New Beer Christmas Eve 12/24/21

All I can say is, please be happy and safe this holiday. Too many wonderful people have left us this year due to COVID and other equally shitty things. Here's a merry list of beers that will be available today for a limited time this afternoon. Most of the breweries will be closing early today, so I recommend getting your Christmas Day beverages earlier, rather than later. Let's share a pint soon and happy New Beer Christmas Eve. 

RoHa - Dog Tag IPA: Probably one of the more unique IPAs from RoHa. This is very citrus forward with lotsa lemon grass, lime & floral profiles. It’s herbal, but not obnoxiously so. In closing: If lemon, lime and botanicals are on your happiness chart look no further. 5.0% - Only at RoHa.

Grid City - The Big Fruit Cake: At first swig I thought this was a Sierra Nevada Bigfoot. It hits all the right notes. Then all of the dark fruits roll in; cherries, fig, dates with a shload of toffee & tobacco. It finished with cranberry & a medium citrus peel & pine bitterness.11.3% - Only at Grid City.

Toasted Barrel - Tiger's Bolld Snow Cone IPA: It smells like a milkshake, it tastes like a milkshake, but this is no lactose IPA. 44 LBS of coconut gives this unique IPA its creamy feel. The strawberry & watermelon work perfectly with the hops to make this DIPA highly drinkable & enjoyable. 10.0% Only at Toasted Barrel.    

Bewilder - Plumdog Millionaire: Nutty & malty aroma. The flavor is much more berry forward. For the most part this is all fruit, but the end still retains some of its blonde roots. PUN INTENDED! 5.0% - Only at Bewilder.

Shades Carrot Cake: The aroma is absolutely dead on. There is not much else to really say. Vanilla, cinnamon, a toffee sweet malt aroma, ginger, and nutmeg. I think that covers it. Wow, the flavor is nice, but does not quite live up to the aroma. Some toffee sweetness goes with the malt flavor, and some vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and all spice are there as well. 

Fisher - White IPA: This is a new higher alcohol version of the Fisher favorite.  There's a very aromatic nose of citrus peel here, along with light biscuit malt. The hops finish it off with nice citrus and tropical flavors. Very nice! 7.5% - Only at Fisher to-go in 32 ounce crowlers.

The following are new from Offset Bier 

Tmavé Pivo Czech Dark Lager: Notes of milk chocolate with spicy hop character from the copious additions of Czech grown Saaz.  Packed with flavor yet so light on the palate and easy to drink due to it’s extended 6 week lagering time. 5.0% - Only at Offset Bier.

Helles German Pale Lager: A very traditional German light lager. Yeast from an old Monastic brewery, step mashed, cold fermented, naturally carbonated, and 6 weeks lagered. Bier flavored Beer. 5.0% - Only at Offset Bier.

Phone It In Modern IPA: This one features Strata and Idaho 7 hops. Potent hop aromas of Strawberry, Peach, Dankness, and a hint of Melon. Hazy 'cause it’s hoppy. 7.8% 

Pale Ale Classic American Pale Ale: Hopped with Cascade and heavy amounts of choice Centennial. Prominent notes of fresh cut lemons backed up by pine and slight floral notes. 5.0% - Only at Offset Bier. 

Divi IPA: New recipe! Hopped heavily with Idaho 7, Citra, HBC 586, and the new hot hop from New Zealand, Nectaron. Notes of Pineapple, passion fruit, grapefruit, mango, guava, lychee, and coconut. 

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/17/21

Nearly forty beers this week, and I drank them all! Actually I probably didn't even have half. But in my tiny mind I swilled every last one! If these don't get you prepped for the holidays, nothing will. This New Beer Friday list is somewhat incomplete because I ran out of gas compiling it. Very sorry. 

RoHa - Spudnik 7: If you’re familiar with your hops, you may have guessed this is made with Idaho 7. This has mostly herbal hops with some citrus peel. malt profile is mostly toasty with light caramel. 5.0% Available at Roha.

Bewilder - WhistleGoWoo: This saison was dry-hopped with Nelson Sauvin & Motueka. The aroma is all clove & bubblegum. The taste starts the same, then the hops come in with spicy orange peel and a good dose of herbal hops smacking the sides of the tongue. The hop bill here helps keep the yeast from getting too ‘chewy’ & gives the beer some balance. 5.0% - Available at Bewilder starting today.  

Bewilder/Strap Tank - Wee Heavy: The boys and girls at both breweries decided to go with a direct fire boil, to ‘amp up’ the caramelization in this single malt ale. The nose is mostly caramel and floral hops. The taste is all creamy caramel. There’s some nice vague fruity notes in there as well, but holy shit this pleasant and dangerous. The 10.4% ABV is hard to detect until it warms. Outstanding Wee Heavy. Available at Bewilder today. Strap Tank will have some to sell as well; keep your eye on their social media for the where and when. 

Strap Tank - V-Twin (Nitro): Who loves a lager on nitro? This beer nerd right here. You might ask, “this ain’t a new beer”! and I’d reply, “au contraire mon ami”. The simple change of gas can completely alter a beer’s flavor profile. You’d be surprised by how bitter co2 can be. This lager is a Vienna. It come across more sweet than normal. The nitro gives its creamy texture that amplifies the nuttiness from the base malts. Hops are grassy and herbal. Excellent stuff. 5.0% - Only a Strap Tank Lehi 

Epic - Big Boy Hoppy Brown: O.G. beer nerds will remember Epic’s Santa Cruz. It was billed as a ‘brown IPA’ and I very much loved it. Apparently I was the only one. After years of pissing in Epic’s ear in regards to bringing it back, the powers that be decided to shut me up and resurrect Santa Cruz as Big Boy Hoppy Brown. It’s not the same beer, the malts bill has been altered along with hops. As far as brown ales go this less malty and much more toasty. The hop bill offers a punch of floral & pine along with an amped-up ABV. Nostalgia seekers & beer nerds who require something different- look no further. 7.4% - Available at Epic. 

Policy Kings - WiseUp: Missed this new IPA. 5.0% - Only at Policy Kings

Fisher - Buzzard's British Brown: A medium amount of malt sweetness with an extra dose of toastiness. Light floral hops round it out.

Fisher - Desert Rose Prickly Pear Lager: Prickly pear is dominant. It's not super sweet but it does dominate most of the lager. 5.0% - Only at Fisher.

Grid City - Oatmeal Stout: This comes across as your classic Irish oatmeal stout. A medium amount of roasted grains, cocoa and light malt tartness. Textbook stuff. 4.7% - Only at Grid City 

Shades - Pecan Pie: Missed this, and I love pecan pie! 6.5% - Available at Shades

Toasted Barrel - Biere de Garde: Missed thiss sour aged in whiskey barrels. 7.0% - Available at Toasted Barrel.

BootStrap Brewing - Lush Puppy: Not super juicy. Nice citrus with herbal qualities. It’s okay. 6.3% 8.5% Found at Beer Bar, Bayou and Slackwater.

BootStrap Brewing - insane Rush: More Ruby colored than your typical IPA nowadays. More malty too. A very nice, sorta old school IPA. Love caramel and the late addition citrus/berry hops. Very nice. 7.6% Found at Beer Bar, Bayou and Slackwater.

BootStrap Brewing - Wreak Havoc: A very nice nice Impy Red with light citrus & berry notes. Light fruity malts as well. Very nice. 8.5% Found at Beer Bar, Bayou and Slackwater.

Pipeworks - Abominable Snowman vs Unicorn: Missed this IPA Found at Beer Bar, Bayou and Slackwater.

Pipeworks - Forest Fauna: Missed this IPA- Found at Beer Bar, Bayou and Slackwater.

Pipeworks - Imperial Blood of the Unicorn: Missed this IPA - Found at Beer Bar, Bayou and Slackwater.

Pipeworks - Gingerbread Unicorns: Missed this - Found at Bayou Slackwater

Pipeworks - The Finest Dopplebock: Missed this - Found at Bayou Slackwater

Pipeworks - Picnic in the Clouds: Missed this - Found at Bayou Slackwater

Pipeworks - Blood of the Unicorn: Missed this IPA - Found at Bayou Slackwater

Pipeworks - Layers Are Key: Missed this IPA - Found at Bayou Slackwater

As far as I know, the following are mostly exclusive to the Bayou. 🤷‍♂️

Birrificio Almond 22: This is a pink peppercorn IPA 

Baladin - Super Floreale: This is a Belgian style golden strong

Birrificio - Torrente: This is an American IPA

Bootstrap - Stick’s Pale Ale: This is an American IPA

Carlsberg Sverige - Carnegie Porter: this is a Baltic Porter 

Cascade - Baked Sour Apple: This is a fruited sour with cinnamon and maple syrup  

Cascade - Cash Nelson: A Golden sour aged in oak

De Glazen - Ondineke Triple: This is a Belgian style Tripel

Extraomnes- Straff:This is a Saison 

Perennial Prism - Centennial Hallertau Blanc: This is a saison 

Perennial Prism - Ekuanot Cryo Cash: this is a saison 

Prairie - Barrel-aged Moose Boots:  Made with maple syrup with toasted almonds and vanilla

Prairie - Double Vanilla Noir: Aged in rum & whiskey 

 St. George Brau - Kellerbier:

Stift Engelszell - Gregory’s:This is a Belgian style Quad

Wild Beer Company - Modus Vivendi: Oaked with wild yeast  

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/10/21

Need a lil' extra something that'll take that holiday work party to the next level? New Beer Friday researchers have found the optimal number of fresh new suds to enhance your vocational cheer factor. 

Fisher - Maximum Mosaic: This has been out since Saturday but it didn't have a name until Tuesday.  I let this warm up a bit before jumping in. The hops are citrus forward with some hints of white pepper. Once in the mouth the bitterness is low though there is a slight tingling on the sides of the tongue. There's a lot of creamy oat and dried citrus peel. Bitterness is low, quite tasty. 5.0% - At Fisher

Saltfire - Series of Singularities (Citra): This is defiantly has a west coast IPA feel. It's not quite dank, but it has a nice chewy hop character that is almost sticky in the mouth; it all revolves around orange and tangerine peel. Not for the timid IPA fan. 5.0% - At Saltfire

Grid City - Sigri Estate Papa New Guinea Coffee Hazelnut Vanilla Maple Nitro Brown Ale: Just when you thought the crew at Grid City could possible give one of their beers a longer name, they step-up and deliver. A very nice coffee profile. I was worried the Hazelnut would take over, but it’s pretty subtle and relegated to the end. Nice vanilla sweetness for balance. Not much maple; which is fine. It would make it overly sweet. 4.7% - Only at Grid City

Red Rock - Back Door Series Double 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 Red Rock Downtown.

Bewilder - Maple Lactose Oatmeal Stout: This small batch release harkens back to the home brewing days. missed this one, but I think that you get the idea. 5.0% - At Bewilder.

Level Crossing - Plum and Black Currant Philly Sour: This pale ale was fermented with Philly Sour yeast, then aged with plum and black currants. 5.0% - At Level Crossing. 

Proper - Ivar the Boneless: This is a Finnish-style Sahti aged in rye whiskey barrels. Sahtis are made with barley and rye. Traditionally they are flavored with juniper in addition to, or instead of, hops. This should be very interesting with the rye whiskey. At Proper

Returning Favorites

Ogden River - Injector: This Hazy IPA returns with new packaging - its own 16 ounce can. 7.8% - only at ORB.

Red Rock - Secale: The 2021 version is all barrel strength, no blending. pours a dark ruby color with a moderate two fingers of off-white head. The nose has a dry roasted malt aroma along with a light rye spiciness. It's rounded out with a mild caramel malt and vanilla aroma. The taste starts with Caramel malts and toffee. Chocolate covered raisins come next come next with a dry rye spiciness. Hints of vanilla and whiskey come next in the end, as well as a subdued hop bitterness that balances the malty sweetness in the finish. The body is full and the whiskey notes become a bit more pronounced as it warms. The 8.5% abv is well hidden but sneaks up you quickly.

2 Row - Chocolate Covered Raspberries: This beer mimics the holiday treat quite well. It's got a good balance of raspberry and chocolate; the raspberry is particularly tart and fruity. The chocolate part adds a nice silky element to the stout. A very nice beer. 8.3% - Available at 2 Row

Hopkins - Strawberry Sorghum: This beer is one of Hopkins’ classic Gluten Free homebrews. The recipe consists of organic strawberries, sorghum syrup, and raw local honey. This beer is light and effervescent with a nice mild tartness from the sorghum that pairs beautifully with the strawberries. 5.0% - Only at Hopkins.

Speaking of Hopkins, Saturday is their 3rd anniversary, stop in and enjoys some special pints, some of which are listed below.

Scion Cider Bar

If you drink beer, there's good chance that you also dabble in cider. The two beverages have gone hand in hand throughout history, being the beverages that common folk could easily craft with minimal ingredients and effort. As a home brewer I discovered cider's appeal as an excellent beer alternative and a simple brew day.   

Rio Connelly: of Proper Brewing Company, has branched out on his own and deemed that the time is right to get Utahans familiar with hard ciders and built a pub dedicated to ciders with a minor emphasis on beer and liquor. 

At Scion Cider Bar you'll find 25 taps, 20 of which will be exclusively ciders from all over the world. An extensive bottle and can list is also being built. You may or may. to be aware that cider is considered wine in Utah and therefore can be poured on draft, so you'll see many ciders (if not all) above 5.0% ABV being served. Currently draft handles are pouring various local hard ciders from Mountain West and Hive Winery. 

Scion Cider Bar is now open and located in SLC's up and coming Central 9th or Granary District (whichever you prefer) and is located at 916 s. Jefferson Street - near Nohm and Water Witch. I'm super happy for Rio and and all of us adult beverage loving adult along the Wasatch Front and Back.

Congrats and Cheers!

Photo: Scion Cider Bar

New Beer Friday 12/3/21

Level Crossing - Cryptoporticus: This double IPA was made using the new-ish Philly Sour yeast. First whiff gives off some lacto sour notes then explodes with dank hops. First sip is like the screech of a needle on an LP. Big sourness with equally big dankness. It’s all Sour & IPA. It’ll blow yer mind.Releases today. 8.4% - Only at Level Crossing.

Proper - Wolf of the Eclipse: This Roggenbier (rye lager) was aged in pinot noir barrels. You’d think this might be tart or sour by the Pinot noir barrels. Nunnna no... It’s actually quite balanced. The barrel is present but not overwhelming. The rye is immediately noticeable too. It’s all very balanced and quite enjoyable. Releases today. 6.66% - Only at Proper Brewing.

Proper - Novemberfest: I guess I drunkenly suggested the name for this beer & the Proper crew figured I wasn’t a complete drunk-ass idiot, so it's obviously brilliantly named. It’s a Märzen that wasn’t quite ready by Oktoberfest…. You get the idea. Such a wonder and malty lager with nice caramel & vanilla notes with medium IBUs. If you're craving a fresh Märzen, look no further. 5.0% Available at Proper. 

Fisher - Yakima Bloke: Missed this pale ale. 5.0% - Available at Fisher.

Uinta - Schmetterling Altbier: You've probably wasted enough bandwidth here to figure out I'm a total tart for Altbiers. Looking forward to trying this later this one this afternoon for sure. 5.0% - Available at Uinta. 

Bewilder - 60 Shilling: This is the second runnings or "small beer" from the forthcoming, Wee Heavy collaboration beer Strap Tank Brewing. This beer is lightly malty and hoppy; very much like an English Mild ale. Small Beers are one of the most under appreciated beers you'll come across. They're light, wonderful and mini versions of their big brothers or sisters they're emulating and definitely worth your time. 3.7% - Only at Bewilder starting today. The Wee Heavy  collaboration is coming soon.    

Firestone Walker - Cinnamon Dolce Nitro Stout: I missed this. I hope this is good, I want it to be good, but 100% of the time cinnamon is into a beer 99.9% of the beers are over spiced. Please don't be over-spice!!! 6.0% - Found at The Bayou in cans.

Cheers!