New Beer Friday 1/26/24

Happy New Beer Friday. How's your Dryuary going? Mine is much better since implementing "Moistuary". If you're ready to to get back in the game, there's a nice selection of beers this week, on top of all of the other new stuff you missed out on in the previous weeks. Welcome back!

On Beer Nerd Radio today we welcome Nicci Lyman from Firestone Walker to talk about FWs history in Utah and what's coming next. Also on today's show, Kelsey Boothe will be on to talk about the Homebrewtah Utah's newest home brew competition. Look for us (Steph too), today at 2pm on 99.9FM KUAA.

Hopkins - Spidey Senses Red IPA: Toasty berries and pine from the nose. Tastes malty with more berries, then pine & citrus pop-in, providing a good amount of lingering bitterness. Solid red ale with big IBUs. 5.0% - Only available at Hopkins.

Red Rock - Forbidden Fruit (POG): Passion fruit, orange and Guava is what you'll find in this new sour ale. This is only available in Harmons Grocery stores. I went to the pub downtown and there's none to be had. 5.0%. 

Bohemian - California Steam Lager: Wow. A very traditional take on the style. Excellent malt profile, slightly nutty and toasty with floral and pine backing it up. This might be my favorite Steam beer AND it’s fresh. 5.0% - Available at BoHo.

Shades - Hellion: You can tell its yeast driven by the amount of of clove here. Though yeast dominates, you do get some honey flavors from the malt. Hops are light and mostly floral. It’s a little more phenolic than I like but it’s a solid interpretation on the style. 5.0% - Available at Shades.

Wasatch/Squatters - Tuxedo Trixter: First of all, great coffee taste and aroma. Made with local Rimini coffee. Cream ale body with a nice malt profile. Coffee pretty much runs the show from here to the finish. Coffee Cream/White Stout, it all seems the same, but this is really special. Yum! 7.0% - Available at 3pm today.

Salt Lake Brewing - Sundance the Kid: This orange/vanilla cream ale (on nitro), is a good mix of the malty base beer, fruit & vanilla. It’s not sweet by any means; light vanilla, light citrus & malt. It might be too subtle for some, I found it perfect for the nerd not wanting a milkshake ale. 5.0% - Only at SL Brewing. 

Returning Favorite

Level Crossing - The Black Album: This is part of Level Crossing's Black Feather Series. This is a black imperial rye IPA. The aroma is hugely dank, herbal and grainy with dense, bready malts. Flavor profile is less sticky, and a little more bold in regards to the malts  – there's a good dose of roast and char swirling around throughout. Dank, herbal, floral, zesty hops open up playing off of the bready, nutty, roastier malts flavors. The bitterness is medium to high and pretty much rules the beer from the back-end to the finish. Overall: a great BIPA, with a big hop profile. 9.2% 

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

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 1/19/24

Some may question your tastes in things. New Beer Friday shouldn't be one of them. Stylistically, this week's offerings are quite broad - perfect for a grabbing your favorite vinyl and getting wide with a funky new brews.

Beer Nerd Radio today welcomes back Kevin Templin and TF's next generation of brewers. we'll discuss what coming and where TF's focus is heading. Look for it today at 2pm on 99.9FM KUAA.

Uinta - Be Rye Wit' Cha: This witbier made with rye Pretty sure this is a mix of wheat and rye. The rye really pops. Nice overall grain sweetness and spice. Don't get much in the way of orange peel, but the yeast is tame and not too phenolic. It's fairly true to style - less the rye. It's worth your time. 5.0% - A small batch available only at Uinta.  

Shades - Blueberry Coffee Cake Sour Ale: There's no coffee in coffee cake, so I was a bit surprised to get a nice dose of coffee. The base beer is Shades' tart Kveik ale with equal parts medium roast coffee and blueberry. It tastes fine, I just don't know if the tartness and coffee work well together. 6.5% - Available at Shades today.

Wasatch - Rice Crispy: The name for this new rice lager is spot-on! There's a dense head on this clear lager, you can tell by the shadow it casts in the liquid. Very little aroma. Fairly dry, but there's still plenty of malt/rice sweetness. I'd never complain about too much malt in this style but it doesn't seem dry enough. 5.0% - Only at Wasatch/Squatters.

Heber Valley - Fixed Grip Pale Ale: Missed this new pale ale. 5.0% Only at Heber Valley.

Policy Kings - Predators and Kings: This new amber lager features notes of caramel, chocolate or nuttiness. Low citrus hops. Low to moderate fruity esters. 5.0% - Only at Policy Kings.

Mason - Bangarang!: This Citra Hazy is super creamy. You can tell it's DDH. Citra explodes - and is fairly (hop) chewy. It's all Citra happening here. A good amount of malt sweetness, some "extra" sweetness as well. If you like creamy orange IPAs, you'll love this. 9.5% - Found at Slackwater. 

Mason - Even An Immortal: Apparently this IPA has traditionally dialed in at 10%. No longer. This beer is now 8.8%. Thank Thor! This was quite tasty, the Mosaic hops provides more depth than my previous Mason beer. Mosaic is a great hop, and it helps build on the Citra's rind character. - Found at Slackwater. 

Roosters is thrilled to announce its first-ever Winter Fest, a celebration of winter flavors through carefully curated craft beers and seasonal meal pairings. Winter Fest will take place at all Roosters Hospitality Group locations, including Roosters 25th St, Ogden B-street (21+), Roosters Layton, Union Grill, and The Coop, from January 15 to February 11. Winter Fest will showcase three exclusive custom-crafted beers expertly paired with seasonal dishes, creating a unique and unforgettable dining experience for patrons. The carefully chosen beer and meal pairings include:

1. Winter Caesar Salad with Every Nook and Cranberry Sour: A refreshing salad featuring hearts of romaine, fried asiago gnocchi "croutons," and roasted tomatoes, all elevated by the Every Nook and Cranberry Sour.

2. Albuquerque Hot Brown Sandwich with Heavenly Cream Ale: Immerse yourself in the rich flavors of an open-faced smoked pork loin sandwich topped with green chili demi, grilled peppers, mushrooms, and onions. Served with fries and expertly matched with the smooth and creamy notes of the Heavenly Cream Ale.

3. Rosemary Porter Beef Stroganoff with Winter Rosemary Porter: Experience the return of a classic – the Winter Rosemary Porter – paired with a savory Rosemary Stroganoff featuring seared beef tenderloin and mushrooms in a rosemary porter gravy. Served over egg noodles and baby spinach.

These Winter Fest beers have been meticulously crafted by Roosters Hospitality Group's talented brewers. Based out of our Ogden 25th St. location, Colton Layton created the Every Nook and Cranberry Sour. Steve Kirkland, based out of our B-street location, crafted the Heavenly Cream Ale. Madeline "Red" Doss, based out of our Layton Roosters location, masterfully brewed the Winter Rosemary Porter.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 1/12/24

Happy New Beer Friday! Here are this week's new suds, what do you think?

On Beer Nerd Radio today Ivan from Salt City Suds sits in for the vacationing Steph. I van and I will be interviewing Brian Coleman from 2 Row Brewing about their new, much larger space and the future of 2 Row. Join us today at 2pm, on 99.9fm KUAA.

UTOG - Synergy Coffee Lager: Light roast coffee dominates the nose followed by a nice caramel background. Taste follows, and the caramel flavor stays in the aftertaste. Almost a slightly burnt caramel at that. The body is very thin, as expected for a lager. Light, very easy to drink. 5.0% - Available at UTOG.

UTOG - Not So Dry January: This new American Light Lager debuts today. Sorry no notes. 3.0% - Only at UTOG.

Talisman - I’ll Be Bock: This small batch Bock actually came out last week, There may still be some available. 5.0% - Only at Talisman.

Salt Flats - Red Steam Roller: Nice malt profile, with slight nutty tones. Yeast adds a wee fruitiness and the hops are floral and quite herbal too. Some berries and a hint of citrus toward the end. Overall finish is dry, but not lingering. A very flavorful Cascade hop steamer. 

Red Rock - Bella Rosa: Whoa! This great looking unfiltered lager smells dense. Lotsa cannabis & herbal aromas. Tastes the same, there’s a lot going on here. More cannabis, plus melon and some berries. This is quite the fun lager. Mikey Likey. 5.0% - Available at all Red Rock locations 

Grid City - Hazy IPA Batch #4: This batch features Nectaron, Nelson Sauvin, Nectaron and Mandarina Bavaria hops. Aroma is citrus, grassy, tropical fruits, piney, and earthy hops. Crisp nose. Flavor profile is tropical fruits, citrus, grassy, herbal, resiny, and earthy hops. Starts with some tropical fruit sweetness and finishes with some sticky resin. Dry finish as the beer warms. Great dynamics; playful. Mouth feel is bordering on crisp, but carries just an expansive enough effervescence to stall out on being fully crisp. Says Hazy on the can, but this is defiantly a West Coast IPA. 7.5% - Only available at Grid City.

RoHa - Dog Tag Third Tour: A unique blend of hops developed by Vets, with proceeds from the hops going to support Homes For Our Troops, a program that builds and donates adapted homes to severely injured veterans. This bright session IPA features Citra, HBC 638 and Sabro hops. There's mix of tropical fruit: Pineapple, mango and tangerine aromas are some of the notes hitting the nostrils. Flavor has more fruit, like the smell, but it's not quite as sweet as the aroma suggests. Has some pineapple, grapefruit, melon, plus some notes of orange peel and lemon zest with some subtle bitterness in the dry finish. 5.0% - Only at RoHa.

Proper - Flanagan's 16 Anniversary: This big-ass Irish style stout was brewed to celebrate Flanagan's on Main's 16 Anniversary. No tasting notes on this one - it's only available at Flanagans Park City pub. 8.5%

In other news

Ogden Beer has upgraded their canning line and will be seeing out more beer, including some Harmons and other grocery/c stores. Look for Cultura Cerveza, Hola Aloha Hibiscus Wheat and Space Cruz Cold IPA. 

Also this This Saturday come help celebrate Bewilder's fourth birthday. There will be food specials, entertainment, and of course plenty of beer!!! Barrel Aged Double ESB Anniversary ALE release, plus kolsch service and a surprise firkin! 21+ Watch Bewilder's social media for updates. 

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 1/5/24

Welcome to the first New Beer Friday of 2024. I got to sample some interesting stuff this week, you should defiantly check 'em out.

If alcohol is not on your agenda this month, Beer Nerd Radio with have a handy guide to Non-alcohol beers. Steph doesn't sound too happy about this show....she may kill me live, on-air. My assignation happens today at 2pm on 99.9fm KUAA. 😳 

Bewilder - Bonne Année: This French Helles comes across very much like German Helles with some slight lemony notes. Super crushable. Hurry, it's a small batch. 5.0% - Only at Bewilder.
Fisher - The Francine: This Zappa hopped Pale Ale is probably my favorite beer featuring this hop. Lotsa peach melon & mango.  Some herbal citrus peel too in the end with a medium/light bitter finish.

RoHa - British Mild: Roasty/toasty aroma. Medium to full toast at first swig. Light malt sweetness & a slightly dry feel. Hops are floral & piney. No lingering bitterness. Could use a weee more sweetness for balance. 5.0% - Only at RoHa.

Saltfire - Hilda and Holle: This Rum Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout was made with Chagga Mushrooms. Rum in the nose for sure - roast and licorice too. Caramel and cocoa start it off with rum hitting the floor running. Licorice pops in next with some cocoa & oak rounding it out. There is some earthiness towards the end. I don't know the mushrooms so it must be them. Tastes boozy at first, but the tongue acclimates quickly. Co2 is quite low. 

Chappell - Coffee Pale Ale: This one came in late for me yesterday and I missed it. Sounds tasty. 5.0% Available now at Chappell.

Equilibrium - Tie Dye Science: This IPA features a Lupomax Citra and Mosaic hop bill. Aromas and flavors of orange slices, papaya, pink starburst, assorted melon, and lime gummies with a touch of hoppy bitterness. Creamy mouthfeel. 6.5% - Widely available at most better beer pubs and restaurants. 

Equilibrium - Sky Lab: Named after NASA’s first space station, launched in 1973. Idaho 7, Citra, Galaxy, Eclipse and Citra Lupomax hops are features here. It pours tangerine yellow with the aroma of orange, pineapple and melon. Big notes of OJ, lime, mango sorbet, orange creamsicles, and melon. 8.5% - Widely available at most better beer pubs and restaurants. 

Equilibrium - Seven Izzups: Featuring Motueka, Citra and Wakatu. Fresh lemon and lime zest was also added. Nose of lemon and lime. The flavor with a bright and spritzy assortment of citrus, lime, and Herbs. Extremely bright and refreshing. 7.7% - Widely available at most better beer pubs and restaurants. 

Equilibrium - Moon of Vega: Madagascar Vanilla and lactose are featured inn this IPA that has a hop bill of Citra, Galaxy, and Mosaic.  Look for a thick fruit punch creamsicle saturated with tropical fruit and citrus. 8.7% - Widely available at most better beer pubs and restaurants. 

Cheers!