New Beer Friday 6/26/20

No IPAs? That rare for New Beer Friday and frankly it's quite refreshing to see such a well rounded list of none hop bombs. Enjoy this week's beers.

Saltfire Mobius Trip 'Utah Peaches': Very golden in color. The peach really comes through in the nose, smells very fresh, oaky and funky. They must have used a lot of peaches because the stone fruit keeps-on-keep'n-on right into the taste. The peach is complimented by some ghostly wine character that seems tanic but it's probably just in my head. The sourness is medium to light and the Jamaican rum barrel boozines is head swirling.  I dig this one. 8.0%. There seems to be plenty at the brewery but don't wait too long. 

TF Brewing - Rye Lager: The rye bursts through with such a great malt profile. There’s a smoothness to this beer that is met with the rye spiciness, and a clean finish. It could go wrong in so many ways but doesn’t. (if it was more chewy I don’t think i'd enjoy it as much). Great mouthfeel, the rye dominates and shines. 5.0% - Available at TF.

Fisher - Turn the Phaze: This pale ale is hazy, hoppy, fruity and juicy. Featuring notes of mango, pineapple and strawberry.  5.0% - Only at Fisher.

Fisher - Holy - Coyote: This is a juniper berry infused pale ale, brewed with golden oats, Cascade Centennial and Amarillo. 5.0% - Only at Fisher.

Proper - Blackberry Sour Ranger: The name says it all. The tartness has a medium intensity that boarders on full. The blackberry is fruity enough to punch through and is pleasant. I like the Sour Rangers series, this is a nice addition. 5.0% - at Proper.

Toasted Barrel - Scottish Red Ale: A malt forward ale with toffee and caramel - hints of peppery yeast as well. Hops are subtle with a citrusy profile. 5.0% - Available at Toasted Barrel.

2 Row - Honey Habenero: The aroma is minimal with chilies, honey, yeast and pale malt. The taste starts with semisweet pale malt and a good dose of honey. The habenero is spicy, but not uncomfortable. The finish is firmly bitter and dry.If you like chili beers this is an excellent option.

Shades - Tamarind Ale: This is highly fruity with white grape, lime, lemon, crab-apple and gooseberry. Tangy, tart and approaching a full out sour taste, the ale stops shy and allows the creaminess of wheat to balance and support the fruit. The spice of tamarind applies an earthy, herbal and citrusy tartness. Very nice! 6.5% - Available at Shades.   

Stone - Peak Conditions: Yeah, I said there were no new IPAs this week, then this popped up after I already wrote the introduction. So sue me! This beer is heavy with pink grapefruit - tastes really fresh. It's listed at 8.1% but you'd never know it. The flavors round out with passion fruit, orange and guava. I could drink this all day. Found at Beerhive.

The Bruery - Bakery Oatmeal Cookie: They really did a great job with the accuracy of the cookie taste. The malt taste is more like the light flavor of oatmeal and raisins than the typical dark malt expected. Dark toasted malt, raisins, cinnamon, sweetened oatmeal. Lingering cookie finish that really does taste like an oatmeal cookie. 10.2% Found at Slackwater (Ogden)

The Bruery - Gose are Red: This is a classic gose. A hint of salt on the tongue, followed by grainy wheat, grapes, lemon juice and acidic tartness that is short of sour. 5.6% found at Slackwater (Ogden)

Boulevard - Smooth Fuzz: Missed this one. It's described as a melange of Belgian-style ales, aged in oak barrels and foeders for up to 36 months. Tart and funky, Smooth Fuzz rested on whole apricots prior to infuse juicy stone fruit flavors which mingle with the mixed fermentation character provided by our house lactobacillus and brettanomyces cultures. 8.0% Found at Slackwater (Sandy)

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 6/19/20

Tomorrow is the Summer Solstice - you'd never know it by the temperatures outside. I'm not complaining, this is damn near perfect weather for me. It's also excellent beer drinking weather too; warm enough for the light summer beer with enough evening chill to bring on the heavier beer cravings. Take a look at the list this week and you'll see it fits in perfectly to what I was just talking about.

Fisher - Bock: This beer was resurrected from Fisher's early 20th Century glory days. It's not an exact clone, but I trust Colby's brewing prowess to dial it in. It even comes in a retro looking Bock crowler.  5.0% - Available at Fisher.

Fisher - Plumango Sour: Very tart up front some nice mango notes. The plum gets a little lost in the base beer but it's overall a nice flavor combo that light and refreshing. Look for a malt sweet beer with with lighter alcohol than the typical bock. 5.0% In crowlers to go at Fisher.

Fisher - Staring into the Rye: There's a good dose of rye on top of a solid caramel base. Hops are herbal, sharp and balancing. Nice beer.  5.0% In crowlers to go at Fisher.

Toasted Barrel - Double Juicy IPA: Missed this one. Brewed with four different hop varietals, creating a low bitterness NEIPA.  8.5% - At Toasted Barrel today.

Shades -  PB&J: I was expecting a peanut butter bomb al la Belching Beaver, but the nut addition is pretty subtle. With a tart base beer - plus the addition of strawberry, think too much peanut butter would have made it a muddled mess. It's pretty drinkable considering what it is. 6.5% - Only a Shades.

Heber Valley - Mint n' Chocolate Stout: If you going to make a chocolate stout in the summer you'd better find a way to make it somewhat refreshing. The addition of mint may be the key. This is out now and only at the brewery in Heber. 5.0%

UTOG - Dry Bavarian Hefeweizen: They dialed down the sweetness a bit for this normally sweet wheatbier. It's time you experimented with the drier side of Hefes. 5.0% - only at UTOG.

Talisman - Adventures in IPA #6: This Juicy IPA was brewed with Citra, Amarillo and El Dorado hops. This will go fast! 5.0% - Available at Talisman. 

Lone Pine - Oh-J: This double IPA has an opaque medium orange gold color with bright citrus aromas of orange and grapefruit. Vibrant orange and light citrus in the taste with spicy citrus rind. In the finish there's a nice lingering citrus twang. 8.1% Found at Slackwater.

Returning Favorites

Red Rock - Paardebloem: It's been about a year and a half since the last batch hit. This batch may be tough to obtain for home consumption, but I've been assured that there will be plenty going to the main brewpub and RR's restaurants to take care of the dine-in crowd. This year you can expect honey sweetness with peach, apricot and pear notes. There's a hint of funk and tartness lurking beneath the fruitiness. There's a good dose of bitterness from the greens as well. A sit warms the vinious aspe t from the barrel pop out. Finishes slightly warm and boozy. 9.2% Goes on sale Friday (today) in the restaurants, Saturday at the production brewery.

Proper - Recommend Rye: Continuing with their greatest hits, Proper is re-introducing another of it's OG beers. This week we return to Recommend Rye. This is a saison at it base with rye spiciness that compliments the esters the Belgian yeast creates. This is slightly tweaked from the last time you had it so it's time to schlep your ass over there and try out the new batch. 5.7% Only at Proper.

Epic/Commons - Common Interests:  You thought this collaboration beer between Epic and the now defunct Commons Brewing was all gone. Oh how wrong you were. There's a limited amount of crowlers available in SLC for this special foedered melon sour.  This has a light-straw color with just a hint of green in the highlights. Sweet honeydew rind, clean earth and oak hit the nose. The first sip is bright with citrus-tartness, lime and pith, that fades quickly to a cooling ripe-melon-sweetness with hints of cereal grain, tilled earth and root cellar. The effervescence lifts quickly off the palate taking the acidity but leaving hints of honeydew and the harvest season. 

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 6/12/20

Breweries are slowly opening their doors; allowing people inside. Get out and enjoy what they have to offer, but keep in mind there are still restrictions in place and expect the unexpected when venturing out. Now on to New Beer Friday!

Epic - Big Bad Baptist Reserve 2020: This beastly blend is aged in first use Templeton Rye barrels, Willett Rye and Willett Whiskey barrels. Hints of coconut combined with sweet cocoa and coffee start you off. From there it's all about the rye whiskey. It's not super overpowering, but it's assertive enough to for me to identify the type of whiskey used. It's hides it's 13.2% ABV very well, so be aware of that. At Epic now.

Bewilder - Kolsch: The nose is mostly herbal with some cracker-like aromas. There's a good amount of toasty grains with some citrus herbal grass. The finish is clean and mostly dry. 5.0% - Available today at Bewilder

Talisman - Berry Salty: This has a hazy straw color with a minimal off-white head that disappears quickly. Aroma is fruity. Tastes of vague berries with some sodium. Finishes with a tart bitterness. 5.0% - Available at Talisman.

Talisman Summa Sippin': Missed this one. It's a fruited sour as well. 4.9% - Available at Talisman.

Shades - India Masala: There's definitely an abundant amount of spices in the nose: cinnamon and evidently curry coalesce into a hearty, extremely potent nose bomb. The tart base is medium in strength with some lightly sweet curry. I find myself enjoying it as a unique experiment in unapologetic spice overdose. I appreciate that Shades is flexing it's creative muscles. Available at Shades. Not vegan friendly.

Toasted Barrel - Mango Milkshake IPA: There's a good dose of peach flavors from the malt. The mango is subtle, as is the lactose addition. The hops are all late additions, so the bitterness is low as well. A nice representation of the style. This 8.0% beer hides its alcohol as well, so I'll say again, watch your drinking speed. Not vegan friendly.

Mountain West Cider - Sweet Alice: Missed this. This is a Peach cider with turmeric. On sale now at Mountain West Cider.

Destihl - Piña Coladas Gose: Missed this one. Look for pineapple and coconut for a tropical twist on this classic sour ale. 5.7% - Found at DABC. Not vegan friendly.

Returning Favorites

Proper - Instigator: Proper has been resurrecting some of their OG beers and their adding some tweeks, so If you think you know these beers, think again. Instigator is a Helles Bock (Maibock), full of malty and nutty qualities. It's sweet but has enough hop bitterness to keep it from becoming too much so. Medium-full bodied. Very smooth. 6.0% (formerly 5.5%). Available at Proper 

Roosters - Rooster Tail: This newest incarnation is hopped with Idaho Gem and Motueka. Defiantly worth checking out. On sale now at All Roosters locations.

What did I miss? Please share what you've found.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 6/5/20

No matter where you fall in this long overdue societal upheaval; at least here, in this small corner of the interwebs, I think that we can all agree that craft beer is the unifying factor. And if we can all find common ground here, we can find it anywhere. So let's all unify around all of the liquid happiness we have swirling around us this week.

Shades - Pleasantly Pickled: The dill is of course most prominent. The pineapple is fairly subdued, with the chilies taking the rest of the load. This is quite different than many of the other kveiks that you've had from Shades and it's due to the low lactose levels and the intensity of the herbs and spices used. It's good on its own or as a cocktail mixer. Think: cheleda, bloody mary, margarita or as a pickle back. 6.5% - Only at Shades.

Cerveza Zólupez - Lager Mexicano: Before the pandemic Zólupez owner, Javier Chavez Jr. traveled to the city of Monterrey in Northern Mexico to make a collaborative beer with one of that regions premier brewers, Cerveceria Cabrito. Using Chavez's lager recipe they produced a classic Mexican lager. Ironically these lager have their roots in traditional German beers. This lager has a subtle malt profile with Saaz hops providing a slight zest. at 5.0% it's pleasantly dry and very crushable. This beer is just hitting the Ogden area and will so be in wide release.

Toasted Barrel - Pineapple Smoothie: Missed this one. However I understand this to be a barrel aged sour with the characteristics of of a kettle soured smoothie style ale. I'm very curious. Only at Toasted Barrel.

Bewilder - Mexican Lager: Sweet and grainy malts add a soft bread-like maltiness with a touch of toast. The hops are Nobel-like and add some nice grassiness and spice. Very drinkable on a warm June afternoon. 5.0% - Only at Bewilder.

Level Crossing - Berry Hazy: This is an American style pale, with a good amount of citrus qualities from the hops. The berry medley used adds a complimentary fruitiness that works extremely well with the base beer and it never falters until the end of the swig. 5.0% - Only at Level Crossing.

Four Peaks - Gilt Lifter: I don't know if this is the right style of beer (Scottish Ale) to take you into the low cal/carb game. There are some nice sugary notes but, you really want those big toffee flavors in styles like this. This more of a pool or recreating beer. 3.4% - Found at Harmons.

Great Divide Car Camper: Nice grapefruit notes, good aromatics with hint of dank bitterness detected. Dry hopped grapefruit is upfront and forward with some piney elements as well. The malt profile is light which makes the beer finish failed dry. Pretty good, you could kill a few of these no problem. 5.0% - Found at Harmons.

Deschutes - Lil' Squeezy: Citrusy hops with bread hops that creep into cracker territory. The taste starts somewhat herbal with some caramel and tropical fruits. Hints of citrus and melon with a long dry finish. 5.0% - found at Harmons.

New Belgium - VooDoo Ranger American Haze: Some star citrus fruitiness in the nose with some cereal like grains. The flavor follows with low bitterness. 5.0% - Found at Harmons.

Firestone Walker - Fly Jack: Herbal nose with some grapefruit. Upon first sip there's  lot of grapefruit, with some earthy hops as well. The flavor has more citrus hops with some lemongrass as well. Notes of pineapple linger towards the end. finishes with some orange pith. Another entry into the low-cal beer game.

Returning Favorites:

TF - Who's Barry?: In this new iteration look for a slight reduction in lactose sweetness with an increase in overall berry fruitiness. Slightly more tannic which helps it keep that fresh fruitiness. The mouthfeel seems to have a creamier feel as well.

Hopkins Chile Mangose: This beer was originally made as a collaboration with Salt Flats for last year's Utah Brewers Guild Collaboration Festival. This version has been bumped up to 5.0%. The chilies provide more flavor than heat in this sour based beer. Ever tried mango dusted with chiles? it's very much like that; with less intensity. A wonderful beer. Only at Hopkins.

Hopkins also has a huge selection of small batch beers to offer this weekend.  Check these out!


Cheers!