New Beer Friday 3/6/20

If New Beer Friday is my ailment, I don't want to be well. If you need some weekend medicine, we have you covered.

Silver Reef - Fresh and Juicy: I missed this one, I hope to have notes on this later. 4.2% 5.0% found at the Bayou

Avenues Proper - Sir Bain's London Porter: A nice roasted malt aroma with a good dose of roast in the taste as well. It's quite powerful and almost comes across as ash. The is some dark cocoa and espresso as well, with little in the way of malt sweetness. 5.0% - Available at Avenues Proper

Bewilder - English Brown Ale: Caramel and toast in the aroma. Taste-wise it starts with a cola-like sweetness with a vague vegetable flavor. It's sweet but malt flavor is low with very subtle toasted malts. 5.0% Available at Bewilder.

Wasatch - Barrel Aged Belgian Pale Ale: Missed this one. I hope to have tasting notes on this later. This Belgian style pale was aged in Wyoming Whiskey barrels. This is very limited and only available at Wasatch's Sugar House location. 5.0%.

Melvin - Mind Bloom: A hazy peach color with tangerine, mango, pineapple lemon and grapefruit zest. Taste wise you get more of the same with papaya, pineapple, tangerine up front with nice caramel, grapefruit, and berry backing it up. 7.0% found at BeerHive.

Wildflower - Solera (Pull #4): This sour hails from Australia. This foudre sour is a spelt beer with notes of citrus, dark fruits and some balsamic notes. This is very limited and exclusive to the Bayou. 5.0%.

Revision - Smoke And Mirrors: This NEDIPA has a healthy dose of Amarillo, Citra and Mosaic hops. This gives it flavors of orange, tangerine and melon up front. Apricot, pineapple and berries round out the back end. Found at the Bayou - 8.0%

Revision - Planet Lovetron: Starts slightly grassy and herbal, opens to tropical fruit, passion fruit, mango, and a hint of pineapple, citrus, lemon, tangerine, and grapefruit, with an underlying resinous bitterness, biscuity malt, and caramel sweetness. 6.5% - Found at the Bayou.

Odell - Witkist White Ale: Normally witbiers are made with orange peel. This one uses grapefruit peel. It doesn't alter the citrus quality too much, however the yeast is super phenolic (clove, bandaid) and it comes across as a super chewy saison. Just kinda, meh for me. 5.0% Found at Beer Bar.

 Cheers!

New Beer Friday 2/14/20

It's going to be a beer filled Valentine for sure. Buy your sweetie one of the new brews and you'll be pitching woo fer sure. 

Bewilder Citra Pale Ale: Great tangerine aroma. The taste follows with juicy citrus and pith. the malt isn't too sweet and compliments the hops well. Nice and very drinkable. 5.0% Available at Bewilder.

Templin Family - Jesse Delmar: This Barrel Aged Imperial Stout is big on chocolate coffee notes and it hits with a big whiskey wallop. This the full barrel proof, no blending down of the aged beer; dialing in at a solid 12.0%. Very nice stuff. Available at TF.

Avenue Proper - Wolf Mountain: This has an aroma of citrus peel and heavy pine. Creamy malts at first sip then your met with a huge blast of dank pine, with some citrus and herbal hops. This one lights up the sides and bottom of the tongue. Its more of a pale ale with super hoppy bite. 5.0% - Only at Avenues Proper.

Squatters - Blonde Latte: Nice coffee aroma and flavor here. There is some higher than normal sweetness due to the addition of lactose. It all comes across as the latte the name implies. This is not a vegan friendly beer. 5.0% Available at Squatters Downtown.

Squatters - Dragon Slayer: This IPL starts off super dry. The hops are a blend of citrus peel and old world German hops and herbal spices. this is all IPL with little IPA character. Super crushable. 5.0% Available at Squatters downtown.

Desert Edge Cashmere in the Rye: Haven't had this one yet. By the name it appears to be a rye pale ale with Cashmere hops. 5.0% Available at Desert Edge and the Bayou.

Toasted Barrel - Juicy Double IPA: This just hit late yesterday afternoon. I missed it. All I know is that it's described as having five different types of hops. 5.0% Limited batch, available at Toasted Barrel.

Roosters - Winter Blues: This another hazy IPA except this one is made with blueberry purée, butterfly pea flower and Mosaic hops. I haven't had this yet, but its piqued my curiosity. 5.0% on Tap Now at Roosters locations and at Slackwater in Ogden as well. 

Silver Reef - Snowman Golden Bock: A mostly traditional crisp yet malty German Helles Bock finished with Mosaic hops. 6.8% - Only at Silver Reef

Silver Reef - White Dome: This is a Belgian white IPA brewed with wheat and candy sugar. Hopped with Nugget, citra, ekuanot and crystal. 6.75% - Only at Silver Reef

Coniston Brewing - Bluebird Bitter: Caramel malts are noticeable at first. Then spicy hops come in and add a surprisingly sharp punch of bitterness. The bitterness starts to fade quickly though, transitioning to a sweet malt finish. 4.2% - Exclusively on draft at the Bayou.

Libertine - Plumphry’s McGee: I missed this one. This is a tart Dunkle made with plum. 4.5% - Exclusively on draft at the Bayou.

To Øl - Fuck Art - This is Architecture: The taste starts out bready with Belgian yeast and a hearty malt character. Then a strong but not over-powering hops bitterness comes in. The finish is slightly bready and bitter. 5.0% - Exclusively on draft at the Bayou.

Founders - Mountain Brown: Missed this one. 9.0% Found at the Bayou

Founders - Canadian Breakfast Stout: Missed this one. 11.3% Found at the Bayou

Stone - Viking Space Probe: Missed this one. 8.5% Found at Beerhive

Great Basin - Bitch’n Beery: Missed this one. 5.6% Found at Slackwater (Sandy)

The following are limited small batches from Hopkins Brewing.

Hopkins - TROPKVEIK PALE ALE

Grain: Maris Otter, Munich, Wheat, Rye
Hops: Citra, Simcoe, Mosaic, Cascade, Cashmere
Yeast: Imperial Kveiking
Notes: Brewed with a tropical hop blend and kveik yeast

Hopkins - THE WOODSMAN
Grain: Maris Otter, Crystal 35L, Crystal 80L, Crystal 120L, Biscuit
Hops: Simcoe, Chinook
Yeast: Imperial Flagship
Notes: Brewed with vanilla and oak chips for a barrel-aged flavor.

Hopkins - HALLERTAU BLANC HEFE
Grain: Pilsner, Wheat
Hops: Hallertau Blanc
Yeast: Imperial Stefon
Notes: Traditional-style German Weissbier featuring Hallertau Blanc hops. These hops have fruity notes as well as grapes and lemongrass.

Hopkins - ROSEMARY: "LADY IN WHITE"
Grain: Maris Otter, Wheat, Munich, Flaked Corn
Hops: Cashmere, Saaz
Yeast: Imperial Napoleon
Notes: Brewed with coriander, orange peel and rosemary. This Belgian White is inspired by the alleged apparition that haunts our brewery after hours. We've only heard stories so far, mainly being a lady in a white dress.

Hopkins - HOPPED-UP BROWN
Grain: Maris Otter, Biscuit, Crystal 80L, Crystal 120L, Chocolate Malt
Hops: Simcoe, Mosaic, Cascade, Citra
Yeast: Imperial Darkness
Notes: India Brown Ale style featuring a complex chocolate and caramel body with a heavy hand of hops and dry-hopped with Citra.

Hopkins - MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP BLONDE
Grain: Maris Otter, Munich, Wheat
Hops: Cascade
Yeast: Imperial House
Notes: Blonde ale features a pleasant blend of fresh mint leaves and chocolate.

Hopkins - RED VELVET AMBER
Grain: Maris Otter, Munich, Wheat, Crystal 80L, Crystal 120L, Chocolate Malt
Hops: Simcoe, Mosaic
Yeast: Imperial Flagship
Notes: Brewed with lactose, chocolate, vanilla, and beets.  This red-hued amber is inspired by the decadent dessert, Red Velvet Cake.

Hopkins - "SHUCK IT" OYSTER STOUT
Grain: Maris Otter, Chocolate Malt, Crystal 120L, Biscuit, Flaked Oat, Black Barley
Hops: Chinook
Yeast: DCL/Fermentis US-05
Notes: Brewed with oysters, coffee and chocolate. This rich stout is salty up front with roasted dark chocolate notes and a slight hint of coffee at the end.

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

Welcome Hopkins Brewing Company to the Utah Beer Family

When T.F. Brewing opened its doors a few weeks ago, most of us thought that Salt Lake City had seen its last brewery of 2018 open it's doors. We were wrong. Due to a serendipitous set of circumstances we had a new SLC brewery go online yesterday which brings Utah's yearly total to six new breweries this year (SaltFire, Toasted Barrel, Policy Kings, Cerveza Zoulupes and T.F. Brewing) and there are still two breweries on deck ready to go by the end of the year.

We'll get back to the other two in moment; for now let's talk about brewery number six, Hopkins Brewing Co. The man behind the beer (pictured above) is Chad Hopkins, a local home brewer that has decided to join the fray and up his beer game.

If the space looks familiar, it should. It's the former Epic Sugar House location. Technically the building and brew house are still leased/owned by Epic Brewing; Hopkins worked out a deal to take over the space which has been fraught with an identity crisis since it opened as the Annex in 2013. Hopkins looks to breath new life into the location and will also bring a fresh perspective to the beers and it's Sugar House neighborhood.

Epic just secured a full bar license for the property on Tueday, so it looks like Hopkins Brewing will be an adult only brewpub. More specifics will be made clear in the coming weeks. Congrats to Chad on his first brew day and for getting Utah's sixth brewery of 2018 online. Stay close for the announcement the opening day.

Earlier I mentioned two other other breweries that will be going on line before the end of this year; Roosters' B Street Brewery in Ogden will begin brewing next week and Saint George's Silver Reef Brewing should be going on line pretty close to the same time as well.

Roosters just secured their Liquor license on Tuesday as well and will likely be open as soon as this weekend. So if you're keeping track and if all goes as planned, that will be eight new breweries in Utah for 2018. That's enough to make this old beer nerd all misty-eyed n' shit. Please keep checking back for updates on all of these new beer havens.

Prost!

Photo credit: Hopkins Brewing Co.