New Beer Friday 12/30/22

For the last New Beer Friday of 2022 we have a rare non-IPA week. Of course there's plenty of fresh IPAs out there for you to celebrate the new year, but this week's new offering are a refreshing (literally and figuratively) mix of old and new world beers; perfect for you midnight sociable. 

Beer Nerd Radio today welcomes Jill Wantanabe, co-founder of Utah's Tsuki Sake. Is sake beer, wine, or neither? Jill will set us straight on Sake and its place in Utah. That's today at 2pm on KUAA, 99.9FM 

Strap Tank - New Seizand Saison: Aroma of citrus and floral hops, mild grassy funk. More of the same in the taste, light grassy funk complimented by citrus zest, floral hops, a touch of spice, and a solid pale malt base. Light body, crisp, flavorful, and appropriately carbonated. Nicely done. Not my favorite of the single hop series, but nicely done overall. 5.0% - Strap Tank locations.

Strap Tank - Wassail: This Spiced Graff (blend of apple and beer) The aroma is malty and heavily spiced with big apple pie and a shot of orange as well. Likewise the flavor is heavily spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice and apple cider over sweet doughy and bready malts. There is a hint of hops at the end that fades into the finish along with some of the pineapple. It's light to medium bodied with mild carbonation. 5.0% - Strap Tank locations.

RoHa - Rum Barrel-Aged Porter: Nose is roasted coffee with hints of vanilla. The flavor opens with more big roast, smoke, and burnt malt. Chocolate, and cocoa powder mix in, in the middle. End is sweet with a touch of vanilla. A cola finish with a lingering roast aftertaste. 5.0% - Available at RoHa.

Hopkins - Back to Basics Pale Ale: Hopkins' ode to a traditional American west coast pale style, this beer features a beautiful copper color with a moderate hop bitterness. A blend of Chinook and Cascade hops leave some light pine and citrus notes. Heavy malt backbone to mellow the bitterness to a pleasantly crushable beverage. 5.0% - Available at Hopkins.

Fisher - Piney Brown: Big toasted malt nose. Smooth within the medium body. With each sip its like my palate gets slapped with a loaf of toasted bread. Mild hopping is there to balance, suggestions of dried grass, grapenuts, chicory, cocao nibs, and mildly roasted grain in the finish. Such an amazing Brown Ale, loads of flavor and extremely drinkable. 7.3% - Available at Fisher today.

TF - Naturlich Pilsner: This is Templin's second foeder-aged pilsner. This one spent 12 weeks lagering - 8 of those in the foeder. It opens up with classic toasty cracker flavors, sweetness is light. The oak pops almost immediately adding small amount of buttery oak, vanilla and toasty wood. hops are classic euro with lots of herbal grass and a hint of citrus zest. Every pint is a history lesson. 5.0% - This is available in can and draft starting today. 

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

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/23/22

I hope you've been good lil' boys and girls because our local Santa brewers have been busy in their workshop making all kinds of barley toys for you to play with. Please enjoy and have a safe holiday!

Beer Nerd Radio welcomes our local chapter of the Pink Boots Society today at 2pm. We'll get into what Pink Boots is all about and what's coming up in Utah's beer future. That's at 99.9fm KUAA.

Strap Tank - Dark Nacht: Dark Nacht is first in line by taking an American black lager and combining it with a German style pilsner. the dark malts are extremely complementary to the onslaught of German noble hops, combining the light roast character with floral and herbal hop characteristics. 5.0% 

Salt Flats - 2 Hops 2 Furious: This Belgian-style pale features Idaho 7 & Green Bullet hops. The hops lend a traditional Euro flair to the beer giving it authentic flavor. The yeast is from an Orval strain that is not overly phenolic and keeps this pale from becoming too saison-like. 5.0% - Available at Salt Flats Brewing and their Garage restaurant locations.   

Salt Flats -Flux Capacitor: This single hop pale male features Nelson Savin hops and is brilliant tasting. I won't get into the weeds too much here; just trust me, if you like Nelson Savin hops, then you need this in your life. 5.0% - Available at Salt Flats Brewing and their Garage restaurant locations.   

Salt Flats - Delta 88 Porter: This is served on two different gasses: nitro and Co2. Each gas changed the beer slightly, but look for chocolate and char along with light caramel. You'll have to decide which works best for you. 5.0% Available at Salt Flats Brewing and their Garage restaurant locations.    

Level Crossing - Barrel-Aged Timpanator: An aroma of vanilla, oak, bourbon, caramel, clean and a touch of raisin. Taste is nice, more oaky vanilla, lots of toffee and raisins, alcohol, bread, citrus and delicious bourbon. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with low to medium carbonation. Very warming, the bourbon is well balanced and helps create a beer that is more refined than the typical barrel aged ale. This lager is top notch. 9.3% - Available at Level Crossing.

Saltfire - Winter Session: This IPL leans towards a lemon & lime hop profile. The flavor was big on citrussy-grass hops. dried tropical notes follow with a pale malt backing. Big dry citrus, flowery and grassy and dried lemon notes from the hops give this a pretty big bang of dry hoppiness on the finish. 5.0% - Only on draft at Saltfire

Saltfire - Grievance: This is a Scotch Ale aged in Apple Brandy Barrels. The aroma is sweet, lots of brown sugar, apple, caramel, candied sugar. The barrel is super present, apples, oak, and you can smell the alcohol. The flavor is really smooth, sweet up front, with a little salt. Apples, caramel, nutmeg and cinnamon spices. The carbonation is a bit weaker on the mouth, but this is still one delicious beer. I am not a brandy fan, but the base pulls together so many good qualities that is hard not to enjoy it for what it is. 8.0% Available at Saltfire Starting today. 

RoHa - Lone Ranger: This Mexican-style lager is RoHa's first lager made in house. To me this comes across as part Czech lager and part Mexican lager. The hop profile is big and grassy like classic Czech lagers. There's also some adjunct sweetness from the malts that screams Pacifico. The two manage to work together pretty well in this highly drinkable lager. well done. 5.0% - On draft now at RoHa. 

Proper -  Monolith (Orange): Chocolate aroma - medium sweet. first swig starts the same way with chocolate. not super sweet the char & toast from the malt help to mellow it. the orange creeps in really slow. this serving is pretty cold, but after it lingers a bit you can get a sense of the citrus on the sides of the tongue - plus the mouthfeel in general has a citrus zip. it’s all pretty subtle, and is amplified as it warms. 

Uinta - Lingering Zombie: The tart cranberries in this ale give this the illusion of being a sour ale. This fruited ale is medium tart and berry forward without the enamel stripping ph. you'd expect from a lacto-soured beer. This is simple, straight-forward and quite drinkable. 5.0% A small batch beer, only at Uinta. 

The Following Stormbreaker beers (out of Portland, Or.) are exclusive to the Beer Bar.

Stormbreaker Mississippi Red: This Citra dry-hopped red ale is fully of berry forward malts and a tangerine wand that is damn delicious. 5.8%

Stormbreaker Opacus Stout: Look for aromas of cocoa, deep roast, and caramel are followed by swarming flavors of toffee, dark chocolate, and coffee. 5.0%

Stormbreaker Pumpkin Pedaler: Look for warming aromas of clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Perfectly balanced flavors of pumpkin and spice with hints of maple sweetness lend way to a creamy mouth feel. 7.3%

Stormbreaker Triple Double: Look for ten hop additions of three hop varietals, Mosaic, Citra, and Amarillo. Big aromas of grapefruit citrus and pineapple, with juicy citrus flavors to balance the slight upfront bitterness in the palate. 8.5% 

Stormbreaker What We Brew In The Shadows: Motueka and Pacifica hops shine through in this tropical, melon, and lime forward lager. 4.9%

Stormbreaker Total Rekolsch: Pilsner nose, Noble hops on the palate, ale fermented at cooler temps and lagered for a clean crisp finish with a touch of sweetness. 5.2%

Stormbreaker Keg Fit: Missed this Japanese-style rice lager. 5.3%

Stormbreaker Winter Coat: Missed this winter ale. 7.5% 

Cheers and Happy Holidays!

New Beer Friday 12/16/22

Happy New Beer friday! If Holiday beers arena you list, this is the week for you. The Bayou got in a shload of European beers last night that'll make you squeal!

Today at 2pm on Beer Nerd Radio, Rio Connelly from Scion Cider Bar will join us and  will share his knowledge of beer, cider and all things fermentation related. If you have any questions for Rio hit us up on Instagram @beer_nerd_radio.

Kiitos - Winter IPA: Pours a cloudy, but not turbid yellow gold color with 2 fingers of fluffy, effervescent white head. Not a lot of retention but leaves some nice cobweb lacing. The head settles into a thin cap. The aroma brings notes of spicy, cracked pepper, as well as plenty of fresh peaches, grapefruit, and lemon zest. There's a faint, crackery malt character in the back.The flavor is earthy and bitter up front; lots of spicy hop notes. Then comes a solid wave of cracker malt before a fruity finish. Lots of peaches, lemon, pear, and grapefruit. Nice.The feel is medium-light bodied with pretty good carbonation. Crisp and dry on the finish. Slight lingering bitterness. 5.0% Only at Kiitos 

Park City - Mango Milkshake IPA: Orange juice body with a thin, frothy white foam with decent retention and lacing. Sugar cookie dough aroma with abundant vanilla and tropical fruits. Smells like an Orange Julius with a slap of bitter peel. This really does taste like one too. Orange and vanilla creamsicle with a noticeable pineapple finish. Sweet confectioners sugar base, but once again shows off some pithy bite and even the slightest but of pine. 5.0%

2 Row -Sledgehammer: TrIPA: Pours a very cloudy and bright gold color with two finger sudsy head that fizzles down in a few minutes to a film with chunky lacing. Aroma is citrus peel with a sharp, almost spicy tang to it on the pour. This sharpness dies down to a very pleasant sweet orange scent. Really nice. The taste is so crisp and full of orange flavor with a little pineapple behind it. Wow they did a great job of hopping this one. Clean finish with a bit of seltzer to tingle the tongue. No alcohol burn (at least while cold). Feel is unsticky, just really crisp and light and refreshing. Very low bitterness and not much malt coming through at all - which is what gives it that ethereal quality. 10.5%

Prairie Artisan Ales - This is the Way: Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with dark chocolate Oreos, marshmallows, toasted coconut, and toasted almonds. 13.6% - Found at The Bayou.

Prairie Artisan Ales - Super Pistache Bros: Barrel Aged Imperial Stout with Pistachios, Dark Chocolate, Marzipan and Hazelnut Roasted Coffee. 13.6% - Found at The Bayou.

Prairie Artisan Ales - Mo Peanut Mo Problems: Barrel Aged Imperial Stout with Peanut Butter Crème Filled Cookies, Crunchy Wafers layered with Peanut Butter Creme covered in Fudge, and Toasted Marshmallow Flavor. 14.0% - Found at The Bayou.

Bombastic - Conspiracy Fruited Sour: Conspiracy is a heavily fruited sour ale with a dose of milk sugar to bring some creaminess to the body. It's flavor brings you to the tropics with curuba, guava and pineapple. 6.5% - Found at The Bayou.

The Following are exclusive (as far as I know) to the Bayou. Descriptions are not mine.

De Dolle - Stille Nacht: (Silent Night) is brewed for Christmas. It's described as having the highest density of any Belgian beer. It's brewed with pale malt with white candi sugar in the kettle. The Nugget hops gives an extra bitterness to balance the extreme sweetness due to the density. The taste triangle is completed with some acidity of the fermentation. 12.0% - Found at The Bayou.

De Dolle - Oerbier Reserva: This version of De Dolle Oerbier is matured for 18 months in Bordeau wine casks. This aging process creates new flavors in three different ways. The flavors of the wood, that are used to improve wine, can come out into the beer, creating oaky, and tannic flavors. The red wine itself that has soaked into the wood can also enter the beer, giving it wine and fruit flavors. Oxygen, which is present in the barrel, will also create smoky, nutty flavors similar to those found in Sherry. Finally, the are micro organisms in both the beer and the barrel that can continue maturing, producing new flavor elements as the beer ages.

This process creates a truly unique and amazing version of Oerbier, that is only available in one small batch per year. Each year is vintaged, and they can be compared to find distinctions in flavor. 13.0% - Found at The Bayou.

Del Ducato - Ottobre: Wild Fermented Italian Ale with Organic Lambrusco Red Grapes and the wort of Oud Brunello (Del Ducato's Flemish Red). The grapes are squeezed and transferred into a steel vessel (open top), no yeasts are added. The next day fermentation of grapes starts and we brew Oud Brunello wort which is added to the fermenting grape must. 7.0% - Found at The Bayou.

Del Ducato - Settembre: Wild Fermented Italian Ale with Organic Malvasia grapes. 

The resulting beer is very complex and elegant, almost an hybrid between beer and wine. It has tartness from malic acid of the grapes and some of the typical floral notes of Malvasia grape variety. 7.0% - Found at The Bayou.

Montegioco - Bran Reserva: Produced by aging Bran for 10 months in Barbera barrels from Bigolla Walter Massa. In the glass it is black, opaque with a cappuccino colored head. In the nose rosted notes (with a scent reminiscent of cocoa paste) and notes derived from oak aging (reminiscent of balsamic vinegar) coexist. In the mouth there are on one side the obvious toasty, cocoa, soy sauce, and secondly the acidic flavors. The tannins in the long lasting finish show wood and a slight astringency from roasting. 8.5% - Found at The Bayou.

Montegioco - Demon Hunter: Demon Hunter is an intense ale, clearly inspired by Anglo-Saxon style. It is brewed using barley malt, wheat malt and hops. In the glass it has a beautiful deep amber color with ruby highlights and a persistent head. The nose is very rich, but not heavy,. Aromas are reminiscent of chestnut trees, mature plums, grapes and caramel, some honey flavors. Demon Hunter is full-bodied with a long lasting clean finish thanks to the beautiful English hop (East Kent Goldings). 8.5% - Found at The Bayou.

Harvey's - Christmas Ale: A festive delight, this traditional barley wine exudes biscuity malts and rich vinous fruits, all balanced by a strong hop bitterness. Warm the soul with this award-winning beer which embodies the essence of Christmas spirit. 7.5% - Found at The Bayou.

Sinebrychoff Porter: Created by NICOLAI SINEBRYCHOFF in 1819. Sinebrychoff Porter is brewed by the oldest operating brewery in Scandinavia using four different malts (Vienna, Munich, Chocolate, Caramel), two types of hops (Hallertau, Saaz and a fresh young yeast for each new batch. Primary fermentation takes four weeks at 689F with another six (6) weeks of warm-conditioning in the tanks at 70°F. It is an intense Baltic style porter, very much in the Imperial Style that Empress Katharina (18th century) of Russia loved so much. She decreed that all her soldiers had to be supplied with it. 7.2% - Found at The Bayou. 

Sesma - Terroir: Sour Ale aged in red wine barrels with Graciano grapes.

Made with Pilsner malt and aged hops. Reddish and light body, slightly persistent white foam, slightly flattened. Fruity aroma reminiscent of wine. 5.0% - Found at The Bayou.

Sesma - Citrus Maxima: Witbier with wild yeast, brewed with different citrus fruits, grapefruit, lemon meyer, lemon poncil, yuzu, Budha hand, Limequat, Kumquat, bergamot, citron and lime. 5.0% - Found at The Bayou.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/9/22

This week we have a full slate of IPAs to keep you occupied, along with some holiday offerings as well.

Beer Nerd Radio today welcomes Donovan Steele of Hoppers Brewing Co. Yes, Hoppers is still alive and kicking, and we'll talk about what that means for Utah's craft beer scene. That's today at 2pm on KUAA 99.9FM.

Roosters - Gingerbread Latte White Stout: Comes off as more ginger root than ginger bread (which I like) vanilla, cinnamon & allspice round it out in the end. Not getting much “latte” & it’s a bit thin. 5.0% - Available at all Roosters locations and Slackwater. 

Bewilder - Brew-Lab IPA: Grassy citrus aromas, grapefruit, limes and malt. Also some sweet honey, giving this beer a very enjoyable plate of aromas. Both hops and malts go down a long way my tongue, very intensivly hopped beer with awesome fruity notes. Got a much stronger malt backbone than I expected, giving the beer a full body. Tastes of honey are a great addition to the dominant citrus and grapefruit aromas. Those stay well in balance with the upcoming malt tastes which are strong, but dont overpower the floral notes of the ale. Sticky, and throughout refreshing mouthfeel with a long bitter finish. 9.3% - Only at Bewilder.

TF - Phantasm (Incognito Mosaic and Nectaron hops): There's a swooning in the nose with a host of radiant citrus, tropical, melon, herb and berries. Its creamy sweetness on the front of the tongue is redolent with cereal, light honey, faint caramel, all in a shortcake kind of way. But the hops reign supreme on the middle palate where a juicy citrus flavor first takes hold. Tangerine, pink grapefruit and lime create a racy citrus impression ahead of a more tropical taste of mango, papaya and passionfruit. Hints of black currant, dank herb, gin-like botanicals and a bitter bite of black tea all align on the late palate for a firm and bitter offset of sweetness.

TF- West Coast Lager: Most American lager follow a plan of citrus hops that finish with some old world herbal bitterness. This one actually takes an opposite direction with the herbal qualities shining up front and the citrus peel flavors backing it up. This is a lot of fun to drink and I'm looking forward to getting to know it better. 5.0% - Available 12/11/22

Equilibrium - C: It's well-balanced and sumptuous with rich tastes of stone fruit, pineapple, and mango. You get a finish that is really smooth and crushable. 4.8% - Found at The Bayou and Slackwater.

Equilibrium - dHop 2: It pours a very murky tangerine color, releasing notes of orange juice (with pulp) and earthy grass. The taste is highly resinous, dank-citrus, pine juice, with a chewy mouth feel and a firm and pointed bitterness. 8.5% -  Found at The Bayou and Slackwater.

Equilibrium - Light at the End of the Tunnel: Aromas and flavors of soft pineapple, navel orange, stone fruit, EQ’s rainbow melon, and lime juice radiate with a touch of pine resin at the finish making this beer an easy drinking accompaniment to celebrate the fact that we hopefully have the finish line in site. 6.8% - Found at The Bayou and Slackwater.

Avery - Mephistopheles' Stout: This has a finish of double espresso and flavors of rum-soaked caramelized dark fruits with a scent of vine-ripened grapes, anise, and chocolate-covered cherries. 14.6% - found at Slackwater.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/2/22

There's no drama this week! New Beer Friday has a few things we missed last week (due to our holiday off) along with all of this week's goodness. We have a couple of beers that feature Yakima Chief’s Veterans Blend hops along with a wide variety of holiday beer styles that you're sure to love. 

Today on Beer Nerd Radio, Steph and I welcome James "jimmy" Weed, from Solstice  Malt, Utah's only craft malting house. We get all nerdy on the grains and what it takes to turn grain into malt. That's at 2pm on KUAA 99.9FM.  

Bewilder - I love Juicy: A firm two fingers of white foam and a hazy bright orange. The aroma and flavor are both of tropical fruit, with a light pine finish. carries a little amount, but not much, of alcohol. Generally speaking, drinking is quite simple. a mouthfeel that is medium-full with a smooth, hop-oil finish. juicy and has a strong hop flavor. 8.0% - Only at Bewilder

TF - JESSE DELMARish: This one has the smallest head and no lacing, and it pours a very deep black hue. This smells like a vanilla cake-like texture, oak, bourbon, brown sugar, caramel, and light coconut, along with a fruity bourbon sweetness. Because of the keg's age, the coconut is a little bit light. It has a massive amount of sweetness and bourbon barrel. There is still a ton of vanilla in this, along with fading coconut, a ton of brown sugar, caramel, and molasses, among other delicious malt flavors. This has a respectable level of drinkability and is rich and creamy. It's fairly alcoholic. 12.0% - Only at TF.

Wasatch - Holiday Ale: This porter was brewed with hazelnut-shell smoked malt. Infused all-spice, ginger, and cinnamon. Available at Wasatch (Park City), West Side Tavern.

Offset - Hidden Strings (Thiolized New World Pilsner): Hidden Strings is all about pushing the limits of what Offset's brew team knows when it comes to brewing modern, hop forward beer. This is an incredibly crisp beer akin to a traditional Pilsner but with explosive aromatics and a complex flavor profile of guava, pink grapefruit, white wine and Seville Orange. A nice structured bitterness keeps such an intenselv hopped beer light on the palate. 5.8% - Only at Offest Bier.

Shades - Merry Xmas Ya Filthy Animal: This gingerbread pastry stout pours nearly black with a faint trace of ruby visible at the glasses bottom. Thin, flattened-to-a-cover mocha head. Ginger, vanilla, and some roasted malt aromas can be detected. Molasses, sweet chocolate, and a smidge of ginger at the finish. mouthfeel is thick, smooth, and has great carbonation. 11.0% At Shades Locations, better beer pubs.

RoHa - Dog Tags (Second Tour): This Session IPA uses the Veterans Blend hops (like last year's batch), a blend of HBC 586, Triumph, Chinook, Ekanaut, and Idaho 7. $3 of each pound of hops purchased goes to benefit the HunterSeven Foundation, a research organization looking at chemical exposure and effects for veterans.

Hopkins - Patchwork Pale: This version of Hopkins' rotating and ever-evolving pale ale features Cascade and Mosaic in the kettle, then dry-hopped with Yakima Chief’s Veterans Blend leaving a bouquet of herbal pine and citrus aroma. 5.0% - Available at Hopkins.

Silver Reef - Holiday Dopplebock: Missed this one. As far as I know it's only in the Saint George area for now. 7.5% - Available at Silver Reef.

Proper - Citramuch: Pours a very clear and bright orange color. Aroma is faintly sweet and lightly malty. Reminiscent of sweetened bread roll and marmalade. Right up front, taste is more at the sweet orange slice end of the Citra spectrum, with a lesser bitter grapefruit pith character developing deeper in and on toward the finish. Body is thin. 5.0% - Available at Proper.

Lumberbeard - Rhuberry Zuff: Kettle Sour brewed with raspberry, rhubarb, lemon, vanilla and lactose. This beer goes down like a sweet, raspberry lemonade. 6.3% - Found at Slackwater.

Equalibrium - Super Fractal Koru Set: This IPA features Nelson, Motueka, Waimea, Rakau, and Wakatu hops.It pours a vivid hazy yellow with an aroma of tropical citrus and lime. The flavor is bright candied orange peel, black currant, and white grapes with a light lime finish. This is a crazy one with some intense fruit tones. This beer is extremely aromatic and crushable. 10.0% - Found at Slackwater.

Avery - Electric Sunshine: Look for bright notes of papaya, pineapple, kiwi and huckleberry deliver a satisfying zap to your taste buds in this sour fruited ale. 5.1% - Found at Slackwater.

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

Cheers!