksgiving we are proud to bring you the third beer in our 15 year collaboration project. When I approached Epic Brewing about brewing a beer with them they couldn't have been more accommodating and enthusiastic. I was quite surprised when they presented me with the packaging and was very flattered by the bottle design.

We ended up concocting a vanilla porter. It's an offshoot of the style I've always found highly drinkable and wholely approachable.   

The nose is a tad faint after the initial foam has shrunk away, but there's a good bit of sweetness, some vanilla, and a bit of roastiness hanging out in the background. 

The taste is roasty on the first sip, blending in a bit of that raisin from the aroma with a dark bready malt flavor and... yeah, this is DEFINITELY a vanilla beer, It's not overpowering and it feels like the there was a small dollop cream and vanilla. On later sips, the raisiny thing fades away a bit and it's more like roasty/malty straight into nice smooth sweetish vanilla The finish is slightly bitter, which helps balance the vanilla bean. 5.5%.

Again, part of the proceeds from this beer will be going to the Utah Food Bank. Additionally, If you wish to bring canned food items or dry goods to donate you will receive a signed bottle from yours truly. It was a little odd signing bottles, usually when I'm signing something, it's usually followed by, "this is not an admission of guilt, just that you promise to appear in court". So it was a nice change. 

We had hoped for something a little more celebratory but, you know, COVID. So please try it out and let us know what you think. It's available at Epic in SLC starting today, and if you don't live in the SLC area the Utah Beer Blog Vanilla Porter will be showing up in DABC stores after the first of the year. 

Cheers! 

New Beer Friday 11/20/20

Last Monday we we pleased to announce the Utah Beer Blog's 15th Anniversary and promised four new collaboration beers to help celebrate. Today I'm happy to say two of those beers are available purchase. I'd like to thank 2 Row and TF Brewing for allowing me to stink-up their respective joints and allowing the charitable beers to be made. On top of those beers there's thick selection of local brews hitting this week as well. Too much good stuff for a single week. 

2 Row - Mikey's Citra IPL: While not new, proceeds from this beer will be going to the Utah Food Bank. We originally released this beer in 2016 as an alternative lager for those that don't like traditional pilsners. It's light and crisp with a nice tangerine feel that boasts a medium bitterness and dry finish. It's the definition of crushable. 5.5% - Available Today in 12 ounce bottles at 2 Row. 

TF - Alt Riedel: Altbiers are one of my favorite German beer styles. Toasty, malty and a balancing bitterness; Alts just seem to be the complete package. Big thanks to everyone at TF for their enthusiasm and dedication to making this charitable beer a reality. 

Aroma is of darkly toasted brown bread, toasted walnuts and hazelnuts, slight black tea, very faint herbal European hops, and malty sweetness. Front of palate picks up toasted dark bread and nuts, cocoa, even a bit of coffee. Mid-palate features spicy European hops and tannins similar to black tea. Spicy European hops alongside decreased toasted bread, nut, and cocoa round out the backend with a lingering aftertastes of toasted bread and nuts. It has a nice dry finish, perfect for or current weather. 5.0% on draft and crowlers to-go at TF Starting today. 

Saltfire - Bigger in Japan: Nice citrus aroma, but this really shines in the palate with a big dose of tropical fruitiness and medium bitterness. There's some alcohol smack, but this is a 9.1% Double IPA. There's nice lingering fruity finish. It kinda falls in between NEIPA and WCIPA. Good stuff! At Saltfire.

Ogden River - Derailment: Missed this new Hazy IPA from ORB. Look for a citrus nose with notes of tangerine and mango. 5.0% - Available now at Ogden River Brewing.

Roosters - Pecan Pie: Caramelized light brown sugar, along with a sorta fig/date dark fruit taste. Pecan does have a little influence in the back of the taste. The beer finishes a little more balanced, almost like the opening of a normal English nut brown ale. 5.0% - Available at all Roosters locations. 

Uinta - Was Angeles:  The nose has a strong grassy/herbal smell with sweet pale malt smell beneath. The taste is similar to the nose. The taste begins with toasty crackers, some lemon and floral hops. A light malty sweetness comes next - that sweetness fades as a spicy/herbal bitterness creeps in towards the end. The finish is mostly dry with a hint of sweetness. 5.0% - Availble at Uinta. 

Grid City - Thanksgiving Cream Ale: This has subtle flavors of cranberry and blood orange – the cranberry dominates for the most part. You never loose the base beer and you get all of that malty/nuttiness of the style. Very limited. Only at Grid City.

Bewilder - West Coast IPA: No notes on this one. It's hopped with bru-1, Sabro and El Dorado. This will be available in 16 ounce cans later this afternoon. 6.5% 

Bewilder - Cranberry Sour: No notes on this one. Sounds pretty self explanatory though. This will be available this Saturday.

Toasted Barrel - Strawberry Milkshake DIPA: No notes on this one. Sounds pretty self explanatory though. 8.0% - Only at Toasted Barrel. Not vegan friendly.

Cheers!

Here For the Local Beer Since 2005

Fifteen years ago today, I started a little project to help promote Utah's craft beer scene and advocate for the fans of it. Back in 2005 social media wasn't a thing, and people rarely spent the time combing though individual websites looking at the latest beer info. The Utah Beer Blog tried to fill that gap. I've had a lot of fun doing it and made some life-long friends along the way. Nobody is more surprised than me, that this little experiment is still going on; a bit diminished, but still trudging on. 

To help celebrate, the Utah Beer Blog has partnered with four local breweries to make a quartet of special beers to say, thank you! to all of you that have bothered to waste your precious bandwidth on 15 years of this beer nerd's bullshit. 

Through the end of November you can look forward to periodic releases of our celebratory beers. These beers will be announced here when they are ready, along with brewery and beer style. We had a lot fun collaborating on these brews and look forward to sharing them with you all in the coming days. And if four new beers isn't enough for you, a portion of the sales from each beer will be going to to help out the Utah Food Bank. 

If you ever have the time I invite you check out the Utah Beer archives (column to the right). It may provide you some insight to the past decade and a half or simply remind you of some of the great things you may have forgotten. 

Again thanks for your words of support and your critiques over the last 15 years. Utah is a unique place to be a craft beer lover, and there's no place I rather be.  

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 11/13/20

 When the beer gods (err Peter Wiarda) give you an excellent photo, it must be used! This week sees a relatively small New Beer Friday, yet it's evenly distributed along the Wasatch Front.

Level Crossing - Red Sea Rift:  Really strong rich roasted coffee dominates the nose. A touch of dark chocolate is there, but the coffee roastiness is the main factor here. Taste starts with a rich dark chocolate, slowly turning over to a deep, rich coffee and a moderately high bitterness. Coffee character on the backside overrides the other flavors. Mouthfeel is relatively full bodied with some creaminess from the oatmeal, and a light carbonation. Some bitterness lingers in the finish, but mostly a dark chocolate roasted malt character. One of the more coffee forward takes on the style, with an aroma that sets itself apart. This beer has some nice dark chocolate undertones, but really shines for the coffee character. Oatmeal adds some viscosity to the mouthfeel. 9.6% - Available starting today.

Strap Tank - H.O.G. Juice: Look for a juicy IPA that's full of pineapple, mango, Jasmin and cherry. I thought this would be a muddled mess, but the flavors are nicely cohesive and it comes off smooth and tasty with low bitterness. 5.0% - Available at Strap Tank (Springville).

2 Row Sabro Effect:  The nose opens up with a nice fresh hop character. There's coconut and mild peach. The palate opens mildly bitter with a clean, mildly oily bitterness along with a nice fresh hop character. Flavors of coconut, mandarin orange, peach and a little honey are present. Drying, bitter on the finish with some lingering fresh hop flavor, this beer is light in body and moderately carbonated. A well integrated beer. 8.6% - Available today at 2 Row. 

Fisher - Goldrush: The aroma is very piney with a dab of resin and a hint of booze. The taste follows suit with a lot of piney goodness, a touch of resin and a bit of peppery spiciness. A little juicy in the middle too. The body is medium to full and pairs perfectly with the hops. It gets right to the edge of being bitter but perfectly plays the line and has a pleasant linger of hop flavor instead of bitterness. Finish is long and enjoyable but still manages to be dry.  

Salt Flats - Winter Amber: Missed this one. This amber ales loaded up with nutmeg, cinnamon on top of a sweet malty back. On draft now. 5.0% 

Here are this week's Small Batch beers from Hopkins Brewing.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 11/06/20

We have a winner, and it's you! No recounts or lawsuits just a shload of yummy, local suds to keep you company as the weather turns cold.

Uinta - Peppermint Patty: Smells of mint, lots of mint. Hints of coffee and chocolate on the edges. Taste is creamy and chocolaty with a hint of roast and a good dose of mint. The taste was good, more like a Girl Scout Thin Mint than a York Peppermint Patty, which is what I had been expecting. 8.5% Available at Uinta.

Uinta - Test Phaze NEIPA: This beer pours a hazy, yet bright medium apricot orange colour, with four fingers of puffy, loosely foamy. It smells of gritty and grainy caramel malt, some orange, tangerine, lemon, and red grapefruit citrus rind. The taste is grainy and crackery pale malt, a faint biscuity toffee sweetness, kind of muddled citrus with some faint stone fruits and more earthy, herbal, and musky hop bitters. 7.0% - Available starting today at Uinta.

Proper - Coward's Fist: This gin barrel aged IPA takes Proper's Revenge DIPA and ages it Hammer Springs' Gin. This gin has a good dose of sage with hints of whiskey. It very botanical and it works very well with the citrus zest hop blend in the IPA. A very complex BA IPA. 10.0% Available at Proper today. 

Hopkins - Coconut Macadamia Porter: I was afraid that this would be another sweet pastry stout. It's not that at all. No lactose, with subtle use of coconut and nuts. The porter's roasty base maintains it power over the beer. Served on nitro. 5.0% - only at Hopkins.

Shades - Pumpkin Pie Cream Ale: Shades has made a beer for every pie on the planet, so of course in November they would make their version of a pumpkin pie. There's their signature tart kveik beer base with a pleasant amount of pumpkin and pumpkin spices. Sweet graham cracker rounds out the flavor and makes the pie mimicking beer complete. Very nice. Not vegan friendly.  6.5% - Available at Shades.

Cheers!

New Beer/Brewery Friday 10/30/20

 

Hear that? that's the sound of very few kids pounding at your front door. We all know the only pounding this weekend will be the slamming of drams on your over-taxed counter tops. Please keep it in check though, those little shits have devious parents that are just as devious as you once were. Happy Boo Beer...er New Brewery Friday!

 

Ogden River - Aviator American Wheat: We have a new brewery! Ogden River Brewing is the culmination of many beer dreams, but none more than Pat Wonslow's. Pat's first beer has a nice toasty wheat base with  a subtle amount of toast that carries a bit of coriander and orange peel beneath.It not quite into Witbier territory, but it gets the point across with out being overbearing.  Solid and highly drinkable at 5.0% - Only at Ogden River. 

Ogden River - Hop Train: A straight up American Pale Ale with medium to light malts and a slightly over balanced hop bill. This is not trying to be an IPA dressed as a pale ale, it's a tight easy drinking beer with no frills. 5.0% - Only at Ogden River. 

Ogden River - Union Station Amber: This takes a slight turn towards hoppy-side. It's all about the malt upfront, but then it goes into pale ale territory, offering up a slightly exaggerated hop bite that is less better and more snappy. very quantifiable at 5.0% - Only at Ogden River.

Ogden River - Jacob's Bogie Scottish Ale: This one hit after I got my samplings.Look for a high malt profile with hints of peaty smoke. Just hints. 5.0% Only at Ogden River. 

Ogden River/Bewilder - Patersbier: From the start clove drives the flavors here. Some esters from ythe yeast creat a vague fruitiness with honey malts driving the base beer. The yeast also offers a bit of white pepper, which helps it drive to a dry finish. This is quite a assertive 'father's beer' peppery dry. 5.0% Only at Ogden River and Bewilder.

Bewilder - Mole' Porter: This has a solid Porter body without a doubt. There is a bit of chocolate and maple up front. Those flavors give way to chili, cinnamon and peppers. Not much heat – butr the mole spects drive you to the finish.This is Bewilder's first beer above draft level and it hits at 6.0% and it will go one sale this Saturday.

Salt Flats - Barrel-aged Low Rider: Aged in Salt Flat's Bonneville Bourbon barrels. This chocolate forward ale will beat your ass if your not careful. Massive amounts of milk chocolate dominate, until the wicked bourbon and rye attack turning this into a decadent witches brew. This is not for the meek. For a barrel-aged beer this is the best bang for your buck, I promise. At 10.5% this will light up any evening, in or out of the house. 10.5% - at Salt Flats today. 

 

Hopkins - You can't Do That On Television IPA: This is a throwback to American IPAs from 20 years ago, this beer features caramel malts (from Solstice Malts), a firm bitterness and a piney citrus dry hop profile from Chinook, Citra and Simcoe. 5.0% - Only at Hopkins.

Potosi - Rosa Stiefel: This is a Pink Boots collaboration beer that emulates a Euro- Grapefruit Hefewezen.  This comes across as a radlerbeir without all of the sweet soda. High on Fruity flavor – low in beer difficulty. It's a guilty pleasure for sure at 4.5% Found at Slackwater in Sandy.

Check us out at 9:20am-ish on KBER 101 as Mick, Allen and myself dissect all of these and other beers on the New Beer Friday – KBER edition.

 

Here's this week's small batch beers from Hopkins Brewing. Click for a larger image.

Cheers!

Ogden River Brewing Opens Today

When Pat Winslow envisioned his post retirement brewpub, he had no idea the end result would be the beautiful riverside it is today. Winslow's original spot was an old garage that ocqupied a lot a few blocks west of where the current brewery resides. Due to Ogden City demands, that property was deemed to expensive to redevelop. Thankfully Winslow had a chance meeting with the Lotus Company and the two entities where able to turn their visions into one reality. 

Today Ogden River Brewing Co. officially opens to the public. The beautifully designed brewpub is designed to show off its proximity to the Ogden River and offers multiple level outside to take it all in. ORB has 10 tap handles and the brew-team is quickly working to fill them ASAP. At last count they were up to five taps; today, they may have more. 

So welcome Ogden River Brewing to the Utah Beer Family, our 41st local and  independent brewhouse! 

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 10/23/20

You can tell the seasons are changing by the beers that are out this week. There's some hearty and boozy stuff this week that's guarenteed to keep you warm. 

Epic - Creamsicle: The Aroma has a slight hint of orange juice with very little vanilla sweetness. The taste has a citrus tang with a slight hop bite from the hop bill. There's a comforting orange flavor that works along side of the hops. The vanilla flavor comes in about mid way and is lightly sweet. This brings up the beers drinkabilty a lot in my opinion; as it finishes quite nice and citrusy. 8.5% - This goes on sale Saturday

Epic - Big Bad Baptist Double Chocolate, Double Peanut Butter: 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 and peanut butter managing to make an appearance. Best enjoyed on the warm-side. 12.5% - Available starting today at Epic's SLC brewery.

Epic -Big Bad Baptist Sextuplet: This beer is blend of six BBB variants. This beer has a symphony of flavors that are silky and complex with rye spiciness, fudge, cherry cordial, espresso and coconut cream pie. You’d think that with all of the barrel addition here, it would be a hot mess, but it all comes together in a fairly tame manner. 11.5% - Available at Epic starting today.

Fisher - Rotating IPA: Pine, grapefruit and some pineapple on the nose. Decent strength and some nice fruit character here.  Grapefruit, pine flavors and mango up front. A big finish of pineapple, grapefruit, some tropical notes and hop bitterness linger on the palate. Notes of bread too. There’s definitely some well measured hop character here. This is definitely a West Coast style IPA. 6.8% - Available at Fisher.

Saltfire - Jeniver:  Nice juniper aroma. Right off the bat, the barrel pops with more generous berry notes. Then the spruce part comes in, it is more subdued, but it swirls around the berries like a Christmas tornado. Tangerine peel and orange zest round out the end. You wouldn’t think a gin barrel aged IPA would work very well, but the juniper aspect is perfect with the hops used. 8.0% - Available at SaltFire.

Toasted Barrel - Barrel Aged Raspberry Vanilla Sour: Pours a raspberry color with a thin pink head. Smell and taste are tart and sour with raspberry and balsamic. It finishes tart with some citric dryness and a puckering sourness with some wood in the finish. 7.0% - Available at Toasted Barrel.

Firestone Walker - Chocolate Cherry Stout: There's a lot of chocolate happening here, and the cherry is assertive as well. It would seem this beer was specifically designed for the holidays. It's quite sweet so take that into consideration. 5.5% - Found at Beerhive.

PBR - Hard Coffee: Missed this one. Found at DABC, which confuses me because this beer is clearly marked as being 5.0% - someone explain this to me please.

N'ice - Chouffe: Nose is sweet and malty with notes of brandy, dark cherries, figs, and dark candi sugar and faint molasses. Some holiday spices waft lightly along the top. Delicious brandy soaked roasted malt with nuts and nutmeg lingering. Sweet dark fruits and boozy toasted brown bread dipped in toffee. A wonderful holiday ale. 10.0% - Found at Slackwater Sandy.

This is also the last weekend for the Oktoberfest that's being held at the Utah Motor Sports Park in Tooele Co. More info here utahmotorsportscampus.com/

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 10/16/20

 There's "no pressure" finding any of the new stuff I've found for you this week. There's plenty to go around, so you don't have to do it all in one day, like yours truly.

Saltfire - Wet Hop Lupulin Dew (El Dorado):  Mostly grapefruit peel with some berry, mint & vague herbs. It's got great balance for a wet-hop, the fact that it's a pale ale brings up its drinkability. 5.6% - Available at Saltfire

Saltfire - Mobius Trip: This foeder soured beer has generous amounts of prickly pear. This one is a little more fruit forward than some of the Mobius Trip beers. There's good balance here and prickly pear works well with the sour base. 8.0% - Available at Saltfire

Level Crossing - Raising Hope: 100 percent of the profits from this beer will go to cancer charities. This IPA is made with raspberry, blood orange and Bulgarian rose water. The combo creates a new taste at first that's pleasant but hard to describe. eventually the raspberry begins to shine. The IPA is not buried by the fruit and the whole package work incredibly well. One of the better fruited IPAs you'll come across. 

Epic - Bid Bad Baptist (Chocolate Raspberry): This is a sweet, fruity, and roasty aroma with a big scent of raspberries along with chocolate. It tastes like it smells, Big taste of sweet raspberries and vanilla with notes of dark chocolate, mild coffee, toffee, caramel and biscuit along with wood. Some of the base beer gets a little lost, but if you're picking this up it's because of the chocolate and raspberry 10.5% Available at Epic.

Epic - Bid Bad Baptist (Pecan Pie): Making beers that taste like pie is becoming part of life around here; luckily for us, the breweries around here do them quite well. This is no exception. Cocoa and candied pecans lead it off with nice creamy toffee notes rounding it out. Mild cinnamon and coffee come in next with bourbon building towards the end. A little bit of heat in the finish. I'm a fan of bourbon pecan pie, this is pretty close to that. Good stuff. 11.5% - Available at Epic.

Wasatch Kick Back Series - IPL: The aroma starts off with a mixture of spicy, lightly soapy, floral and citrus rind aromas with the spicy hops. it starts off with a medium amount of sweetness with the hops still being the first to show up and they impart the same aspects that they did in the aroma, this time no single hoppy aspect seems to stick out the most and it's followed by some of that clean Lager yeast. Up next comes some pale, grainy and sweet malts flavors. On the finish there's a lighter amount of bitterness with a hoppy aftertaste. This is a nice tasting beer. 6.5% - Available at most Wasatch locations.

Hopkins - Savin Blanc Brut: Look for light toasted malts with minimal sweetness. with berry, citrus and melon notes. 5.0% - Only at Hopkins.

2 Row - Cryo Storm: The aroma is pleasant, lots of citrus juice and bitter peel, pineapple, earthy pine, cereal grains and a floral bouquet. The flavors are good, strong citrus juice and bright pineapple, floral, grassy, dank and piney with well hidden alcohol and malty balance. The mouthfeel is good, coating and crisp with a lively medium body that finishes with a dry bite. Very nice. 7.1% Available at 2 Row.

Toasted Barrel  - Belgian Waffle Triple: Missed this one. It's made with waffles, maple syrup, vanilla and candied sugar. 11.0% Only at Toasted Barrel.

Brujos Brewing/Beer Zombies Wizards and Zombies: A nice aroma of citrus, tropical fruits, hops and sweet malt. It starts with a good dose of guava and mango with lots of orange and other vague citrus flavors. This is a solid, focused, and completely likable beer. Not overly fruity or aggressive, but certainly lively. 10.5%  - Only at Beer Zombies

Mason Ale Works/Beer Zombies - Galaxy Revenge:  Soft, tropical, dank fruit that you'd expect from Galaxy hops. Passionfruit, mango, orange, grapefruit. Maybe some slight piney notes. A beautiful nose that's getting me excited for a sip. The nose follows through but a bit more subdued, led by sharper citrus notes (orange/grapefruit) with a decent hop bite. Some piney flavor, steers clear of the vegetal/grassy issues I've had with some Galaxy IPAs. Nice hint of warmth in the finish. 8.0% - Only at Beer Zombies

Mason Ale Works - Ball Don't Lie: Missed this one. 7.0% - Only at Beer Zombies

Mason Ale Works - The Duke Triple IPA: This extreme IPA isn't for the meek. It hearkens back to  the days of full throttle bitter IPAs. Enormous peach forward maltiness with ridiculous amounts of hops. The result is big flavors of pineapple, stonefruits, mango and grapefruit. Bitterness is high with pine, leaving a bit of booziness in the mouth.11.0% - Only at Beer Zombies

The Bruery - Ruekeller Helles: A nose of grainy cereal and sweet malts with some other mineral notesand herbal hops. The taste starts off with doughy malts, cereal, nuttiness and some fruity ester notes. Light bitterness with fruity herbal hops come next with a drier finish with more cereal grain. Semi-dry finish. 5.2% - Found at Slackwater in Sandy

Crown Valley Brewing - Imperial Pumpkin Smash:  - Missed this one. 10.6% Found at Slackwater in Sandy

Rogue - Coast Haste: Missed this Imperial Hazy. 8.6% - Found at DABC

 Here's this week's Small Batch Beers from Hopkinbrewing Co.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 10/9/20

There's no debating that this week's New Beer Friday will Fly above expectations. We have a couple of anniversary beers and a mandatory dose of hop forward ales.

Kiitos - 3rd Anniversary Ale: This beer is a blend of four different Kiitos ales. It starts with 20% Barleywine, aged in Wyoming Whiskey Barrels for 25 months – 20% Imperial Red Ale, aged for 13 months in High West Whiskey Barrels – 20% Imperial Red Ale, aged for 5 months in High West Whiskey Barrels – 40% Pastry Style Stout aged 7 months in Sugar House Whiskey barrels. Chocolate and whiskey dominate with toffee and tobacco adding some round sweetness. Deep down there's some berry-like fruitiness. Nicely complex and worth laying down for a year or two so that you can start working on that verticle tasting down the road. 11.6% - Available at Kiitos. Not Vegan Friendly

Kiitos - Triple Dry Hopped Hazy with Sabro/Comet: Pours a mostly hazy golden color with a white head, Smell is tropical fruit and malts. Taste has citrus melon some pear, passion fruit and mango. A juicy mouth feel paired with some minor bitterness. 5.0% - Available in 16 ounce cans at Kiitos.

Shades/Beer Bar - Kveik Sunrise: Orange dominates the nose and the beginning of the the first swig. It's natural OJ, not flavoring; you can tell by the way the citric acid lights up the taste buds. Cherry and agave add some minor nutty notes. Would work well tequila or rum. 6.5% - Available at Shades and Beer Bar. Not Vegan Friendly

Shades/Red Rock - Pistachio Ice Cream: No lengthy descriptors needed here. The flavors are simple: Vanilla and pistachio with hint of tartness in the finish. If you dig pistachio milkshakes, you'll find happiness here. 6.5% - Available at Shades and select Red Rock restaurants.  Not Vegan Friendly

Shades - Ten Year Anniversary: To celebrate 10 years, Shades will be debuting a big Triple IPA. This beer features, 10 pounds of 10 different hops per barrel – consisting of: Amarillo, Citra, Cascade, Comet, Centennial, Mosaic, Motueka, Galaxy, El Dorado and Huell Melon. The result is a highly resinous IPA that's tropical fruit forward with a helthy dose of pine. There's a good amount of bitterness, but considering all of the hops were added in the whirlpool and dryhopping, it's pretty mellow considering the hop bill. Some alcohol heat in the finish. 10.0% - Available at Shades on  Saturday 10/10. Are you sensing a theme here???

TF Brewing - Triple Oated Imperial IPA: Pours a fairly turbid yellow-orange body with a one finger white head. Aromas of grapefruit zest and orange pulp, touch of floral as well. Minimal malt sweetness is evident at first. Flavor is similar to some of Templin's other offerings; with a more pronounced grapefruit skin zestiness lingering on the finish. Mouthfeel is a solid medium with a super creamy body – due to the huge amount of oats. Overall bitterness is low. 8.5% - Available at TF starting today.

Red Rock - Saison Rosé: This part of Red Rock's new Back Door Series (quit snickering Mick and Allen) and is exclusive to Red Rock's downtown brewpub. This debut beer from brewer, Chris Harlin is a saison, fermented with brettaanomyces with chardonnay must, hibiscus and raspberry. The flavor is slightly funky due to the immature age of the ale. The berry is nice and round as the hibiscus and brett add some countering tartness. This is a complex, yet refreshing ale that really stands out this week. 6.9% - Available Saturday 10/10 in 22 ounce bottles. If you want it to-go, you must go to the brewery's back door (get it) to purchase it, not the main door.

Upslope - Spruce Tip IPA: This comes off as holiday beer; at the very least it's a cool weather beer. Citrus and pine in the aroma for sure. The body seems pretty full for an IPA, but it does deliver on the spruce. It's nice and sappy/resiny. This is a limited release, when these are gone, they're gone til next year. 7.5% - Found at DABC

Dogfish Head -  Campfire Amplifier: This beer has only been for sale across the country for about a week. And you've already got access to it.  This is a Milk Stout that has S'more flavors added; brewed with marshmallows, graham crackers, cocoa nibs, cinnamon, Madagascar vanilla beans and smoked malt. 6.5% - Found at DABC Not Vegan Friendly

Roadhouse - Trout Whistle: Missed this one. 6.0% Spotted at Slackwater in Sandy.

Returning

RoHa - Pumpkin Black Ale: Smells of cocoa and pumpkin spices. The taste follows with milk chocolate, nutmeg and allspice. Very dessert-like with a fair amount of body for a 5.0% ABV beer. Available at RoHa Brewing Project.

Fisher - Intermountain Juice: This returning favorite is a wet hopped beer made with 100 lbs of fresh picked Idaho 7. Look for big flavors of citrus peel, melon and grasses. 5.0% - Available at Fisher.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 10/2/20

It's another solid line up from local breweries this week. However, if you subscribe to the vegan lifestyle, take note that there's a more than a few options that may not jive with your lifestyle. 

Saltfire - Los Braceros: Smells heavily of sweet grains and malts with some spicy, grassy hoppiness in the background. For the style, happy to have some hint of hops on the nose. Tastes similar to the nose. Buttery toffee and roasted, sweet grains up front with a bitter hop, crisp and dry hop finish. 5.5% -Available at Saltfire

Shades/Purgatory - El Papi: This beer is based on the Purgatory cocktail. Margarita-like aroma with hints of chilies and basil. The taste is the same. Agave sweetness works well against the sour base beer. the basil subtle and the jalapeno is heat is light. 5.6% This one goes on sale Saturday 10/3  Not Vegan Friendly

Shades/Edge Brewing - Guavalicious: Made with Boise's Edge Brewing. This beer has a big guava nose with hints of vanilla. The taste follows with fresh guava that is light and it compliments the base kveik beer. A nice fruity beer, with high drinkabilty.  5.6% - Available at Shades now. Not Vegan Friendly

Shades/Slackwater - Beautiful Disaster: This cream ale has a more brown hue due to the cocoa nibs. The nose is big with hazelnut and chocolate. The taste is basically Nutella with light banana. The banana is real banana and not estery yeast flavor. The whole package is very dessert-like. 5.6% - Available at Shades now. Not Vegan Friendly

Toasted Barrel - Pina Colada Triple Milkshake IPA: Big flavors of pineapple and coconut dominate with vanilla and citrus coming in next. There's some floral bitterness floating around in the background with the big 10.5% stays relatively hidden. Tasty stuff. Only at Toasted Barrel. Not Vegan Friendly

Level Crossing - Astro Shake: The nose is hoppy, malty, with nice orange, tangerine, grapefruit and guava The taste is nice with a surprising amount of hops coming though the lactose addition. There's a nice citrus blend of orange, tangerine and grapefruit. Guava -like flavors show up as well with a nice pine bitterness in the finish. the 7.7% ABV. Overall, a tasty brew. available  starting today at Level Crossing. Not Vegan Friendly

Hopkins - Deseret Dunkle: Look for slight banana with a deep sweet bready smell and some burnt sugars and raisins. Sweet breadiness light bits of clove and banana lights bits of caramel and toffee on the end a little honey. 5.0% - Available at Hopkins.

Bewilder - Pumpkin Mild: This spice beer is is full of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. There's a nice amount of malt sweetness as well. This comes across more as a gingerbread cookie to me. Good stuff. 5.0% - only at Bewilder.

Bewilder - Raspberry Golden Sour: Made with fresh local raspberries and you can tell. The berries are fresh as hell tasting and the base sour ale is has medium to low tartness. Very nice stuff. 4.7% - only at Bewilder.

Bewilder SMaSH Pale: Hopped with Amarillo, this is a pleasant and highly drinkable pale ale full of citrus peel notes and bitterness. Tasty stuff. 5.0% - only at Bewilder.

Kiitos - Pomegranate Gose: This is part of Kiitos' 3rd Anniversary party this weekend. It will be released on Saturday.

Kiitos - Autumn Haze: This is part of Kiitos' 3rd Anniversary party this weekend. It will be released on Saturday.

Kiitos - Barrel Aged Coconut Stout: This is part of Kiitos' 3rd Anniversary party this weekend. It will be released on Saturday.

Fisher - Peaceful Transition: Hoppy with a lot of pine. Some grapefruit and floral notes in the nose as well. Grapefruit is stronger than in the nose. Pine notes as well as vague citrus. Good stuff. 5.0% - Available at Fisher

Boulevard - 30th Anniversary: The aroma is full of dark fruit, brandy, bourbon, spicy rye with strong booze. Flavors surpass the nose with bourbon, whiskey, spicy rye, brandy, Cabernet wine notes, dark fruits of plum and dark cherry, vanilla, moderate char, coffee. There's a ton of complex flavors here that improve as the beer warms. 12.5% - Found at the Sandy Slackwater

Mare Island - Fog Bell: This hazy is a new release from Mare Island. There a nice tropical aroma, just as you'd expect from the style . Flavors are mostly pineapple and citrus with minor pithy flavors. It's got a bit of bitterness which may throw some of you off. Overall a nice beer – not quite to style. 6.3% Found at Beerhive.

 Here are Hopkins Brewing Company's Oktoberfest small batch offerings.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 9/25/20

There a massive selection of beers for you this week and we've got the antidote to your COVID blues. Strap-in this is going to be a long, New Beer Friday.

Saltfire - A Series of Singularities: Nelson Sauvin: Plenty of caramel sweetness, layered with white wine grapes, lychee and a fair amount of spiciness. A substantial malt base, after which comes the expected dry, white-wine, gooseberry and melon flavor from the Nelson Sauvin hops. Finishes dry with substantial, but not overwhelming bitterness. A very nice single hop IPA. 7.1% - Available at Saltfire.

Saltfire - Mobius Trip - Non Sequitur: This is a mixed culture kettle sour. Mobiles Trip is typically made with funkier yeasts. This version is made with peaches. For a kettle sour, this one isn't 'break your jaw' sour. There's notes of lime peel up front. It's unexpected and pleasant. Next come the peach; it's comes off as green and unripened due to the base beer. The date on the bottle says 8/25/20 it's like 9/25/20. 7.3% - available today at Saltfire.

Desert Edge - Game Day Red: This is a little more subtle than an amber ale – not a caramel forward. the medium amount of malt sweetness met with mostly orange peel and pine with some floral notes in the finish. It has a nice old school 90s feel. 5.0% - only at Desert Edge.

Heber Valley - The Grunge IPA: I hate living so far from this brewery, because they're cranking-out some really good stuff. If you have any tasting notes on this new release please share them here. This was made with locally grown hops from Heber, UT (I assume). 5.0% only at Heber Valley Brewing.

RoHa -Rose Wild Beer: Named for Betty White's character, Rose from the Golden Girls  – The base beer here is Maltese Cross, that's been fermenting on 100% brett for most of COVID. The nose is hoppy, with some dark fruits and barnyard funk. the taste is much more malty than the nose led me to believe. There's some minor berry and melon notes with some moist cake. It's really easy on the palate. Towards the finish you get some fink and woody notes. A nice, young, brett beer. 5.0% Available at RoHa in crowlers to-go only. 

Shades/TF - Strawberry Rhubarb Pie: Brewed with their pals at TF Brewing this is a nice subtle beer. It's got strawberry for sure, the rhubarb part gets a little lost in the base kveik beer; it doesn't really matter because it all comes off as the same. It's  not cloying at all and the graham cracker is complimentary and not in your face. 6.5% - Available at Shades and better beer pubs around the Wasatch Front.       

Shades/Three Monkeys Beer - Bad Habits: Never heard of Three Monkeys Beer? Not surprising,  they're out of Rio de Janero and they've collaborated on an American Style Sour ale made with mango and lactose. This is quite creamy, the mango is nicely mellow. It brings up the drinkanbility a lot. The lactose isn't cloying either, so you get a nice, well round drinking experience. Very nice. 6.5% Available at Shades and better beer pubs around the Wasatch Front.   

Shades/Uinta - Kveik Nosh: This a part Hop Nosh - part Kveik sour and part juice beer. It comes across as dryer west coast sour. the base beer isn't too tart, and it helps to prep the palate for the dose of grapefruit juice coming your way. It's  not overpower by any means but you can defiantly taste the difference between hops trying to taste like grapefruit and real thing. A very nice nice and unique IPA. 6.5% At Shades starting 9/26/20.  

Red Rock - Pumpkin Chocolate Chip: This 

Wasatch - Juicy 074: This is an experimental hop IPA

Mike Hess - Into the Sunset: This blood orange infused IPA pours a nice apricot shade of Amber, moderately cloudy and leaving just some minor fine sheeting. Orange pith on the nose. Loaded with orange notes, some resiny hoppyness and a pleasing malty underbelly. 6.5% - Found at Slackwater Sandy.

Mike Hess - Hop Cloud: Floral aroma with equal parts mango and pineapple right up front, then a rush of pure orange peel. Low bitterness, as this is a NEIPA. And yes, there's plenty of haze if rouse the can. 7.0% - Found at Slackwater Sandy.

Cascade - Valley Flora: This 2017 vintage has a heavy vinous profile with cherry and plum. Vinegar towards the end; dryer than balsamic with a scratchy finish. Made with Pino Noir grapes. 10.0% - Found a Beer Bar. 

Cascade - Cuvee Du Jongleur: This is a blend of Belgian reds, tripels and and quade ales aged in oak casks. Sour cherries, balsamic vinegar, some sugar and cake batter. It has the lactic classic red malt that Flanders Reds are known for, oak and acid are clear. Adds some more complexity with some Belgian malt and ester flavors, notes of fruit - lemon and tangerine in there as well. 8.4% - Found at Beer Bar

Founders - Unraveled IPA:  Smells fruity and floral. Pineapple is the strong aroma. Taste is fruity, pineapple, a bit floral; not very bitter. A really pleasant IPA. 6.6% Found at Slackwater Sandy

Trickster - J-Box: This brewery is new to the SLC Market. Trixster hails from Coeur d'Alene, ID. J-Box features Simcoe, Mosaic and Chinook hops. This beer is resiny with slight juice, grapefruit, pine and orange peel, but pretty mellow overall. 5.0% Found at Harmons

Sawtooth - Free Solo: This is branded as a hazy Single hop IPA made with BRU-1 hops. I'm not really familiar with this newer hop strain. They're said to contribute notes of pineapple and stone fruit, that is backed with a soft spiciness. We shall see. 4.9% Found at Harmons

New Belgium - Higher Plane VooDoo Ranger: Missed this new one. This one can be found at DABC stores. Missed this new hazy IIPA. 8.5% - Found at DABC

Returning Favorites

Uinta - Sea Legs: This initially debuted in December 2012 and was supposed to be a one-off. Well it's back in a far more manageable 12 ounce bottle (formerly 750ml). It pours a very murky, dark brown, almost black color with a small tan head. The nose is brilliant! full of toffee with some chocolate biscotti, a hint of Bourbon and espresso. The taste starts with sweet chocolate with some biscuity malt flavors. A bit of dark fruits with vanilla and subtle whiskey come next with a bit of dark chocolate and toffee in the finish. The alcohol is well hidden in this 8% beer.

Fisher - Beet Saison: Fisher's infamous beet infused beer is back for a limited time. Super earthy with medium sweetness. The saison part is very light with hints of clove and white pepper.  5.0% - only at Fisher.

Roosters - Cosmic Autumn Rebellion: To give credit where credit is due, this is the original locally made Pumpkin chocolate chip cookie beer. Pumpkin spice aroma with cocoa. The taste is pumpkin spices dough and chocolates. Reminds me very much of those chocolate chip pumpkin cookies. 6.0% Available at all Rosters Locations.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 9/18/20

 Welcome to the adult version of New Beer Friday. We tried the kids edition – but after a few days in the pokey, we decided that wasn't going to work. So here it is, a nice, round selection of new suds for your weekend.

Proper - Strawberry Hibiscus Sour Ranger: Smells of strawberry, slight wheat with floral notes. Tastes of strawberry, wheat, hint of pale malt and slight yogurt. Mouth feel is sharp and crisp, with a slight bitterness. Overall, while the strawberry is strong in the aroma, it is much better balanced in the body. The tartness is assertive but there's enough strawberry to get above it. 5.0% - Available at Proper.

TF Brewing - Straight Stratta Pale: This wet-hop pale ale pours a medium golden amber with one finger white head with good retention and lots of lacing. Aroma of ripe tangerine peel, light lemon citrus, bready malt; a little earthy. Flavor follows with an emphasis on ripe melon, lemon and tangerine citrus, a hint of pine, bready and mildly caramel malt. Finishes with fruit forward tropical and citrus hops and nice earthy residual malt. A very tasty Stratta hopped pale ale. 5.0% - Only at TF on draft. 

Salt Flats - Pumpkin Spice Latte: Pours a slightly hazy amber orange with an aroma of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, graham cracker and vanilla. Flavor is of cracker malts, graham cracker, pumpkin pie, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a hint of coffee.  A solid pumpkin ale one the pie side of pumpkin. Good stuff. 5.0% - Available at The Garage in Draper and Salt Flat's Brewery. Not vegan friendly.

Wasatch - Kick Back Series Oktoberfest: A toasted bread aroma with cracker, caramel and sweet malt. Very sweet and fresh smelling. Pretty well balanced between the malt and hops, maybe a little malt advantage. The abv is 6.0% and does casually make its presence known. This is like a meeting of German feistbers and American Oktoberfest brews. Available at most Wasatch/Squatters locations.

Epic - Señor Pepino: It has a nice pastel straw color with a nose that is mild, but has the unmistakable fresh garden aroma of cucumber. Earthy and green taste of fresh cucumber slices and some light traces of yeast fruitiness. The lager is complimented well by the vegetable addition, but it all seems to overpower the lime. Light and fresh feel, a clean lager with ample body and carbonation. 4.5% - Available at Epic in 16 ounce cans.

Squatters - Grandma's Cookies: Pours an opaque black with a nitro foamy khaki head. Aromas of dark roasted malt, allspice toasted oats, and slight cocoa. Taste is much the same with cookie dough and a cocoa flavor on the finish. There is a mild amount of roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a silky and creamy mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is tasty and easy to drink. 5.0% - only at Squatters downtown.

Flensbberger - Pilsner: This is a somewhat hoppy pilsner that has a great balance of doughy, grainy malt and grassy hops going for it, with some lighter floral, citrus accents and a good bitterness in the finish. Quite crisp and clean, with a very balanced flavor profile leaning towards hoppy-side of the style. 4.8% - only at the Bayou in crowlers to-go.

Mike Hess Brewing - 4:59 Little IPA: Citrus hops are the most prevalent. Some floral hints as well. Biscuity light malts are also noticeable yet subtle. Flavor is assertive and hop forward with notes of orange, grapefruit, passion fruit, pine, light caramel and a bit of grassy hops. Assertive bitter finish with pine lingering. 4.59% - Found at Slackwater in Sandy.

Last week we mentioned the Shades' 10th Anniversary beers. The were delayed due to last week's power outages. So here they are again, available for purchase. 

Shades/Ice Haüs: The Ice Haüs is a staple for craft beer lovers in Murray. This collaboration is a Bloody Mary Michelada American-Style Sour Ale. It made with tomato, celery salt, chili peppers and worchestershire sauce. This nails the flavors quite well. The tart base ups the beers drinkabilty; maybe a bit more celery salt for my palate, but it's quite nice if you like this type of beer. 6.5%

Shades/Taproot Soda: When you're chasing the perfect unconventional mixer for your spirits, you're likely pouring Utah's own, Taproot Sodas. This week's second collaboration takes Taproot's Blackberry Mint soda and combines it with Shades' Kveik sour ale. 6.5%

 Cheers!

New Beer Friday 9/11/20

To celebrate Shades' 10th anniversary, the South Salt lake City brewery has teamed up with an international list of craft breweries to create 10 new beers for you to enjoy throughout September. The first two releases hit tomorrow (9/12/20).

Shades/Ice Haüs: The Ice Haüs is a staple for craft beer lovers in Murray. This collaboration is a Bloody Mary Michelada American-Style Sour Ale. It made with tomato, celery salt, chili peppers and worchestershire sauce. This nails the flavors quite well. The tart base ups the beers drinkabilty; maybe a bit more celery salt for my palate, but it's quite nice if you like this type of beer. 6.5%

Shades/Taproot Soda: When you're chasing the perfect unconventional mixer for your spirits, you're likely pouring Utah's own, Taproot Sodas. This week's second collaboration takes Taproot's Blackberry Mint soda and combines it with Shades' Kveik sour ale. 6.5%

Uinta - Turn Farm: This beer benefits the Utah Avalanche Center and is part of their annual fundraiser. This is a small batch cream ale has a nice cereal grain aroma with light floral hops. Tastes of white bread, light grainy malt, corn and cereal are the primary flavor notes throughout the entire profile but there is a bit of very light caramel and light grassy hops that are light and lingering. 6.0% - Only available at Uinta.

Wasatch - Great Deceiver: This new Imperial Pilsner has a nose of biscuity and grainy malt along with a lot of noble-like hops characters. Very Czech pilsner-ish. Similar flavors. Bready, grainy malt and spicy, grassy hops. Finishes with a bold, slightly metallic bitterness. Good moderately high carbonation. 7.0% - Available at most Wasatch locations.

Kiitos - Black is Beautiful: Aroma of dark toasted malt with mild char, chocolate, light coffee and molasses; a bit boozy. Flavor is dark toasted malt with moderate char, dark chocolate, licorice, char and coffee in the finish with a little biscuit; slightly dry. A very nice stout. 10.0% - Only at Kiitos.

Bewilder - Los Hazey Boi: Aroma of orange/tangerine, grapefruit and melon - some faint pine as well. Taste is similar to the aroma, melon, tangy citrus and tropical fruit, grainy malt, light spicy/herbal hop notes. 4.8% - Available at Bewilder.

Destihl - Key Lime Gose: The aroma has yogurt, lime, malts, and salt. The flavor starts with cream cheese and graham cracker. You may think, cream cheese? and go, ewww.  It works. These flavors are followed by lime and lemony tartness from the base beer. Overall it's a tasty pie- beer (which might become its own style), not too much sourness, with a nice creamy feel.

Destihl - Haze of the Dead: It's hazy, so if that's important to you, you're already good to go. The color is orange with nice foam. There a good dose of citrus hops with pith and lime zest. The tastes follows with added pineapple and mango with pithy grapefruit flavors and a hint of bitterness in the finish. This gets into West Coast IPA, purists please take note. It delivers strong hops without being overly bitter or too sweet. Very nice.

Cheers!