New Beer Friday 1/15/21

There's an excellent mix this week of local and out of state craft beers. There a re quite a fee new entries to our market from new breweries, check 'em out. 

Hopkins - Rye Pilsner: Another hit from Matt’s small-batch series makes it to the main tap! This pilsner has a light malty profile with a hint of spicy zest from the rye, a touch of bitterness and hop profile from Saaz hops, and a clean, crisp finish. Featuring locally grown and malted pilsner and flaked-rye from Solstice Malt. 5.0% Only at Hopkins.

Hopkins - Introduction Pale Ale: A simple and approachable pale ale featuring locally grown and malted Solstice 2-row malt. This version features the 2020 Veterans Blend hops, which comprises five different Pacific Northwest-grown hop varieties including Idaho 7, HBC 692, Sabro, Mosaic and HBC 630 in the dry-hop. The hop blend is created by veterans and a portion of proceeds support the Wounded Warriors Family Support Fund. Citrusy, tropical aromas and flavors are the highlight of this pale ale while allowing a delicate malty backbone with minimal bitterness and a dry finish. 5.0% Only at Hopkins.

TF - Zkittles Terpene IPA: This IPAs terpenes are based on a popular Inca cannabis strain that has similar aromatics as Skittles candy. Im haven't had this one yet. Look for a super dank and fruity IPA with tropical and berry accents. Available starting today at TF. 7.5%   

Epic Midnight Munchies: This new peanut butter stout hits the cold case today as well. No advanced tasting notes here either. 8.0% - Only at Epic.

Fisher Doc Sarvis: Notes of Bourbon, chocolate and roasted malt are the primary flavors here. You'll get nice chocolate in the base with light whiskey and wood rounding out the background. 5.0% - Only at Fisher.

Fisher - Valley of Gold: This Brett fermented pale ale is funky and doughy with barnyard aromas.Complex earthy quality despite being so young. Still getting some of the tropical flavors the nose suggested, but it's subdued. Medium-bodied, with a fairly crisp mouth-feel. Such a wonderful beer!

Kiitos - Sahti: This Finish style of beer is traditionally unhopped with juniper twigs used during the brewing process create balance, imparting an unusual resiny character and serving as a preservative. Meanwhile, exposure to wild yeast and bacteria gives Sahti its signature tartness. This has some rye and a woody quality. Bitterness is low, some hops are detected. 5.0% - Only at Kiitos.

Shades - Incubus Imperial Pastry Stout: This delicious dark beer reveals your darkest desires. It's sweet, roasted, creamy and boozy with medium to low bitterness and a chocolate taste. Incubus is the base for more pastry stouts to come. Malted oat, de-husked barley, un-malted barley, all roasted, and lactose.⠀8.0% - Available now at Shades.

Roosters - Winter Blues: This is a "blueberry forward" IPA. No notes one this one but it's got me curious; gunna need to get on this one. 5.0% at Roosters B-Street Brewery.

*Gruner Brothers Brewing - Devilito: This is classified as a Belgian style strong ale. Look for a lighter body with moderate sweetness and classic phenolic yeast spices of coriander, clove and a hint of citrus peel. 8.3%. Found at Slackwater Sandy, DABC:

*Gruner Brothers Brewing - Salt Creek Citra: Aromas of Citrus, tropical fruits and pine. The taste follows with grapefruit forward citrus and hints of mango. Pine bitterness enters towards the finish. 7.7%. Found at Slackwater, DABC.

Revision - Cloud Cuddles: This NEIPA hits all the right notes with tangerine, peach and melon. Late palate you pick up a good dose of mango and tangerine, but it's the sweeter fruits that dominate due to malt profile. Bitterness is very low. 6.5% Found at Slackwater Sandy.

Revision - Battle of the Lords: A Double NEIPA that  pours a cloudy tangerine orange with a juicy aroma. Flavor-wise you get orange, mango, peach and pineapple. It's a great package with slightly higher bettering towards the finish. Some warming alcohol. 8.5% 

*Slo Brew - Cali Squeeze Mango Hefeweizen: Lots of mango, orange and lemon. The Hefe base is for the most part light. Not a game changer, but nice and fruity. 5.4%. Found at Slackwater in Sandy.  

*Slo Brew - Cali Squeeze Blood Orange Hefeweizen: Same drill here, though the blood orange adds a more pleasant flavor profile for me. Some tartness with blood orange, lemon and grapefruit. 5.4%. Found at Slackwater in Sandy.  

Mother Earth - Nitro Cali Creamin: This nitro version is new and comes in a special 16 ounce nitrogen can. It still has that rich vanilla flavor, but it's more pronounced due to the less bitter nitrogen gas. 5.0% Found at various grocery and C-stores in Davis County. 

New Belgium - Voodoo Ranger Captain Dynamite IPA: Look for aromas of grapefruit, orange, caramel and pine. Sweet tropical fruits on top of caramel, peach and pine on the palate. found at DABC.

Returning Favorites:

Saltfire - Mobius Trip Fate Bell: The Sotol barrel aged sour is back! if you missed it last time here are my notes from last year.  This one is in Sotol barrels from Texas. If you're not familiar; Sotol is kin to tequila and mezcal, that shares many of the characteristics of agave but it's far from that. It has a very earthy tequila profile, which comes through well in the beer. The beginning is tart and earthy with some granny smith peel. Next comes notes of pineapple and salt. The finish is oaky with puckering lemon. This is super complex and very intriguing. Never had anything like this. It's well worth your time if you like tequila flavors and sour beers. 7.1%

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 solid BIPA, with big hopiness. 9.2% 

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

*New to the SLC Market

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 8/7/20

Whoa! Easy on the bleach there, Mr. Clean. I spent a lot on that empty stadium product placement. Five bucks, is five bucks, right? Odds are pretty good, that you're much better at spending your hard earned quatloos than I am. Though, when it comes to New Beer Friday, frugality goes out the window. Have a great weekend!

Shades - Slurry (Mango Apricot): This is straight kveik yeast and fruit with no lactose - this is the case with all of the Slurry series beers. This one starts fairly tar with hard green peaches. Tastes like they plucked them green and straight off the tree. The mango comes in next with a subtle amount of flavor. This is kind of like a shandy on steroids full of flavor and tartness. Be sure to rouse the can to get all of the fruit that will likely be settled at the bottom. 5.0% - Available at Shades

Toasted Barrel - Pineapple Milkshake IPA: Comes across as iced cream with tropical flavors and pineapple with a nice dose of vanilla. They really capture the "smoothie" in this beer. 8.0% - Only at Toasted Barrel. Alcohol is very well hidden. Not vegan friendly.

Toasted Barrel - Oak Aged Lager: Apple peel with sweet grains and vague vegital flavors. The woodiness is pleasant and adds some toasted notes. 5.0% - Available at Toasted Barrel.

TF Brewing - Cerveza: This debuts today. Can't wait to try their take on the style. 5.0% Only at TF.

Fisher - Lemonade Stand: The base beer has a good dose of lemony tartness. On top of that add a little lemon zest and subtle strawberry and you get a nice hot weather sipper. I'd put the tartness factor at the high side of medium. 5.0% - Only at Fisher.

Fisher - NEIPA: The latest rotating IPA from Fisher features Idaho 7, Simcoe and Sabro hops. Moderate aromas of citrus and tropical fruit hops are present. The taste follows the smell and has flavors of orange citrus, mango, and passion-fruit. Very little perceptible bitterness. Very juicy on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation. 6.1% - Only at Fisher.

Hopkins - Salty Lemons: This is a collaboration beer made made with the Hop Bombshells home brew club. This has a gose base with fresh watermelon and juiced lime added. Slight brine from the base beer adds a little zip. 5.0% - only at Hopkins.

Squatters - Black is Beautiful: The aroma has roasted malt, coffee, anise, a little chocolate. I get some yeast from the aroma. Something nutty, and something vaguely fruity. Taste is rich, lots of dark, almost burnt roast malts. Anise is the next thing that comes to mind, and the fruitiness from the smell turns into something slightly date-like. 10.0% -

Desert Edge has re-opened after a long Covid hiatus. Do us and them a favor, please hit them up, grab a few pints and tear into their delicious grub. We need them as much as they need us. Welcome back Desert Edge!

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!

New Beer Friday 4/24/20

Grid City is finally selling their suds from the brewery. In what has to be the worst timing in in local beer history, Grid City was unceremoniously required to close 48 hour before their soft opening, due to the pandemic. Get out and support the new guys and hit up some of these other great breweries offering up beer this week.
 
Grid City - House Pilsner: The nose is a nice malty base that has hints of peppery hops and and faint hint of apples and fructose. The flavor is a greatly hopped and like the nose there is a fold malty foundation that has some complex peppery hops riding on top then notes of fruit, nutmeg and lemon peel. 4.5% - Available at Grid City.

Grid City - Hoppy Pilsner: This one does smell pretty hoppy. Herbaceous, lemon, maybe a bit of grain, straw, grass and grape. Fairly hoppy with a hit of fruit up front before the malt edge takes over. Hits on the green grape and grassy notes. Aspirin like bitterness in the end. Malt begins to show as the beer warms. Getting a slight breadiness. Still, this one is pretty hop dominant. Finishes sharp before completely drying out. 4.8% - Available at Grid City.

Templin Family - All Together: This beer will be released today at noon. No tasting notes yet. 100% of the profits from this beer will go to the employees of TF to offset their financial burdens. 6.5% - Only at TF Brewing

Heber Valley - Hefeweizen: Missed this new beer from Heber.

Wasatch Guava Rosa: Murky and turbid peach color. The aroma is mostly guava. Flavor-wise the guava is fairly subtle, with some hibiscus like tartness. There's a medium amount of bitterness in the finish. 7.1% - Available at the UBC's Beer Store.

2 Row - Belgian IPA: Missed this one as well. Look for spicy yeast notes with a good dose of citrus and tropical fruits.

Shades - Magna-tude: Made with orange ginger and honey. The tart base enhances the citrus qualities with a subtle amount of spicy ginger. the honey gives it a slight dryness. Quite tasty, try it with sushi. 5.7% - Available at Shades.

Returning 

Hopkins - Stonewall Sour Saison: If you missed it the first time around, stop by and check it out.  3.7% - at Hopkins.

Cheers!

New Beer 'Good' Friday

New Beer Friday is the perfect elixir for any weekend gathering. No matter if it's on-line or from across the street. 
 
Shades - Epicenter Mango Chili Sour: Pours like mango juice. Not much head to speak of. Initial aroma is fresh mango with some chili meat; quite fresh smelling. The flavor starts and finishes like tart mango juice, but there is a nice but subtle peppery scratchiness that follows. It's not hot on the through persay just scratchy. A unique and delicious experience. 5.7% Available at Shades

Bewilder Irish Lager: Aromas are faint and hard to find, but share a caramel malt and softly phenolic profile. Flavors mimic the light profile and also give a modest caramel flavor. Light grains and ripe fruit flavor (apples, pears) dances around the periphery. 5.0% Available to go, so growler up!

Roosters - 25th Anniversary Barley Wine: Aged in Porter's Rye Whiskey Barrels for 10 months. This smells like figs, raisins, prunes, booze soaked raisin bread, caramelized sugar, and oak. There's lots of fruitiness, a bit of spicy hops and spicy alcohol and toffee. This is quite fresh and will age nicly so pick up a few extras. 9.8% - Only at Roosters' Layton location.

Saltfire This is Fine: This beer was brewed in collaboration with the Hop Bombshells Home Brew Club to support the Pink Boots Society. This Rye IPA has a nice aroma full of spicy rye, brown sugar and caramel balanced with the hops. Taste is sweet, spicy rye, caramel malt, toffee, with earthy herbal, grapefruit, pine and grass hints. It has a fine bitter/spicy finish. Complex for 5.0%. At Saltfire.

Hopkins Pico Rico: Missed this new Mexican style lager. Brewed with Solstice and Munich malts, along with Hallertau Blanc hops. 5.0% only at Hopkins.

Toasted Barrel - Barrel Aged Golden with Lavender: I missed this wine barrel aged sour. Aged for one year. Available at Toasted Barrel today.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday the 13th - 3/13/20

No hoarding of the New Beer Friday! There's plenty to go around. If you choose to go out into the scary world on this Friday the 13th you'll be met with shloads of great beer. Not an unlucky day at all!

Red Rock - Don't Murder Me: Aroma is mostly roasted malts, with notes of toast, coffee, and slight hint of smoke. Taste is more roasted malts, creamy milk chocolate, mild coffee, and cocoa. 6.7% Available

Bewilder - Irish Stout: Aromas of mocha and coffee, with coffee bean and some chocolate milk.
Flavor is strong with coffee notes...smoked, dark roast coffee and a nuttiness. The finish is smokey with tastes of roasted coffee. Some lingering char as well. 5.0% - Available at Bewilder.

Shades - Imperial Lager: Quite fragrant for a lager. Strong malt/grain smell. A bit of orange peel, grass and pear. The taste showcases a sharp bitterness from the hops. The pilsner malt is evident in a larger, strong quantity too. It's like a triple czech pils. Lots of flavor. 8.0% - Available at Shades.

RoHa - Zoltar: This pale ale features the Zythos hop blend. It has a big caramel base with citrus, and spicy pine bitterness. Slightly herbal in the finish. 5.0% Available at RoHa. 

T.F. Brewing - Corduroy:  Looks like Sunny Delight! The aroma is extremely pungent, with pineapple, mango, guava, grapefruit. You can catch a whiff from the glass from a few feet away. Taste is very juice forward - grapefruit, orange, pineapple, perhaps others, with the addition of a light grassiness before fading into a sweet juicy mild pith bitterness. Mouthfeel is smooth and fairly full with a light tingling from carbonation. Very Nice. 7.7% - Available Saturday 3/14 only at T.F. Brewing. (not vegan friendly)

Squatters - Rye Of The Tiger: This hazy IPA was made with Mosaic, Simcoe and of course some rye. Light in color, super cloudy and fruity AF. 5.0% - At Squatters Brewpub SLC. 

Heber Valley - Electric Avenue: I missed this new Double IPA. It's hopped with Mosaic, Citra and Centenial. 8.0% - Avaiable at Heber Valley.

Pipe Works - Blood of the Uincorn: Really fresh and aromatic. It opens with a surprisingly prominent malt body. Hints of citrus, grapefruit rind, cane sugar and grass. Big hop bite towards the end accents a brew that's mostly got great balance between citrus and resin. Real drinkable too. 6.5% - Found at Slackwater (Ogden)

Pipe Works - Select Schwartzbier: Missed this one. 6.3% - Found at Slackwater (Ogden)

Pipe Works Donut Soup:  This is an imperial stout. Lactose and vanilla are very evident on the nose, with periodic hits of coconut and coffee as it warms. Taste leans more on the lactose, coconut, vanilla, and coffee, with some supporting cocoa and bready malt, but again really sweet, cloying on some sips.   10.5%  - Found at Slackwater - Ogden (not vegan friendly)

Pipe Works - Infinite Citra: Huge Citra aroma of tropical fruit and citrus. The taste has a burst of tropical fruit with notes of pineapple, passion fruit, orange, and grapefruit. Some biscuity malts as well. 7.3% - Found at Slackwater (Ogden)

HaandBryggeriet - A Dashing Rogue: This is described as a nordic oud bruin sour macerated with raspberries and cherries. 6.8% - Found at the Bayou.

La Sirène Brewing - Paradoxe: This is described as having a classic grape characters and juicy yet tangy green fruits that dominate with the bracing acidity that delivers a dry, creamy and refreshing finish. 5.0% - Found at the Bayou

The following are part of Hopkins Brewing's Small Batch Series 

 #TRENDY: This New England style pale features a fruity blend of late
addition hops. Hearty hop aroma without heavy bitterness, and
topped with Kveik yeast, you could say it's as trendy as it gets.

BRUNCH ALE: Brewed with lactose, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and
maple. This blonde ale is inspired by french toast. (not vegan friendly)

MOSAIC HEFE: The German weiss style features mosaic hops.

GALENA PALE: This SMASH pale showcases both Solstice 2-row grain, as well
as Galena hops.

IRISH SODA BREAD: *may contain traces of nuts* This dry pale ale is brewed with
salt and raisins. Inspired by a St. Patrick's Day staple.

IRISH RED: This Irish Red is exactly that, lots of malt character with a touch
of hop bitterness.

IRISH COFFEE STOUT: Brewed with coffee and Irish whiskey, this robust stout is
inspired by the Irish Coffee cocktail.

CARBOMB STOUT: Brewed with lactose, cacao nibs, coffee, vanilla, and Irish
whiskey. This stout is inspired by the Irish Carbomb shot. (not vegan friendly)

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 1/31/20

It's the last day of January, Dryuary, Veguary, Mortuary, or whatever. If you decided to forgo something in your life to help you get a jump on 2020, I'm officially giving you permission to dump that shit and get on with your life. This week's New Beer Friday options will defiantly help with the latter. Try not to do it all in one day like me....

TF Brewing - Fluffy Nuts: Yes, I said "Fluffy Nuts". This is a 5.0% pastry stout, and the complimenting ingredients are marshmallow and peanut butter. Fluffy Nuts debuts today; I hope to have tasting notes for you on this, later this afternoon with Mick and Allen on KBER101 at 3:30pm. Fluffy Nuts....

Proper - Peach and Mango Sour Ranger: The newest member of the Sour Rangers squad is quite tart and slightly soapy. The flavor for the most part is lemon with some mango floating around in the background. The mango becomes more pronounced towards the finish. Not much in the way of peach flavor. Enjoyable enough. 5.0% - Available at Proper

Epic - Sour Brainless Lucy: This is a tart, foeder aged, unfruited blonde ale with notes of green stone fruit and mild tannins. The effervescence is on the light side and it finishes quite dry. Lucy is the name of the foeder that had aged this particular sour beer. Sadly Lucy's day are over and she's being dismantled. All that's left is being put into crowlers and they can be found at Epic Brewing. Thanks, for all of you delicious beer, girl. 

Level Crossing - Dallas Alice: This new beer from Level Crossing is a Belgian style blonde ale. There;s some sweet earthy clove and banana in the nose. The taste follows with added candy sugar sweetness that punches up the body and flavor. German hops round out the overall providing balance. Finishes with a hint of sweetness. 6.2% - Available at  Level Crossing - There will a release party today as well.

Bewilder - Oatmeal Stout: This is not an overly roasty stout, but it does have nice cocoa notes to carry it through. The oatmeal adds smoothness to the overall feels of the beer. The nitro gas adds a perceived sweetness that is pleasant and authentic. 5.0% - Available at Bewilder

Talisman - Adventures in IPA No.5: I'm really pissed that I missed this one. Talisman went a different direction in this IPA; pursuing German hop varietal instead of American/New Zealand blends. The use of  Mandarina Bavaria and Hallertaur Blanc Hops, will likely make this a different and delicious IPA. 5.0% - Available at Talisman

Hopkins - Cranberry Farmhouse:  Brewed with cranberry and a touch of cinnamon, this beer has a
slight cranberry tartness, balanced with complex notes from the Kveik yeast. 5.0% - This very small Batch beer will be available starting Saturday at Hopkins.

Hopkins - Apple Pie Amber:  Heavily malted with just enough hop bitterness. Brewed with apple,
cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and vanilla. It's the American classic in a glass! 5.0% - This very small Batch beer will be available starting Saturday at Hopkins.

Hopkins -  Citra Hefe:  Traditional-style German Weissbier featuring Citra hops which are
very popular among IPAs for its tropical citrus aroma and flavor. 5.0% - This very small Batch beer will be available starting Saturday at Hopkins.

Hopkins - Dankster Saison:  This "dank" saison is heavily hopped with a citrus blend and finishes
with complex spiced notes of the Belgian style yeast. 5.0% - This very small Batch beer will be available starting Saturday at Hopkins.

Hopkins -  Kitchen Sink Session IPA: This beer has a heavy body for a traditional IPA, but sits nicely at 80 IBUs. 5.0% - This very small Batch beer will be available starting Saturday at Hopkins.

Hopkins - Mango-Lime Ale:  Brewed with mangos and lime; featuring a simple grain bill with a citrus blend of hops, perfectly complimented by mango and lime. 5.0% - This very small Batch beer will be available starting Saturday at Hopkins.

Hopkins - The Dude Ale: Inspired by the drink of choice of the hero in Big Lebowski, this beer is
White Russian themed. Cream ale base, lactose, vanilla, rum extract, coffee.
It really ties these small batches together, and we abide by that! 5.0% - This very small Batch beer will be available starting Saturday at Hopkins.

Hopkins - Early Morning Stout:  Brewed with maple syrup, vanilla, coffee, toasted oak chips. This beer will have you feeling like you're spending time away in a cabin in the woods! 5.0% - This very small Batch beer will be available starting Saturday at Hopkins.

Roadhouse - The Walrus: I missed this Double IPA. Look for flavors of tangerine, pineapple and  melon with big tropical fruits and bitterness. 8.3% - I found it at the Bayou.

Roadhouse - Outcasty Sweet Potato Porter: Made with hand-peeled, quartered and roasted sweet potatoes, this porter has all of the classic flavors - caramel, cocoa and coffee with added earthy/nuttiness from the sweet potato. 8.0% - Also found at the Bayou.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 1/17/20

Congratulations, your having a New Beer Friday! Fruit is a heavy influencer this week, and 99% of them are local. Have an excellent weekend.

Avenues Proper - Charleston Cherry: This new farmhouse ale is made with local tart cherries from Woddyatt Farm. This brettanomyces beer is more fruit forward with a subtle yeast profile that brings the cherry into the foreground. Proper is on a roll right now, If you love Brett beers I'd get your hinies to Avenues Proper Sooner than later. 5.0%

Avenues Proper - Blood Orange Blizzard: This is a kettle soured IPA with blood orange added post fermentation. More tart than sour, look for a nice citrus twang with tangerine bitterness. 5.0% - Only at Avenues Proper.

Proper- Fonzie’s Jacket: A milkshake IPA made with Citra hops and lactose. Reminds me of a hoppy Orange Julius. Despite the fruit this is not a vegan friendly beer. 5.0%

Epic - Big Bad Yankee: This is the newest variant in Epic's Big Bad Baptist line-up. 'Yankee' is aged in Yankee Spirits' whiskey and rye barrels. This actually an imperial porter aged (not a stout) made with coffee, cacao, hazelnuts and vanilla. This is a very small batch, and only available at Epic's Salt Lake brewery starting this morning.

Epic - Lemon Bomb Tart n Juicy: This sour IPA is dosed with lemon juice to compliment the hop selection that is already citrus forward. No lactose in this one! 5.0% Available at Epic in growlers.

Hopkins- Deseret Dunkel: The aroma is described as malty sweet and bready, while the flavor profile is rich and complex, displaying notes of toasted bread, chocolate, and graham cracker. Bitterness is minimal. The flavor is reminiscent of Golden Graham cereal. 5.0% - Available at Hopkins.

Strap Tank - Nelson/Mosaic Hazy Pale Ale: This made with a couple of my favorite hops right now. The Nelson hops will add a berry-like component, while the Mosaic hops bring fresh pine, mango, blueberry and citrus. 5.0% - Available at both Strap Tank locations.

Strap Tank - Witbier: Look for high level of wheat with coriander and orange peel. 5.0% - Available at both Strap Tank locations.

Strap Tank - Blueberry Lime Smoothie Sour: . This one shines with tartness from the blueberry and lime, this gives it a sherbet or sorbet quality. 5.0% - Available at both Strap Tank locations.

Kiitos - Fruit Milkshake Ale (Berry Pomegranate): Made with real raspberry, blackberry, blueberry and pomegranate juices, They also reworked the base beer to make it 5%. Despite the fruit this is not a vegan friendly beer. On draft now at Kiitos.

Melvin/Arc'teryx collaboration - Son of Apocalypse IPA: This brand new IPA by Melvin debuted in SLC last Wednesday (1/15). Look for big citrus peel, pine and tropical fruits from this 70 Ibu ale. 5.0% - Available at Beerhive, Bayou.  

Returning Champs

Epic - Oak and Orchard Cherry Vanilla: This foeder aged sour reminds me of cherry sorbet with a hint of Balsamic vinegar. 6.5% - Available in crowlers at Epic.

Wasatch - Kick-back Series - Oatmeal Stout: Silky smooth chocolate, espresso and vanilla all wrapped up in a bow. 6.0% Available at Park City's brewery and the West Side Tavern.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 12/6/19

The cuteness factor for this New Beer Friday is off the freak'n charts! All of these beers are adorably delicious AF, and ready for your favorite glass or trough.

Saltfire - Apollo 18: This IPA has a mellow aroma of grapefruit peel and 'herbs'. The taste is somewhat similar but more intense with  orange, pine, resin, and cannabis rounding out the flavor profile. The malts are medium sweet. Nice use of Apollo hops. NEIPA 'purists' may find its bitter finish and lack of suspended matter off-putting. 7.1% - Available at Saltfire

Hopkins - Strawberry Sorghum: For a gluten free beer, you'd never notice the lack of barley. The strawberry is subtle and it works well with the sorghum as it some sometimes add a hint of tartness. Nice GF (gluten free, not girlfriend) beer. 5.0% - Available at Hopkins. 

Fisher - Lotus pale ale: Missed this new pale ale. 5.0% - Available at Fisher.

Fisher - Polar bear pale ale: Missed this new pale ale. 5.0% - Available at Fisher.

Proper - Thunder Mountain Black Out: This new Schwarzbier ia a pretty traditional German version of the style, with all German ingredients and special techniques to extract the color and some characteristics of the dark malt while still making it something super crushable. 5.0% - Available at Proper.

Heber Valley - East Ridge Tripel: Missed this new Belgian style Tripel. 8.0% - Available at Heber Valley Brewing.

Shades - Egg Nogg: You may be saying, whaaa? Yup, the minds at Shades that brought beers like Peach Cobbler and Mojito are still blurring the line between beer and well.... everything else. This beer is a Wheatwine at its base with all of the traditional nog spices (no eggs). It was also dosed with bourbon oak chips and a shload of lactose for that big egg nog sweetness. It's a bit sweet for me but it definitely captures the whole holiday feel. There is a hint of tartness though from the Kviek yeast. 9.0% - Available at Shades. 

Funkwerks - Provincial Raspberry: The raspberry aroma is strong, along with tart almost lemon quality. The flavor is tart berry with subtle briny notes, and a touch of yeast. The drinkability is excellent. Dry but not puckery, crisp but not overdone. Because the berry flavor is mild. 4.2% found at Angry Goat.

Funkwerks - Provincial Pineapple: Aroma is splattered with random notes of peppercorn, pineapple, bread, and yeast. Flavor profile is pineapple with a slight tangy, sour twist. 4.2% - found at Angry Goat.

Roadhouse - Loose Boots: This ahs a hazy, pale yellow color with a big pine and citrus aroma. Excellent light citrus smack to the flavor; lemon; light bread with well-rounded hop bitterness. Crisp, dry. 4.7% - Found at Harmons.

Roadhouse - Family Vacation: This cream ale has flavors of nutty biscuit and bread dough with citrus rind and lemony hops. Aroma is very light with hints of grains. 4.9% - Found at Harmons

Odell - Good Behavior: This session IPA has an aroma of juicy citrus and dank piney hops. The flavor is citrus, tropical fruit some sugary malts. Semi-dry finish. 4.0% - found at Harmons.

Oskar Blues - One-y: This session IPA has an orange citrus character with a modest bitterness. malts are thin with a slight herbal bite in the finish. Good balance for a light IPA. 4.0% - Found at Harmons.

Rogue - Just a Pinch: This gose has a fruity aroma with hints of lemon peel, berry, and grass. Flavors of  boysenberry, lemongrass, biscuit and sodium round it out. Lighter body with a tart and salty finish. 4.5% - Found at Harmons.

Rogue - Dreamland: I wasn't able to get to this new lager. 4.8% - Found at Harmons,

New Planet - Seclusion (gluten free) IPA:  I wasn't able to get to this new session IPA. 4.9% - Found at Harmons.

Carakale - Dead Sea-rious Gose: This Gose comes from the country of Jordan. Aromas of grapefruit, wheat, lemon and salt. The taste follows with a more subtle interpretation. Very smooth and appealing. If your not into goses, this may not change your mind, but if you dig 'em you'll be quite happy. 5.0% - Found on draft; only at the Bayou.

Saint Somewhere - Saison: Missed out on this saison. 5.0% - Found on draft; only at the Bayou.

Breckenridge - Colorado Core: Missed out on this apple blonde ale. 4.9% - Found at Harmons.

Breckenridge  - Strawberry Sky: Missed out on this strawberry kolsch. 4.9% - Found at Harmons.

Also Happening tomorrow is the BAD Fest (Brewers Vintners and Distillers). This is an educational  opportunity to help inform locals about the brewing arts. Participants will experience tastings from wineries, breweries, distilleries, and enjoy artisans locally-made products at this ultimate craft beer, whiskey and spirits and wine experience.

Whether you are a full-fledged homebrewing expert or just trying to understand the difference between a rye whiskey and bourbon, you will find more than one workshop to expand your palate at the Brewers, Vintners and Distillers Festival.

There is something for everyone – from mead and wine tastings, seminars and burlesque performances, to conversations with craft beer and homebrewing influencers, there are tastes and enticements at every turn.

Your entry includes a commemorative glass, access to workshops, tastings and live entertainment. Tickets and more info about BAD Fest can be found here.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 10/4/19

I had to get all of my homework done before I left for the great American Beer Festival this week; hope I didn't miss anything. Have an excellent weekend!

Roosters - Cosmic Autumn Rebellion: Pumpkin spice aroma with cocoa. The taste is pumpkin spices dough and chocolates. Reminds me very much of those chocolate chip pumpkin cookies.

Epic - Oak & Orchard Tiki: Big funk & wood in the nose. The taste starts with pineapple & orange then quickly transitions into almond. The nuttiness sticks around to the finish.

Epic - Sour Brainless on Guava & Habanero: Barrel aged sour with a nice guava fruitiness. Habanero is subtle and it comes off more scratchy than hot. Nice sour.

RoHa - Plum Sour: There’s definitely brett in the nose. Taste confirms it! Some lacto sour in it too. Plum tartness is prominent. Nice beer. 4.0% - only at  RoHa.

Kiitos - Peach Milkshake: Peach for sure, but not in your face. Tartness and lactose are pretty low. It has a nice round - light flavor. 4.0% - only at Kiitos.

Kiitos - Pastry Stout: Missed this one. Look for a good dose of chocolate and vanilla in this one. Available only at Kiitos. 13.0% - Available only at Kiitos.

Kiitos - 2nd Anniversary Ale: This beer is a blend of a mix of select barrel aged Imperial Red, Barley Wine and Imperial Stouts. 11.2% - Available only at Kiitos.

Kiitos - Sahti: This an old Finnish style of beer. This is made with rye and juniper branches - yes, juniper branches. It was also fermented with Kveik yeast. There's some nutty rye and a woody quality here. Hops are low and pine-like; barely detectable. 4.0% - Only at  Kiitos.

Hopkins - The Basic Witch: Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Stout! Made with actual pumpkin pies. Thick and layered with spices, roasty malty notes, and lightly sweet dark chocolate finish. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins.

Hopkins - Egyptian SMaSH: This is 100% purple heirloom barley from Egypt. Hopkins used only the purple barley and cascade hops to showcase the flavor of the malt. Flavors of stonefruit dominate, with peach. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins.

Hopkins - Mint Chocolate Chip Blonde: Fresh mint in the aroma and flavor with a subtle chocolate finish. 4.0% - Only at Hopkins. 

Shades - Kveik Passion Fruit: Missed this one. If you're into their Kveik beers you have a good idea of what to expect here.

Level Crossing - Look Up Amber Ale: Missed this one. 5.0% - Available at Level Crossing.

Ritual - Oil Rig: Missed this double IPA. Found at Beerhive.

Crazy Mountain - Shane McConkey: Missed this IPA. Found at DABC.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 9/27/19

You can defiantly tell it's autumn by the beers that have been released this week. When the evenings develop that slight chill these are the types of beers you'll want. Happy New Beer Friday.

Epic - Big Bad Baptist Chocolate Rapture: The second release in the 2019 Big Bad Baptists is a chocolate dream. 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 manage to make an appearance. Best enjoyed on the warm-side. Available starting today at Epic's SLC brewery.

Saltfire - Mobius Trip: This barrel aged golden sour has been sleeping in chardonnay casks for 15 months. Cherries were also added for more depth. This a collaborative beer made with home brewer, Rob Rutledge an award winning brewer of sour beers. Mobius Trip officially goes on sale this Saturday at Saltfire. I'll have some tasting notes on this at 2:30pm on KBER 101 with Mick and Allen.

Desert Edge - Wet Hop Chinook: Juicy citrus fruit aromas make my mouth water. I could sit and smell it all day. The hops smack you in the face. Sweet malt is present but the hop rule here. Finishes more bitter than expected, but I'm not complaining. Very noice. 4.0% - Available at Desert Edge.

Proper - Winchester: This American golden ale utilizes oats and rye, which make for a pleasant combo in this very light golden hued beer. The hops take on a slight citrus quality with a floral finish. 4.0 - Available at Proper. 

TF Brewing - Smoked Helles: The smoke element here is quite light and it adds a round sweetness to the beer that would otherwise be there. You still retain the a hint of nuttiness and the spicy floral component of the Saaz hops. Quite nice. 4.0% - Only at TF Brewing

TF Brewing-  Oktoberfest Märzen: TF released a smoked version of this later last month. This is the traditional version that feature a good dose of caramel and vanilla flavors that come across as creamy smooth. the hops are subtle with herbal spiciness and let the malts do most of the heavy lifting. Very nice. 4.0% - Only available at TF

TF Brewing - Dos People’s Doppelbock: Lots of bready malt, dark chocolate, light roast, faint booziness, and just a touch of syrupy sweetness. Medium-full bodied with slightly sharp carbonation but also very smooth and creamy in the mouth. Lingering stickiness and aftertaste leaves plenty of malty, sweet, complex breadiness and a late emerging floral hop bitterness. 7.9% - Only available at TF Brewing.

Fisher - Baby Beast: This Belgian style table beer is mostly yeast driven with light malts and hops. The flavor is mostly phenolic spices with a slight floral snap at the end.  4.0% - only at Fisher

Fisher - Falling Leaves Lager: This pleasant looking amber lager is light and toasty with some malt driven nuttiness. The hops are traditional with a nice grassy quality that drifts into the floral side of the spectrum by the finish. 4.0% - only at Fisher

Hopkins - Munich Dunkel:  The aroma is malty sweet and bready, while the flavor profile is rich and complex, displaying notes of toasted bread, chocolate, and graham cracker. Bitterness is minimal. The flavor is reminiscent of Golden Graham cereal. A delicious dark lager without the roasty character of a stout or a porter.

UTOG - Top Shelf: The smell is lightly hopped up front, still a nice dosage of caramel malts appear. The taste is mainly sweet, becomes slightly bitter, and has a sticky sweet aftertaste and finish. On the palate, she sits about a light to medium, comes across as a fairly sessionable IPA.

Dogfish Head - American Beauty: This American Pale Al has an earthy- orange quality with a good amount of slightly sweet honey grains. The hops take over from here adding orange peel, floral, and herbal bitterness. Plenty of malt depth with a moderate bitterness in the middle, continuing through to the finish coupled with the floral hops and slightly sweet malts.Nice pale ale. 6.5% - found at DABC.

Stone - Tropic of Thunder: They're selling this as traditional lager, but it tastes more like an IPA. So, think IPL. The aroma is full of tangerine, peach and pear. with a hint of floral hops. There's a ton of fruit to go around, with a touch of honey and grain. There's a faint herbal bitterness in the finish. It all comes together quite well. 5.8%  found at DABC

New Belgium - Hop Avenger: Missed this one. It's brand new and not too many people have tried this one anywhere. Have you? Tell us a bout it. 7.7% - found at DABC.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 9/6/19

Hoppers - Bungalow Kölsch: Missed this one. Look for toasty and fruity malts with a good dose noble hops. 4.0% - Available at Hoppers.

Heber Valley- Blackberry Saison: Missed this one too. Look for wheaty and spicy yeast base with blackberry accents. 4.0% - Available at Heber Valley.

Hopkins/Wasatch - Locals Only: This collaboration beer was made with 100% local ingredients. It's malty with fruity yeast esters and hops that lean to the citrusy part of the spectrum. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins and at Squatters 30th Anniversary party.

Dogfish Head - Punkin Ale: Smells and tastes of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin, brown sugar, malts and some vanilla. Medium to heavy body.  7.0% - Found at DABC

Returning 

RoHa's - Freshies Wet Hop: Made with wild hop from around the area; this special ale is different every year, due to the unpredictable nature of the hops. 4.0% - Available at RoHa.

Cheers!

New Beer/Brewery Friday 8/23/19

It seems like its been just a couple of weeks (it was) when we had our last new brewery open. This Saturday will mark Utah's 38th brewery location and Heber's first since the early 2000's. The 3.5 barrel brew house will be cranking out draft beers to start, with high point suds coming soon from the brewery's package agency. Brewer, Clint Jones is already planning a Belgian style Tripel that he plans on splitting into fresh and barrel aged versions. The Heber Valley Brewing Co. officially opens tomorrow (8/24/19) and is located on Main Street and 500 n. in Heber Utah. Welcome 

Heber Valley - Cöld Fusion Kölsch:  Look for a nice clean, easy drinking beer. 4.0% - Available at Heber Valley Brewing.

Heber Valley - W.O.W. Wit: look for a very light colored Belgian Wit. Subtle hops and nice yeast character. 4.0% - Available at Heber Valley Brewing.

Heber Valley - Lone Pine Pale Ale: This Pale Ale was brewed with spruce tips and centennial hops.  4.0% - Available at Heber Valley Brewing.

Heber Valley - Heber's Hazy IPA:  Tons of hop aroma with enough bitterness to back it up. Plenty of Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops. 4.0% - Available at Heber Valley Brewing.

Heber Valley - HVBC IPA:  Pretty light colored IPA. Good balance between aroma and bitterness.  Crystal and Mosaic hops. 4.0% - Available at Heber Valley Brewing.

TF Brewing Coconut Guava Berliner: The tropical theme of this beer is undeniable with great fruit flavors that play well with the subtle sour base of the beer. Very refreshing with high drink-ability.  4.0% - Available at TF Brewing.

Hopkins - Coconut Macadamia Porter: This is basically a cookie. Hopkins hand-toasted 40 pounds of coconut and sourced some macadamia flour from a small farmer in Hawaii. Chocolate malt and lactose sugar round out the flavors of this delicious dessert beer. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins

Hopkins - Patchwork Pale 2:
This version is basically a “Hazy IPA”. Hoppy, hazy, refreshing, dry, with a light biscuit malt backbone. The hop profile is Citra forward, which gives bright citrus and tropical flavors with Simcoe and Cascade hops on the back end, giving it a little resiny pine and floral character. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins.

Hopkins - Campfire Smoked Lager:
This is essentially a German Rauchbier. Local cherry-wood smoked Solstice malt adds a distinct smokiness with some light crystal and aromatic malts to give it a nice malty backbone but a nice crisp finish. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins

Hopkins - Raspberry Gose:
This beer was brewed with orange peel and coriander, then fresh raspberry puree and salt were added in the fermenter. The tartness blends beautifully with the raspberry and the salt balances the flavors. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins

Roosters Rooster Tail: Look for big tropical notes from the hops with medium bitterness and creamy malts. The 6.5% ABV is very approachable. 4.0% - Available at all Roosters locations.

Wasatch - Dry Hopped Saison: This is textbook saison with a good amount of spicy phenolic yeast character. The dry hopping adds mostly bitterness to the finish. 5.5% available at most Wasatch locations. 

Red Rock Otto: Missed this new Imperial Pilsner that debuts today. Look for notes of blueberry, coconut, lemon, lime , peach and melon. 7.2% - Available at Red Rock

Illuminated Junior Astronaut Juice: Look for tangerine,orange peel, grapefruit, passion fruit all wrapped up in nice resinous hop bow. Caramel malts give the hop salad pleanty to build on. 6.0% - Found at DABC.

Prost!

New Beer Friday 8/2/19

Welcome to August! It looks like you need a beer. Strangely enough I just happen to have found a few that you may like - including a bunch of limited offerings from Hopkins Brewing that go on draft today. If you have any gluten free folk in your life, let them know there are some no malt options as well. Happy New Beer Friday.
 
Hopkins - Chocolate Strawberry Stout: Brewed with organic strawberry, lactose, dark chocolate and white chocolate. 4.0% - limited availability only at Hopkins.

Hopkins - Oxymoron Black IPA: This BIPA was hopped with the Pink Boots hop blend and will have some deep cocoa notes. 4.0% - limited availability only at Hopkins.

Hopkins - Raspberry Spiked Seltzer: Look for raspberry flavored sparkling water with an alcohol kick. 4.0% - limited availability only at Hopkins.

Hopkins - Strawberry Sorghum: This "gluten free" beer is made with organic strawberries, sorghum syrup and local honey. 4.0% - limited availability only at Hopkins.

RoHa - "Chinookie on the Porch":This is a double dry hopped version of RoHa's Back Porch Pale. It has a good malt base with a healthy dose of pine bitterness and lesser citrus peel towards the end. Super drinkable. 4.0% - Available at RoHa.

Avenues Proper - SMaSH (Ekuanot hops): Missed this one. Ekuanot hops have a citrusy and herbal profile, if that give you an idea of what to expect. This one is exclusive to Avenues Proper. 4.0%.

Fisher - Dug: This pale ale has a good amount of rye that adds richness to the malt. The hops are for the most part citrusy, and work well with spicy base. Very nice. 4.0% - Available at Fisher.

Fisher - Lemon Hop Dancer: Loaded with Lemon Drop hops; this pale has a hazy golden color that looks and taste 'lemony'. The hops are very lemon like, which gives it a nice, fresh taste. Aother winner.

Wasatch Bear River Blonde: This one debuts today and is only available at Wasatch's Sugar House location. 4.0%.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 6/28/19

Dust off that cassette case and get out your favorite make-out tape because you're definitely going to get frisky and loose after checking out this week's New Beer Friday offerings. Yes, I know that I'm dating myself....
 
TF Brewing - Rye or Die: So, I’m just going to say it. This beer absolutely looks different. Rye is an oily grain; much more than barley or wheat. If you take the time you’ll notice that this beer has a different groove in appearance and flavor. This lager has fuller mouthfeel that has a hint of spicy rye rye up front. Toasty grains and herbal hops round it out; providing a clean finish. Super drinkable. This is an excellent summer lager. 4.0% - Available at TF Brewing. 

TF Squirrel: This “fruity” IPA is a straight up New England style IPA that has that super turbid appearance that the fans of haze crave. The aroma is full of wonderful citrus peel qualities (mostly grapefruit). Taste wise it follows the nose pretty close with addition of orange pith, mango and pineapple. There’s very little bitterness, but what bitters I do detect come off as dry ruby red grapefruit peel. Alcohol is well hidden. Very nice. 6.5% - Available at TF Brewing starting today.

Roosters - El Doce: I missed out on this Mexican style lager. 4.0% - Available at Roosters' locations

Epic - Baptist Reserve 2019: This is a blend of all of the BBB variants that were made in 2018, the standard BBB, Baptista and Quad Barrel BBB. Look for a silky fudge brownie beer with coffee and bourbon that offers up just a tinge of cinnamon in the finish. 11.7% - Available starting today at Epic in SLC.

Epic - Pakka Berry Seltzer: Pakka is a new brand of alcoholic seltzers that are coming soon from Epic. This has a deep Rosé color and has a flavors that is full of vague berries. Like many alcoholic seltzers this is very light and dry with prickly carbonation. It was gone before I knew it. Made with real berries. Best alcoholic seltzer I’ve had. 4.5% - Limited growlers available at Epic Brewing.

Hopkins - Solstice Lager: There's a heavy amount of toast here that almost comes of as roastiness. The hops are mostly floral with some citrus peel qualities. It has a somewhat vegital finish that is somewhat dry. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins.

Wasatch Top of Main Belgian Dark Strong Ale: Missed out on this one. Look for it later today at Wasatch's Park City brewery and possible the UBC's West Side Tavern in SLC. 10.3% only 160 cases available. So... don’t “F” it up. You'll probably want to get on this one sooner than later.

Wasatch Treeline Mountain IPA: Screw New England and screw the West Coast. Wasatch is contributing to the exploding "Mountain Style IPA". Yes, I said Mountain IPA. These IPAs are more pine & berry based; reflecting the flavors of the Rockies for this new and emerging style. This IPA has medium to light body with a lighter hop profile that has notes of melon, berry and piny/resinous finish. It's super crushable and a welcome change of pace. 6.0% - Found at the UBC's West Side Tavern in SLC.

Wasatch Devastator Brandy Barrel: Boozy aroma with dark fruits. The taste follows with more brandy that transitions into chewy Christmas fruit cake and toffee. A big dose of raisin and dates hits the tongue next with cocoa and bread pudding rounding out the complex flavors. This is a wonderful barrel aged dopple bock that really is really worth checking out. 10.8% - Found at the UBC's West Side Tavern in SLC.

Don't forget that tomorrow is the Utah Brewers Guild Festival. Get your tickets online or at the gate 

And in a programing note: New Beer Friday on KBER 101 is moving to 2:30pm on Fridays instead of 3:30. Check us out on the radio or online.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 3/8/19

Today is International Women’s Day. It will also be the 2nd Annual Pink Boots Brew Day in Utah. Our local chapter of the Pink Boots Society will be brewing a Cold Session IPA at Roosters' B Street to raise money for causes related to the organization.

In conjunction with the brew day, the ladies will be having a fundraising event in the B Street tap room. Utah Pink Boots Chapter leader, Jamie Burnham has been diagnosed with breast cancer. To help offset medical bills, Roosters will be donating a portion of all pints sold at B Street on March 8th. Come by to check out the Pink Boots Members brewing, and to support one Utah's best beer advocates. Now, on to New Beer Friday.

2 Row - Divine Lunacy: This new barrel aged beer from 2 Row is a begian quad aged in "new" bourbon barrel for nearly a year. The bourbon is nearly overpowering at first, but once you palate adjusts the bubblegum and peach from Quad begin to assert themselves. Very nice! 11.5% - Available at 2 Row, Beer Bar, Bayou, Dick n' Dixie's.

Strap Tank - Cosmic Fog: This beer looks like some kind of acid trip while watching an episode of My Pretty Pony. It's a swirling cloud of purple hued pearl essence. The taste is subtle tartness with vague berries. Not Bad. 4.0% - Available at Strap Tank, Fisher Brewing's guest tap. It's going fast!

Hopkins - Hipster AF: This beer is "triple dry hopped" with citra, mosaic, and cascade hops - brewed with lactose for that “milkshakey”, juicy, hazy. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins.

Telegraph West Swell Juicy IPA: Epic's newest acquisition from Santa Barbara is finally in our market. The West Swell IPA has a nose of grapefruit and papaya. Flavor-wise we get orange and pineapple from the hop selection. Bitterness is low, while sweetness is high. Nice example of the style. 6.7% - Found at Slackwater.

Dogfish Head - Perfect Disguise: This Double IPA is supposedly a Kolsch at heart; made with Kolsch  yeast and German malts. Hopped with nearly 4 lbs. of German and American hops per barrel. It brings tropical flavors of citrus, tangerine, mango, gooseberries and peach. 8.0% - Available at DABC.

Elysian - Dayglow IPA: Aromas of citrus and flowers. The flavor has grapefruit peel and is strong with some caramel and pine. The bitterness isn't too overpowering. Nice. 7.4% - Available at Slackwater, DABC. 

Cheers!

New Beer/Brewery Friday: Silver Reef Brewing Company

The Saint George area of Utah hasn't been this geeked for beer since the area's first breweries opened up in the late 1870s. As far as my research has determined, the first brewery in that neck of the woods was the B. Noebling Brewery that operated briefly in 1879 and closed that same year. A year later the Welte Brewery opened and managed to make a go of it from 1878-1888.

That's the only trace of legal breweries that I could find. Now the long, long, long beer drought is over with opening of the Silver Reef Brewing Company. The name is taken from the old mining town of Silver Reef (where the two previously mention breweries hailed from) and is owned by Ellis Island Hotel and Brewery out of Las Vegas. The brewery is located at 4391 S Enterprise Drive, St. George and the beer is for sale at brewery's retail store now. Kegs are supposedly en route to Salt Lake, so stay close to see where they end up.

In addition to craft beer, St. George’s Beverage (Silver Reef) also has plans to operate as a distillery and winery producing Southern Utah wine with the existing vineyard in Chanela Farms located on Pine Valley Mountain.

St. George beer nerds, listen up! We need tasting notes on these beers so share your thoughts if you've had them! 

Silver Reef - Mexican-Style Lager: No tasting notes

Silver Reef - Fresh and Juicy Ale: No tasting notes

Silver Reef - White Dome IPA: No tasting notes

T.F. - Harvey Cream Stout: Described as having dark chocolate with roasted malts jive with slight cream sweetness. The nitro gas accentuates the creaminess giving it a silky feel. 4.0% - Available at T.F. Brewing.

Hopkins - Twilight Saison: Described as having dark roasted malts combine with spicy phenolic yeast to produce a mixed bag of cocoa/char and herbal clove. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins 

Zion - Pomegranate Sour:  Described as having fresh, mildly tart pomegranate that starts the flavors with a trace of pie crust. Light and balanced. 4.0% - Found at Beer Bar.  

Saltfire - Barrel Aged Dirty Chai Stout: Look for chocolate and coffee; combined with chai spices that play off of subtle note of bourbon. 9.3% - Available at Saltfire and better beer pubs around the Wasatch Front

Shades - Not Your Mama’s Wassail: It’s described as having a bit of wheat and is lemony/tart with spices added. 4.0% - Available at Shades starting today.

Full Sail - Atomizer: Described as having a touch of grapefruit zest and hints of pine along with a slight sugar cookie sweetness. Crisp feel, bright and balanced just bordering the bitter side with a dry finish. 7.0% - Available at DABC.

Oskar Blues - Can O Bliss:  Described as hazy yellow/gold in color with a pungent aroma of grapefruit, passion fruit and vague citrus rind. Front to back you get a salad of citrus with lots of fruity tones and little bitterness. Finishes on the sweet side. 7.2% - Found at the Bayou.

Oskar Blues - Guns ‘N’ Rosé: Described as clear Pink in color with a very botanical nose of hibiscus and rose water. The taste is prickly pear like with more botanicals and a slight tartness. Not too overpowering. 6.0% - Found at the Bayou.

Prost!

Image provided by Silver Reef Brewing

New Beer Friday 1/11/19

Was it a long weeek for you? It sure as shit was for me. It kinda makes you yearn for a slower, simpler time. This week’s New Beer Friday selections are mostly local, which is always a good thing.

Wasatch - American Craft Lager: This lager is rich and grainy up front with a snappy, crisp drying bitter finish backed with herbal hops. The beer has a clean fermentation character with a trace of tartness and is lightly dry. 4.8% - Available at Wasatch Park City (to go/stay) West Side Tavern (to stay).

Wasatch - Oatmeal Stout: This stout smells of roasted malts and a nice dark chocolate. There is also a perceived sweetness of vanilla. The beer also has a vanilla-like  character followed by the richness or oats and roasted malts. The beer is very smooth and has hints of chocolate in it as well. Very Nice.  6.0% - Available at Wasatch Park City (to go/stay) West Side Tavern (to stay).

RoHa - Shut Down Pale Ale: This pale ale has a new hop bill. It pours a nice pale copper color. Well balanced hop forward pale that has citra hops in the finish. 4.0% - Available at RoHa.

Hopkins - Cascade Oat Saison: Some phenolic clove with wheat crackers in the nose. The taste is more subdued with more wheat a hint of spicy yeast that's backed with hints of citrus and pine. A nice hopped saison. Available at Hopkins

Roosters - Ogden Double IPA: Poured a clear honey yellow with a subdued white head. Smells of tropical fruit mainly pineapple and oranges. Flavor follows the nose with the addition of pine. Hearty with good carbonation. Overall a very nice beer. Available at all Roosters locations

Ninkasi - Heart and Science IPA: Missed out on this one. Look for a typical American IPA with notes of melon and citrus. 6.8% - Available at DABC.

Cheers!

New Beer/Brewery Friday 1/4/19

It's a good thing when you can start off the new year with a New Beer/Brewery Friday. On the last day of 2018 Hopkins Brewing became Utah's newest brewery; debuting with seven new beers. Hopkins is an adult only brewpub and is open from 11am- midnight seven days a week. Welcome to the Utah Beer Family! 

Hopkins - Friendly Introduction Pale Ale: Nose of grapefruit, mild orange citrus, some sweet malt, and woody/floral grass. Tastes like grapefruit peel, sweet malt, some spice with floral pine and earthy grass. Light bodied, creamy with low carbonation. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins Brewing 

Hopkins - NAIPA: Aromas of biscuit, citrus fruit, and floral tickle the nostrils. The taste is much the same with biscuit, floral, citrus zest, and pine needle flavors on the finish. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins Brewing

Hopkins -  Bourbon Barrel Porter: The nose has notes of roasted malt and cocoa. Roasted malt and chocolate is present throughout the flavor profile with whiskey notes becoming more apparent after it warms. The finish is bitter with slight lingering bourbon notes. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins Brewing
 
Hopkins - Smoke Porter with Jalapeno: Aromas are driven by a refined leathery, roastiness; char, tobacco and chipotle brings clarity and roundness. The flavors follow the nose, with an added tickle from the chipotle creeping in. The smooth leatheriness from the chiles plays off the chocolate and malt of the base porter without dominating. Finishes with a rather bitter roast character. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins Brewing

Hopkins - Old Merchant Nitro Cream Ale: Very light aroam with some lemon citrus and cracker malt. Taste is more assertive but still light, like most cream ales. Earthy malt with a light citrus hoppy character that shows up in the finish. Definitely maltier than hoppy. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins Brewing.

Hopkins -Coffee Cream Ale: The smell of coffee hits you nicely; not overpowering, but not subtle either. The taste is where the subtlety of the coffee is, which is perfect as i didn't want to dominate. The La Barba coffee addition is very easy to drink; creating a nice representation of a coffee infused cream ale.

Hopkins - Winter Ale: Missed this one. This ale is made with orange peel and mulling spices, so it will definitely live up to it's name. 4.0% - Available at Hopkins Brewing 

Saltfire - Barrel Aged Baltic Porter:  Roasted brown malts and floral bitterness combines with wonderful rye whiskey to create a spicy, chocolate alcohol fueled bomb. Very limited. 8.0% - Available at Saltfire.

T.F. Brewing - Albion Belgian Tripel: This has a golden cantaloupe color with sweet spicy nose of yeast and candy. The taste starts with notes of stone fruit, then quickly transitions into bubblegum and peppery yeast. Dangerously drinkable for a Tripel. 10.2% - Available at T.F. Brewing. 

T.F. Brewing - Helles: This unfiltered lager pours a hazy golden yellow under a solid fluffy white head. Sweet grainy aroma with a little hoppy spice. Flavor is biscuity and sweet - not much from the hops other than some bitterness. Pretty light and crisp. 4.0% - Available at T.F. Brewing.

Avenues Proper - Breakfast Juice: Designed with the day's first meal in mind. Both malted and flaked oats were used to add chewiness and body with hints of vanilla that complimented the addition
of lactose. The ABV is kept deliberately lower and finally the addition of a special blend
of Coffee from La Barba adds rich complexity. 4.0% - Available only at Avenues Proper.

Toasted Barrel - Black Currant Sour: Pours a jammy purple color with a creamy white head. Smell is nice with an extremely sour taste and lots of black currant. A surprisngly estery start on the tongue, with a long-lasting sour black currant and raspberry-like finish. 6.5% - Available at Toasted Barrel.

Toasted Barrel - Belgian Blonde: Aroma has some hefty Belgian yeast imparting some citrus and astringency. Taste is decidedly yeasty as well. Minor amounts of clove, grapefruit, apple and pear from the yeast. Its actually pretty straight forward. 7.5%. - Available at Toasted Barrel.

Squatters - Red Hop Redemption: Missed this New England style hopped red ale. It's described as having Ekuanot, Simcoe, and Idaho 7 hops with a strong supporting malty backbone. 4.0% - Available at Squatters brewpub.

Roosters - Blackberry Cream Ale: This is being canned as of 7am this morning. Goes on sale this afternoon at Roosters B Street Brewery in Ogden. 6.0%. 

Policy Kings Hefeweizen: Missed this one. 4.0% - Available at Policy Kings

Anchor - Brewer's Pale Ale Citra: Missed this one. 5.3% - Available at DABC

Sam Adams - Cold Snap: Missed this one. 5.3% - Available at DABC

Sierra Nevada - Brut IPA: Missed this one.6.2%  - Available at DABC

If you've tried any of those that I missed please share your thoughts with the rest of us, please.

Cheers!