New Beer Friday 11/15/19

There's no need to hire bounty hunters to track down this week's New Beer Friday releases. Everything available this week is local (less one) and they're fresh, fresh, fresh. Go Utes!

Talisman - Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout (2019 Limited Exclusive Release): Aged for 6 months in Sugar House Bourbon Barrels, this beer has a strong and pleasant bourbon aroma, roasted malt, very nice. Nice blended bourbon taste, strong upfront. Roasted malt backs the bourbon well, with some cocoa flavors breaking though. Easy and smooth drinking. 10.5% - Very limited. Available at Talisman.

Proper Brewing - Monolith: The taste starts off with a rich roasted coffee flavor and a bit of chocolate until mid-sip until the depth of the barrels starts to come through. Very pleasant and usual whiskey flavors come in, adding some typical spicy rye notes with added hints of tart vinous-like qualities. 10.2%.

Saltfire - Mobius Trip Raspberry: This next iteration, like its predecessor, was aged for well over a year in Chardonnay oak barrels before aging again for several months, in this case, on Raspberries. Flavor wise you get a fair amount of raspberry on top of the barrel sour base. It's slightly intense and it swells around the sour. 8.0% Available today at Saltfire 

Zion/Saltfire - SSCXWC19UT-FVB: Yes, that is the name, it's not a typo. This collaboration pale ale was dry-hopped with a new hop called "Soltano". It provides some orange peel up front with some big resinous pine in the finish. 5.0%. Available on draft at Zion and Saltfire.

 

The following beers are a new line from Shades Brewing. F.i.t. is a low calorie, low carb edition to the Shades portfolio that is targeting the more active/health conscious beer drinker. 12 ounce cans are hitting stores right now, you can also get them at the Shades Taproom. 

F.i.t. - Blonde: Light body with nutty, toasted grains and lemon grass. 4.0%

F.i.t. - Brut IPA: This IPA is bone dry and is hopped with Simcoe and Motueka hops. Some citrus qualities with a hint of tartness - due to the very low levels of sugar. 4.0%

F.i.t. - Light Lager: Very light honey malt and toast with a hint of noble hops. Sparkling carbonation. 4.0%

Dogfish Head - 75 Minute IPA: This is basically a west coast IPA. The maple syrup element isn’t very present in the flavor beyond a faint sweetness, but does add a nice smooth mouthfeel. Hops are piney and grapefruity but not too bitter. Nice. 7.5% - Available at 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 9/28/18

Apparently today is National Drink a Beer Day. This being the case, I've found a nice round selection of local regional beers to help you accomplish this sacred national obligation.

It's also worth mentioning that Utah has two new breweries that have gone online and are now fermenting beer. Policy Kings Brewing located in Cedar City started brewing last week and will hopefully be selling their suds to our brothers and sisters in Southern Utah in the coming weeks. The Templin Family (TF) Brewery went online yesterday and hopes to be serving beer at their Granary neighborhood spot by the end of October. Congrats to Utah's newest beverage playgrounds!

Fisher Purple Power Sour: Black Currents were added to this new brew. They give it a deep purple color that is tinged towards the red. The taste is lemony tart as you'd expect, with a good amount of berry fruitiness. One of their better sours for sure. 4.0%. Only at Fisher

Fisher Best Fresh Citra Pale: The name says it all - whick means this probably won't be around very long. There's a good amount of citra hops in here, which gives it that nice tangerine zing. The malts are equally pronounced giving it an all around balance. Tasty! 4.0%. Only at Fisher 

Kiitos Barrel Aged Barley Wine: This new 13.0% Barley Wine is being released tomorrow to celebrate Kiitos' one year anniversary. Look for big toffee, tobacco and dark fruits combined with bourbon and oaky vanilla. Boom!

Kiitos Fruit Milkshake: A bright red fruit blast, mostly raspberries with some blueberries and plums as well. Kiitos used over 1.5 pounds of fruit per gallon of beer and it tastes like a smoothie. Available in cans and on draft. 4.0% Available 9/29

Kiitos Marzen: is an amber lager and is their take on an Oktoberfest style beer. The beer is malt forward and very crisp. Available on draft only. 4.0% Available 9/29

Kiitos Session Brut IPA: is very light and dry with high carbonation allowing the citrus hop flavors to shine with no bitterness. Available in cans and on draft. 4.0% Available 9/29

Red Rock Fallen: This non traditional Dunkle is dark brown in color with aromas of dark malts, some cacao notes, banana and a touch of resiny hops. Taste has a somewhat spicy quality due to the ginger. The malts are semi-sweet and bready with cacao, banana, clove and lemon. It finishes with some citrusy hops. Medium/light body and carbonation. A nice twist on the Dunkle style, I think you'll like it. 4.0%. This should be hitting Harmon's Grocery stores anytime. 

Zion Pecan Nut Brown: A medium amount of sweet malts combined with toasted grain and pecans make this brown ale the perfect autumn companion. I fell in love with beer on the first sip. Very  satisfying and appropriatly complex for it's 4.0% ABV. Available At Zion Canyon's Brewpub and at Beer Bar for a limited time.

Wasatch Clothing Hoptional: While this beer isn't technically new, the use of the wild Summit County hops keep it different every year; so let's call it new. The addition of local malt makes it a true local beer. This beer debuts Saturday, 29th. at Wasatch's original Park City brewery.   

Desert Edge Fresh Hop Ale. This is an unfiltered pale ale brewed with farm fresh Citra hops used within 24 hours of harvest. Using fresh undried hops bring out subtle floral qualities usually lost in the drying process. This beer has light malt character and low bitterness to let those fresh flavors of peachy, citrusy, goodness stand out. 4.0%. Available at Desert Edge.

Desert Edge CitraNali Pale Ale: This unfiltered pale ale is brewed with lots of Citra and Denali hops for a bold hoppy ale full of bright grapefruit and tropical fruit flavors. Light malty background with high bitterness and dry finish. 4.0%. Available at Desert Edge.

Deschutes Hopzeit Autumn IPA: It starts off with toasted/bready malts and light caramel. The citrus and tropical flavors from the from the hops blend nicely with malts making it very drinkable. The finish has a nice dose of spicy/herbal bitterness. 7.0%. Available at DABC and better beer pubs.

Silver Moon Mango Daze: This is a new brewery to hit our market, it quietly slipped in from Bend, Oregon. It opens orange zest and mango. Tropical and citrusy hops dominate though, creating a nice fruit salad effect. The mango adds to the hop character in a way that seems natural and purposeful.   Mid way through you get mild toast/caramel notes with a finish that is mildly dry and acidic. Nice beer. 6.0%. Available at DABC and better beer pubs.

Dogfish Head Fruitful Fort: This beastly fruit beer dials in at whopping 18%. I don't want to over describe this beer's complexities because there's a lot going on here and it's not going to be everyone's jam. Look for chewy molasses along with concord grape, blueberry and raspberry. Calling it full bodied would be an understatement. It finishes super boozy and astringent. I'd grab some of these and cellar them for a few years. A little time in the bottle will hopefully mellow this fucker out. I found this at Beer Bar.

I'll be discussing these beers and other random beer topics this afternoon with Mick and Allen on KBER101 at 3:30pm. Please tune in.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 6/8/18

Found some new beers.... and it's Friday. We should come up with a name for this!

Saltfire Galaxy Singularity:This has a somewhat dank citrusy nose with a good dose of tropical fruits and citrus on the palate. Probably my favorite of the Singularity series so far. 6.9%. Available at Saltfire, Beerhive 

Strap Tank Matt: I havn't had this one yet. This hazy and citra hoppped IPA uses an experimental yeast found in Indiana. It produces lactic acid similar to a kettle sour. 4.0%. Available at Strap Tank.

Strap Tank Maracuya: I haven't had this one yet. Described as being very tropical with a good dose of passion fruit. 4.0%. Available at Strap Tank.

Strap Tank Air Quality Control NEIPA: I havn't had this one yet as it is being released today. It's made with Ella and Mandarina Bavaria hops with lactose.Sounds yummy. 4.0%. Available at Strap Tank.

Zion Strawberry Rhubarb Gose: While not new in Southern Utah it is new to me; and I like it. The Strawberry and Rhubarb both shine in this subtly tart beer. 4.0%. Available at Zion Brewery and Beer Bar.


Uinta Crimson Tart: This pomegranate ale tastes mostly of the fruit with a moderate dose of tartness. Very refreshing for a 8.0% beer. Available at Uinta.

Uinta XXV Anniversary Imperial Pilsner: Spicy nose with light grains. Bread and grainy malt lead the palate to a drying, crisp finish with a touch of lemon peel. Medium body and medium to medium high carbonation. Full flavored but well balanced with a pleasant bitter hop accent on the finish. 7.5%. Available at Uinta tomorrow.

Proper Buckhorn Draw: This porter is made with buckwheat and it's evident in the flavor. It's also somewhat earthy and herbal and pretty drinkable for a summer porter. 4.0%. Available at Proper Brewing and Avenues Proper.

Salt Flats Jitterbug: I havn't tried this lager yet. It's described as having cucumber added. 4.0%. Avaiable at The Garage Grill in Draper.

Latitude 33 Blood Orange IPA: The nose here is strong with orange citrus. The taste is more subdued and not as strong as the aroma, but the IPA shines with a good dose of bitterness. Nice balance. 7.2%. Available at Beer Bar.

Latitude 33 Honey Hips: Honey and pear dominate this strong ale that offers a good dose of citrus zest for balance. A tad sweet but overall very good. 8.3%. Available at Beer Bar and Bayou.

Latitude 33 Mangovaza IPA: The aroma has mango with hints of guava, papaya and passion fruit. The taste has mango followed by some mellow habanero heat. It's rounded out by guava, papaya and citrusy tropical hops. An excellent peppery IPA.7.2%. Available at Beer Bar.

Odell St. Lupulin:  The aroma has citrus zest, tropical fruit and biscuit malts. The flavor is more citrus zest along with lemon, tangerine, tropical fruit, grass while caramel sweetness backs it all up. A very nice DIPA. 6.5%. Available at the Bayou.

Odell Extra Special Red: Pine, and citrus in the nose. Brown sugar, and woody/nutty notes combined with tangy, leafy hops create a spicy/woody flavors that are nicely balanced. 9.1%. Available at the Bayou.

Three breweries are throwing anniversary parties this Saturday: Uinta, Talisman and Strap Tank are all celebrating and each would like to share their Saturday with you. For details on each celebration check out the individual social media pages for these breweries.

And if that's not enough: Snowbird's Brewfest hits this Saturday and Sunday. Over 25 Local and national breweries will be pouring their beer.

Cheers!   

New Beer Friday 5/25/18

It looks like an all local New Beer Friday and I'm confident that you'll find something for every taste this week.

2 Row Chasing Haze: It looks like OJ. The nose is super aromatic and fresh with citrus, mango, papaya and melon. The taste opens with clementine, mango and overripe cantaloupe. It's super juicy but not overly sweet. Finishes dry with a subtle orange and grapefruit peel bitterness. Probably one of 2 Row's most well rounded hazy IPAs. 6.5% ABV. Available at 2 Row, Beer Bar, Dick n' Dixie's and The Bayou.

2 Row Dubbelicious: The nose is malty sweet with a hint of clove. The flavors here a burnt caramel, some toffee and bubblegum. Very little in the way of hop bitterness and alcohol. I really loved this one. It kinda reminds me of an old English ale with Begian yeast. The lower ABV really drives up the beer's drinkability factor. 6.7%. A very limited run on this one! Available at 2 Row and Beer Bar.

Bohemian Lagerpalooza Best of Show Pre-Prohibition Lager: This beer was developed by award winning home brewery Sasha Taddie and brewed in collaboration with Salt City Brew Supply and the fellas at Bohemian. It has an aroma of malt and cereal with some earthy yeast notes. The hops Hops are earthy, grassy. The taste is bready with dry crackers, red apple skin and Cheerios. Backing it up are  leafy, grassy, and herbal verdant hops. BoHo only brewed about 80 cases, don't wait! 6.0% ABV. Available at Bohemian


Roosters Limited Release Double IPA: Fresh hops dominate with grassy and floral bitterness. The malts have a butterscotch perfume. Big malt sweetness opens the show mostly floral and pine to counter. A hint of citrus in the back. Finishes semi dry. This seems like more of a throwback IPA; typical to the early 2000s. 8.0%. Available at Roosters Ogden/Layton. 

Fisher Galaska Pale Ale: It has a nice peachy hue with a lot of citrus peel on the nose. The flavor is also very citrus like with a good dose of citrus pith. It tastes like it was actually made with citrus peel. in reality it's all Galaxy and Denali hops. This beer won't be tapped until later this afternoon and the name listed above may or may not be correct. 4.0%. Available at Fisher.

Zion Paradox Session IPA: This isn't exactly new but it's relatively new to SLC. The aroma has citrus, pine and grass. The taste has toasted malt with a touch of light caramel up front. The back end is all hops - full of grapefruit peel and pine. This is a super crushable session IPA. 4.0%. Available at Zion Canyon and Beer Bar.


Squatters Black Rifle Coffee Cream: The nose has biscuit malts and coffee. The flavor follows with an almost nutty café cream sweetness. The coffee flavors are nice and fresh. 4.0%. Available at Squatters Brewpub.   

Cheers!

New Beer Friday: American Craft Beer Week Edition

Okay, buckle in. There are a lot of new beers out there that are tied with American Craft Beer Week. Many are limited releases, so don't wait too long to try them.

Uinta Brewing will be tapping two (2) different firkins of Hoo Doo Kolsch starting at Noon at the brewery.
1 - Jasmine flower addition & dry hopped w/ zythos & experimental hops. 4.0% ABV
2- "Dry Hop Surprise" 4.0% ABV

Red Rock ~ #biggestsmallbeerever - A robust drinking stout full of roasted malt, some smoke and toffee sweetness. 4.0% ABV @ all RedRock locations.

Red Rock ~ Citra Pilsner -Toasty and sweet malts at it's base combined with a nice smack of orange peel and herbs. Nice drinking lager. 4.0% ABV @ RedRock Downtown

Squatters ~ Lucky Number SMASH -Not tried this yet. My pal, Craig described it as having a clear straw golden with a medium sized creamy white head, lots of lacing. Aroma is fruity, doughy and oranges. Flavor is fruity, pils malts, citrus, dry finish. This is very good. Light with lots of flavor. Served on the Nitro handle. 4.0% ABV @ Squatters Downtown

Epic ~ Brett Pale Ale - This beer is an nontraditional Pale Ale fermented with Brettanomyces Bruxellensis, a unique “wild” yeast associated with the Brussels region of Belgium. The complex aroma combines pine, dandelion, hay, and wool. As a counterpoint to the aroma, the taste is bright and sharp with tangy orange-citrus and spice with underlying hints of dark rye and crust.4.0% ABV @ The Annex

Epic ~ Utah Session Series Orchard Farmhouse Apple Ale - This new addition to the Utah Session Series highlights the bright sweet, bright flavors of apples, oats, and barley with a crisp dry finish that lifts quickly off the palate. 4.0% ABV @ The Annex.

Epic ~ Sour IPA Firkin at The Bayou
A unique Utah Session Series Sour IPA Firkin with tangerine and grapefruit zest will be tapped at 4:00 pm. If you're a fan of Sour beer don't miss this citrus bomb.

Park City ~ Peak Series Imperial Pilsner - Not tried this yet. It was canned on Tuesday and is described as being a Czech Style pils with an ABV of 7.7% @ Park City Brewing

Park City ~ Peak Series India Pale Ale - Not tried this yet. It was canned on Wednesday and is described as having tropical, pineapple, mango, tangerine and pear flavors. 6.4% ABV @ Park City Brewing.

Zion Canyon ~ Pomegranate Sour Ale - Sounds tasty and it debuts today. If anyone tries please share your thoughts. 4.0% ABV @ Zion Canyon's Brewpub.

Boulevard Brewing ~ Love Child #7 - Yeah, it's finally here! The nose is sour with malt, tart cherry  and funky wood.. Taste is much the same with sour unripe cherry, acidic, and funky yeast flavors. Finishes dry boozy and acidic. Not their best vintage, but it's still pretty good. 9.2% ABV @ BeerHive

Check out New Beer Friday on KBER 101 today at 3:30pm as Mick, Allen and myself update you on Utah's beer related happening this weekend. 

Here is the rest of Utah's American Craft Beer Week Calendar. Note: I'm hearing rumblings that the cured meat and beer pairing at Squatters has been cancelled. Keep an eye on their social media for updates.

Cheers!

Friday, May 20
Squatters/Wasatch
Beer 101- Wasatch Park City: 6:00-7:30 Taste your way through a variety of styles of Squatters & Wasatch craft beers with a Brewmaster, as you discuss the details of brewing (and more importantly drinking) delicious craft beers. This 2 hour class will educate you in the basics of brewing and the language of craft beer, while training your pallet to identify the subtle differences that exist between the wide range of craft styles. This class is perfect for the novice craft beer drinker as well as the more seasoned enthusiast.

Tickets available at: https://www.wasatchbeers.com/shop/details.aspx?prodID=301

Zion Canyon Brewing
Food pairing featuring  Zion Canyon's new Pomegranate Sour Ale [debuts today]

Red Rock Junction 
Craft beer pairing dinner (still waiting on more info)

Hoppers Brewing
$5 Growler Fills

Shades of Pale
Night on Commonwealth with Mokie playing and the Mural
project Gallery Stroll.  We will have displays and a grand master artist
in the brewery. https://www.reverbnation.com/mokieband

Uinta Brewing
Firkin Friday/Give-Away Day.There will be 2 different specialty firkins and random giveaways all day.
1 - Jasmine flower addition & dry hopped w/ zythos & experimental hops. 4.0% ABV
2- "Dry Hop Surprise" 4.0% ABV

Blind Taste Testing flights. Receive 4 samples of Uinta beer (2 at a time) and guess 3 out of 4 beers correctly to win your choice of a Uinta Branded Wooden Sign and to be entered into a daily raffle for a limited edition Stainless Steel Stanley Growler.

801 cans are our featured beer of the week. Our 801 Pilsner doubles as a delicious beer and a community builder - proceeds from purchases benefit local non-profit Trails Utah $3/can.

Free tours will be available to the general public starting at 6pm. Groups will meet in the Pub and then be lead on a tour lasting 45 minutes.

Talisman Brewing
Every Customer is entered in a drawing to win a free tour for 2

Epic Brewing
Sour IPA Firkin at The Bayou: A unique Utah Session Series Sour IPA Firkin with tangerine & grapefruit zest will be tapped at 4:00 pm. If you're a fan of Sour beer don't miss this citrus bomb.

6:30 - 9:00pm - Harmons Cheese and Beer pairing class. Come find a new favorite pairing as we explore cheeses from around the globe. There will be beer education by Utah's own Epic Brewing Company. Harmons Lead Cheese Monger, Max Christensen and Epic's Ryan Kluh will work together to show you some life changing combinations. https://www.harmonsgrocery.com/classes 

Saturday, May 21
Uinta Brewing
Bikes, Beers & Bacon at the Uinta Brewhouse Pub where there will be a bacon based brunch menu and Baba Bloody Mary’s. Anyone who pedals to the event will receive a bicycle commuter advantage and receive a 50% discount off of food.

Blind Taste Testing flights. Receive 4 samples of Uinta beer (2 at a time) and guess 3 out of 4 beers correctly to win your choice of a Uinta Branded Wooden Sign and to be entered into a daily raffle for a limited edition Stainless Steel Stanley Growler.

801 cans are our featured beer of the week. Our 801 Pilsner doubles as a delicious beer and a community builder - proceeds from purchases benefit local non-profit Trails Utah $3/can.
Free tours will be available to the general public starting at 6pm. Groups will meet in the Pub and then be lead on a tour lasting 45 minutes.

Talisman Brewing
Tag us in your social media pics for a chance to be entered to win a free hoodie

Sugar House Pub Crawl
To celebrate American Craft Beer Week, 10 Sugar House watering holes and the Sugar House Chamber are teaming up to host the 2nd Annual Sugar House Pub Crawl! Sponsored by our friends at KRCL 90.9FM and the Salt Lake City Weekly. The crawl begins at 12:00pm. Participants can stop by any of the participating locations to grab a “passport” (no cost!) which will need to be stamped by all 10 pubs to be entered into a drawing for great prizes. No purchase necessary, but definitely encouraged, to receive the location’s stamp. Completed passports need to be delivered to Monument Plaza by 5:00pm to qualify for the drawing

Stops this year include:
Campfire Lounge
The Tap Room
Fiddlers Elbow
SugarHouse Pub
The Annex by Epic Brewing
Mellow Mushroom Salt Lake City
Wasatch Brew Pub
The Bar in Sugarhouse
The RUIN
Trolley Wing Company
Questions? email: marketing@sugarhousechamber.org

**Prizes**

Prizes for the best individual and group photos with use of ‪
‪#‎iheartsugarhouse‬ and #sugarhousepubcrawl

Prizes will include 2 tickets to the Idaho Brew Fest, Brewmaster dinners, gift cards and other great shwag!

**Entertainment**

Local rock group, Quiet Oaks, will be performing on Monument Plaza from 4pm - 6pm! And, of course . . . endless memories to be created at our participating locations.

**Transportation**

No need to drive! SLC Bike Taxi will be in the area with a fleet and you can ride the S-Line and utilize Uber!

Sunday, May 22
Squatters Downtown
Cured Meat and Beer Pairing Hosted by Squatters Craft Beers & Caputo’s Italian Market at Squatters downtown.

New Beer Friday 11/6/15

There's a ton of goodness today on New Beer Friday - This week there will be a special radio version of New Beer Friday as well on KBER 101. Should be on around 3:30pm. We'll be spreading the "beer love" to the masses. Tune in if you can!

Uinta Holiday Cutthroat - looks like good ol' Cutthroat. The noses spicy with cinnamon and nutmeg some piney hops as well. The taste starts with more spices - cinnamon and spruce tips. Clove comes in next with a bit of malt. The end is all pine bitterness. Finishes quite dry. 4.0% ABV @ Uinta now and should be popping up at grocery stores and bars with a Uinta seasonal tap

Annex Session Razz - This is the third version of Epic's successful Brainless on Raspberries Ale. The second version is Lil' Brainless Raspberries a 5.2% version - now we have the Session Razz a 4% Session Ale. Session Razz Pours a clear ruby/fuchsia color with an average pinkish cap of foam. The fruit and the yeast are the stars here. First off - you get subtle tart raspberries up front. There is some hint of thin malts as well. Spicy/estery yeast take it from there, providing a nice counter to the berries. Refreshing and satisfying for a low abv fruit beer. highly recommended. 4.0% ABV @ The Annex - Beer Bar

Squatters Rauchbier -Not tried this one yet. 4.0% ABV

Squatters Hazelnut Brown - Not tried this one yet. 4.0% ABV On Cask

Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat - Pours into a hazy amber/orange color with an off white head. The nose was spicy with cinnamon and nutmeg. The taste follows the nose with heavy nutmeg and cinnamon with a fair amount of wheat and malt balance. For what it is, this is this not a bad pumpkin ale. You could do much worse in the market. 4.0% ABV @ Grocery/Convenienc Stores

Zion The Local Peach - Described as a Saison with tart peach character. Some funky yeast spiciness as well. 4.0% ABV @ Zion Canyon Brewpub

Zion Pumpkin Please -Described as being subtly spiced with a thin to medium mouth feel. 4.0% ABV @ Zion Canyon Brewpub

Epic Session Series IPA - This is a new series that will be coming from Epic. This Session IPA is basically a 4% version of Escape to Colorado. It has a wonderfully, pungent citrsy nose with a light quenching body. All mosaic hops in this beer. 4% ABV @ The Annex - Beer Bar and pubs with Annex tap handles.

Estrella Damm - Pours a pale straw color with a medium white head. The nose is mostly grain and malt. The flavor starts with grassy hops then transitions to malty sweetness. It's semi dry in the finish. Not to bad for an adjunct lager. 5.2% ABV @ Beer Bar

Estrella Inedit wit - Pours a hazy straw gold color with a spicy nose of coriander and cloves, banana, sweet malt. The taste follows with more coriander and light clove, The end has a healthy dose of sweet maltis. Fairly light body. Pretty good but not mind blowing. 4.8% ABV @ Beer Bar

RedRock Dortmunder - Pours a deep golden color, with an inch and half thick head. The nose is bready,  followed by small amounts of aherbal grassy hops. The taste starts with strong malts and toasted bread, then finishes with a mild grass bitterness. Medium bodied, yet very crisp and refreshing, smooth feel alll the way through. @ RedRock and better beer bars
 
Returning Favorites

RedRock Secale - This barrel aged lager has a bock base with some rye malt spicing up sweetness. And if that wasn't enough, they finished it off in High West Rye whiskey barrels. This is one damn fine barrel aged bock. Don't miss out on this one. 

Deschutes Jubelale - As basic spiced holiday ales go, this beer delivers on all levels. Chicory, molasses and figs. Oh yeah!

Sierra Nevada Celebration - It's not the holidays at Utah Beer Central without this yearly favorite. Straight forward, wonderful American IPA.

Ninkasi Dawn of the Red - Get this while they're still fresh. Citrusy hops, fruity malts - delicious!

Uinta Yard Sale lager - A clean and semi-malty amber lager.

RedRock Secale - Malty and spicy with a rye whiskey backbone. Brilliant!

Prost!

Zion Canyon's New Direction

We along the Wasatch Front and Back tend to get a little wrapped up in our own little beer world, living here in the north, I'm guilty of this as well. We tend to forget Utah takes up a huge chunk of real estate and that our beer culture thrives in all corners of the state.

Zion Canyon Brewing is one of those breweries that tends to get overlooked. It started as a production brewery located in the basement of the Majestic View Lodge - that made it difficult to find all on it's own. Then the distribution to the northern Utah was slow in coming and spotty at best. Now new life is being pumped into Southern Utah's only brewery and damn it you should be aware!

ZCBC  just finished a big remodeling and are opening their awesome new Zion Canyon Brew Pub at the entrance to Zion Canyon National State Park. With a new Brewmaster in tow they are revamping old brews while introducing all new beers, like their new Redemption West Coast IPA.

If you find yourself in Southern Utah, takes some time to get your asses to Springdale, UT and help support our craft beer brothers and sisters in the desert. They're all alone down there and need your "beer love".

Prost!  

New Beer Friday 2/7/14

Let the Winter Olympics Begin! Some of my colleagues are in Sochi, Russia right now, probably suffering through some pretty poor beer choices (Russia isn't know for it's beer variety) So I thought we'd rub it in a little and let them know what they're missing out on. Be safe Boys and Girls!


Anderson Valley - Heelch O' Hops DIPA: The nose is full of pine, citrus And peach. The flavor starts peachy with citrus and pine. Sugary caramel malt and toast bring up the middle with a nice piney bitterness rounding out the end. finishes semi dry with a hint of alcohol. Overall a very nice, juicy beer. 8.7% ABV @Beerhive

Squatters - Chocolate Rye Stout:  Made with chocolate rye malt the roastiness of the beer is a little more subdued than those made with regular chocolate or roasted barley. But the flavor is also so much more intense. It has a wonderful, smooth milk chocolate flavor with a hint of spicines. The amount of roasted bitterness is also much less making this one damn quaffable chocolate stout. 4.0% ABV Now Pouring on Squatters' "Bumper Crop" Seasonal taps where available.

Zion Canyon - Redemption India Pale Ale: I've not had this one, It's described as a "West coast style pale ale with assertive citrus notes and a rich, malty body". 4.0% ABV @Zion Canyon

The Annex - Pale Ale with Simcoe Hops: Not tried this one yest either. Anyone? I love Simcoe hops I'm sure it's nice and fruity. 4.0% ABV @The Annex

I'm sure I missed something, please share if I did!

Budem zdorovy!

New Beer Friday 8/9/13

Zion Apricot Ale: Tastes like a standard hefe but with major focus on apricot rather than citrus. You get wheat, apricot, and spice. The apricot flavoring is moderate. Aftertaste is mellow with wheat. @Zion Canyon Brewing


Wychwood Brewery Hobgoblin: There’s a nice side taste of tingly rich fruits. The after taste is slightly bitter, with a sweet caramely/bready linger.

Wychwood Brewery Scarecrow Organic: The nose is malty with a little sweetness and some bready notes. The taste is a bit malty sweet with a slight herbal hoppiness. Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied.
  
Many have asked me to include meads, ciders and fruit wines to New Beer Friday. Cool! 

The Hive Winery Plum Wine: A bright, clean wine with a soft medium sweet finish. This wine has a subtle floral nose with a slight earthiness in the back notes. The slightly acidic finish on the wine accents the pleasing fresh plum flavor.

Today's Firkin Friday offering at the Bayou is Desert Edge's Rye aged in Chardonnay Oak. Tapping at 3:00.

Cheers!

New Beer/Firkin Friday 7/5/13

You can tell it's hot outside because all of our New Beer Friday beers are designed to quench!

Boulevard 80-Acre: The nose is full of lemon rind, grapefruit, and orange. The tastes is fresh with citrus, lemon, grapefruit and grape, moderately bitter, Not much for malt character, a hint of wheat. Finishes dry with faint pine. Definitely not your typical wheat beer. @ Liquor Stores

Zion Canyon 360 Ale: Don't have much info on this one. All I  know is that it's a light citrusy session ale. Anyone tried it yet? @ Zion Canyon Brewing

Zion North Rim Hefeweizen: Again, not much info, I'm thinking it's a wheat beer? Please help if you've had it! @ Zion Canyon Brewing

Budweiser 3.5: Apparently this version of Bud was made for the Swedish market, starting a few years ago.  It comes in at a whopping 3.5% ABV. Makes the local stuff (4%) look like malt liquor. I guess they figured, why not sell it in Utah & Oklahoma? they won't know the difference. @ Grocery/Convenience Stores

For Firkin Friday at the Bayou, RedRock 'be represent'n with an old school pale ale, infused with juniper, bitter orange peel, and if that doesn't peak your interest, it's dry hopped with simcoe hops. Yum!
tapping's are usually at 3pm.

Hoppy Beerday, Bryan!

Cheers!

Zion Canyon Brewing, Heads North

Yesterday was a pretty heavy beer day. We could all use a pint right about now after getting all worked-up over the new proposed legislation.

To help calm the nerves I have some good news for northern Utah beer lovers. Zion Canyon Brewing Company, Southern Utah's only craft brewer will finally be sending it's beer north to the Wasatch Front and hopefully surrounding areas.

ZCBC currently has five labels. Springdale Amber Ale, Hop Valley IPA, Zion Canyon ESB, Jamaican Style Lager & Virgin Stout. All are 4.0% abv.

We're still awaiting word on exactly where you'll be able to by Zion Canyon's. Rest assured, we'll pass along the info when we get it. This couldn't have happened at a better time.

Also, the new poll is up.

Cheers!

UPDATE!
Here's the info on the committee meeting in regards to SB-314.

Wednesday Feb 23rd, 7:30am Room 210 Senate Building (east building).

http://le.utah.gov/asp/interim/Commit.asp?Year=2011&Com=SSTBUS

http://le.utah.gov/~2011/bills/sbillint/sb0314.pdf

We need everyone who can possibly attend to be there.

No Green Beer Today

Got it? The only green beer you should be drinking today should be organic made from wind powered breweries.

There are plenty of better local options around town anyway.

Bohemian has it's 1842 pils.

Hoppers has McGee's Irish Red.

Squatters has McGrueh's Dry Irish Stout.

RedRock has two. Hibernian Ale and their Irish ale.

Desert Edge LDS Stout.

Wasatch has Their 1st Amendment Lager.

Four+'s Wyld Organic Extra Pale Ale

Moab Black Raven Oatmeal Stout.

Roosters Junction City Chocolate Stout.

Tracks Tooele Tar Stout

Zion Canyon's Virgin Stout.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Glenn Harris Passes

Utah's Craft Beer community lost one of it's own this past weekend. Glenn Harris, brewers Assistant and brother to Brewmaster Dale Harris past away Saturday in Southern Utah.

Besides working the kettle at the Zion Canyon Brewery, Glenn made deliveries and was the brewery's cellar guy. Glenn had been with ZCBC since the summer of '06.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to an account at the Springdale branch of Zions First National Bank in the name of Glenn James Harris.

Please hoist a pint in his honor.

Here's to Glenn.