I'm Leav'n on a Jet Plane

We're off to the Great American Beer Festival! Posts may be spotty, but look for Utah's winners to be posted sometime Saturday.

Cheers!

Chubbies for Sale!

The Wasatch/Squatters Chubbies are now on sale at the Utah Brewers Co-op Beer Store. Squatters IPA is available right now and the new Wasatch Golden Ale should be out this week (if not already out). There are four labels set to be released in the 5 liter mini kegs. The Chubbies sell for $23.95 and will soon be available in many Utah Liquor Stores.

The Great American Beer Festival is this week and many of the local brewers will be out of town representing. This means many of the smaller brewery beer stores will be closed or have limited hours, so check before heading out.

Also, Jenny and Jason over at Squatters have brewed-up the second release of last years hit, Outer Darkness Imperial Stout. It's scheduled for release on or near Halloween. Rumors are Outer Darkness may become a year round offering. Stay tuned.

Cheers!

Fest Fix?

Depending on who you talk to, last Saturday's beer festival was a huge success or a major disaster. The public's desire for good local beer was evident. Last minute ticket sales exploded leaving event organizer a bit overwhelmed.

The major problem was too many people not having access to the beer they paid big money for. In my opinion this has nothing to do with lack of planning; it's a simple numbers game.

The Wasatch Front is approximately the 30th largest market in the United States. As of 2008 Utah was ranked 24th in breweries per capita. This ranking has surely gone up with the addition of two new breweries this year. While that's a lot of breweries compared with more than half of the country, a festival like this, for a market of our size frankly needs more participating breweries to accommodate all the people.

It's tough in this regard because our beer laws don't really make it easy for out of state breweries to participate locally because of the whole "kegs vs high alcohol beer thing".

There are no easy fixes, just trial and error to find the best scenario for our area. I've been to more than my fair share of beer festivals around the country, and I've seen what works and what doesn't. I'm not going to try to "Monday Morning Quarterback" this thing because I just don't have all the info. But your constructive feed back will go a long way to make each attempt better and better.

Also, today Hoppers should be releasing their Stein Knockers Märzen today. If you got to the fest early enough you were able to get a early sample. Once again, Brewmaster/Secret Agent Donovan Steele Rocked-it!

Cheers!

2010 Utah Beer Fest Preview

It's Beerfest time tomorrow and if you haven't picked up you tickets for the City Weekly Utah Beer Festival, you'd better get on it! There are a limited number number of tickets available and the price goes up ten bucks if you wait until tomorrow.

Tickets are available at most participating breweries, City Weekly's Offices downtown and at Smithtix.

In past beer festivals your were able to bring children and pets. This is not the case for this particular festival. It all a technicality on the type of permit for the festival. So leave Rover and the kiddies with Gramps and Granny.

Need more info? I shot a preview story for Fox13 News. Hope to see you there!

Cheers.

A Second Chance for You!

If you take a look at Utah's new beer landscape, you'll find a wide array of beers that span the entire "Beeriodic Table". Some of Utah's most unique beers are of such limited batch size, they disappear as soon as they appear.

Two of these rare and different beers hail from Squatters Brewpub. The 5th Element Saison and the 529 Oud Bruin. These two locally made beers gave some Utahans who may be unfamiliar with some of the more brilliant of Belgian styles, a glimpse of rare styles that they may have never experienced.

Until a few weeks ago I thought that Squatters had sold out of them all. Happily I was wrong. There are still limited quantities of both of these beers available for purchase at Squatters' Bottle shop.

If you never got the opportunity to try one of these great beers, you've been given a second chance. The bottle shop has limited hours. Mon-Wed-Fri from Noon to 3pm.

Also, Jackie Briggs from the City Weekly Utah Beer Festival, Dave Cole owner of Epic Brewing Co. and myself will be talking beer on Park City TV's Mountain Views News Program tonight. The show airs daily at 6pm. Check your local TV provider for channel info.

Cheers!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Shades of Pale News

Tenacity. You've got to have plenty of it when your brewery is literally a one man band operation. Shades of Pale Brewing Company, the little brewery in Park City doesn't get a lot of press (yet), but the enthusiasm of owner/brewer Trent Fargher keeps people interested in his beers; even if he has to give them away.

And that's exactly what he's planning on doing (sort of) at the Utah Beer Festival a week from tomorrow. Shades of Pale's initial line up is set and will be available for sampling. "We have 240 gallons of beer ready to enter kegs for chilling and carbonation for the event, hope we have enough". Trent told me earlier in the week.

Three styles we will be pouring, Parley's Pale White Ale, Slippery Slope Espresso Stout and A Perfect Stranger Kolsch. They have all come a long way and will be part of the foundational line in the coming months.

Trent is also working on three others new beers that will be ready in November and is planning on a late October - early November release date.

If your planning on attending the Utah Beer Fest, be sure you stop by Shades of Pale and get to know the New Kid.

Cheers!

Hoppers Stein Knocker

About a month ago, many readers got their panties in a bunch over a post titled "Greg Schirf Has a Chubby for You". The title perfectly described the story at hand. Greg Schirf had a mini keg, he's nicknamed the chubby (because it's well...chubby) in his hand and he'd love for you to have them them. Any inference to a dirty pun is on your dirty mind, not his or mine.

This morning I briefly wrestled with today's title and completely pussed-out. Today's post was set to be titled, "Nice Knockers"! which like the above mentioned title is a accurate description of the artwork and the beer. I caved in. So (at least for today) the more squeamish will get a reprieve. Now on to the beer.

Donovan Steele, Secret Agent and Brewmaster at Hopper Brewpub will be adding a new addition to their Storehouse Reserve Series in the next couple of weeks.

Next up is an Old-style Oktoberfest-Märzen called Stein Knocker Lager. It's made with all German grain and Spalter Select Hops. Märzenbiers are some of my favorite lagered beers. They're typically dark copper in color with a medium to high alcohol content. They are full-bodied, rich, toasty, with slight hints of vanilla. Donovan is quite talented where lagers are concerned, this one should be quite nice and will come in at 6.0% abv.

Märzens usually only pop-up during the fall months and it looks like Dono's will be amongst the first this season. As the release dates get closer we'll let you know when and where they'll be available.

Prost!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

More Hop Help!

Hop week continues! Chris Haas at Desert Edge is in need of your help also. They are in the process of gathering hops for their wet hopped ale.

They are picking hops Tuesday, and Wednesday. If you are interested and would like to help out, drop 'em a line at brews@xmission.com or come over the the brewpub. beer and some food provided.

If you can't help but still want a good beer. there plenty of goodness on tap.
All the Way Alt is a brilliant copper color and filtered lager that is higher in bitterness and has medium hop flavor. It is highly malty for a dry beer.

Also on tap is Edge's Special Bitter, Dog Days Kristalweizen, and Downtown Nut Brown.
As well as the standards; Utah Pale Ale, Pub Pils, Happy Valley Hefe and Latter Day Stout.

Cheers!

Hoppy Days

If your yard looks like mine, you've got thick vines full of cones waiting to be plucked. Hop vines all over the area are already starting to yield a wide varity of our favorite bittering tool.

I noticed a lot of people around the area were getting their "Hops-On" this weekend. Here are some of their photos.


Chris Haas

Chris Detrick


Ray & Carrie Madsen

Mikey


Cheers!

Hop to It, People!

Our friends in Park City need your help!

The Wasatch Brewpub is looking for a few good pickers to help stock-up the brewery with some fresh Wasatch Hops.

That's right, there's a local variety of hops that grow wild up there in the mountains of Summit County and they need to find a home.

On Thursday, September 9th @ 8:30 am Matt, Ray and the rest of the Brewhouse are headed out to gather the resinous cones to aid in the production of their next fresh hopped ale or lager. Maybe Hop Bandit?

If you'd like to help out or at the very least increase your beer karma, shoot Head Brewer Matt Beamer an email if your interested. Mmmm, there's nothing like a fresh hopped ale.

MSBeamer@earthlink.net

Cheers!

Best of Show Recipe

I got the opportunity to sample of lot of great homebrew over the weekend at the Beehive Brew-off. Many of the home brewers perfectly "nailed" the styles that they had entered. I talked to a lot of people that were shocked that a Smoked Beer could win best of show.

I get it, smokey flavors in beer are an acquired taste for many. But trust me, Ray Madsen's Smoked Porter was truly brilliant. The smokey profile was very subtle and balanced nicely with the malt of in the porter.

Unfortunately, Ray's last three bottles were entered into the competition so there are none to be had. However, Ray has graciously offered up his recipe for you; so now you can decide for yourselves. Thanks and congrats Ray!

So here it is, Ray's Smoked Porter.

Cheers!

Smoked Porter

1.5# Alder Smoked Munich Malt
10# Maris Otter Pale malt
2.0# Munich Malt
0.75# Cara-pils
1.0# Crystal 75
0.75# Chocolate Malt
2.0 oz. Roasted Barley


.75 oz Nugget 60 minutes
.50 oz Willamettes 30 minutes
.75 oz Willamettes 5 minutes

Makes 6 gallons

36.8 IBUs

32 SRM

1.070 OG

WYeast 1028 London Ale or your favorite ale yeast



Smoking Malt

Soak 2 cups of Alder wood chips for 40 minutes

5# Uncrushed Munich malt and 2 1/2cups of Distilled water soak for 15 minutes drain off extra water.

I used a heat element to the malt.

Smoked malt for 35-45 minutes.

Try to keep the smoking temp no higher than 150 degrees.

When finished smoking the malt put in food dehydrator or on a sheet pan in the oven on low or warm until dry. (Note: your house will smell like smoked malt)

When ready crush with rest of the grain.

2010 Beehive Brew-off Winners

This past weekend 30 beer judges from all over Utah and Idaho spent the last two days sampling some of the most creative home brews to come out of a kitchen or garage.

The quality of the 364 entries really blew the judges away. I personally would have paid good money for many of them. So here they are, and congratulations to the the winners of the Second Annual Beehive Brew-off!





Beehive Brew Off Results
August 21 2010
Sponsored by The Beer Nut/ZZHOPS
364 Entries

Table 1 - 1 Light Lager (10 Entries)
Mike Johnson SLC,UT Standard American - Lager Standard American 1
Mike Horner SLC,Ut Dort - Dortmunder Export 2
John Hansen SLC,UT Backcountry Lager - Munich Helles 3

Table 2 - 2 Pilsner (10 Entries)
Bryan Van Winkle SLC,UT This is the Pilsner - German Pilsner 1
Mike Johnson SLC,UT German Pils - German Pilsner 2
Mike Johnson SLC,UT Classic Am. Pilsner - Classic American Pilsner 3

Table 3 - 3 Euro Amber Lager (11 Entries)
Mike Johnson SLC,UT Oktoberfest - Oktoberfest 1
Travis Grimm Sandy,UT Grimmbrau Festier - Oktoberfest 2
Tracy Johancsik Murray,UT Over the pond Oktoberfest - Oktoberfest 3

Table 4 - 4 Dark Lager (9 Entries)
Rob Kent WVC,UT Ebony - Schwarzbier 1
Tracy Johancsik Murray,UT Dawn's Dunkel - Munich Dunkel 2
Travis Grimm Sandy,UT Grimmbrau Schwarzherz - Schwarzbier 3

Table 5 - 5 Bock (7 Entries)
Zach Gildersleeve SLC,UT Inseminator - Doppelbock 1
Michael, Kris Baker, Merrill West Jordan,UT Hoppermaker - Maibock 2
Mike Johnson SLC,UT Bock - Traditional Bock 3

Table 6 - 6 Light Hybrid XX (21 Entries)
Doug Kirchner Park City,UT Ken's Blonde - Blond Ale 1
Travis Grimm Sandy,UT Grimmbrau Kolschner - Koelsch 2
Tom Shivers Brigham City,UT American Wheat - American Wheat/Rye Beer 3

Table 7 - 7 Amber Hybrid (9 Entries)
Weston Barhley Las Vegas,NV Mongrel - California Common Beer 1
Vince Stuart South Jordan,UT Northern German Altbier Alt - Northern
German Altbier 2
Ed Harrach SLC,UT Amber Hybrid - Dusseldorf Altbier 3

Table 8 - 8 English Pale Ale XX (17 Entries)
Jim Lauscher Sandy,UT Fuller ESB clone - Extra Special/Strong Bitter 1
Aaron Smith Murray,UT Special Bitter - Special/Best/Premium Bitter 2
Vince Stuart South Jordan,UT Draft Party Light - Ordinary Bitter 3

Table 9 - 9- Scottish and Irish Ale (12 Entries)
Mike Hahn SLC,UT Scotch Ale - Strong Scotch Ale 1
Michael Pezeley SLC,UT Ouglie Bastard - Scottish 80/ 2
Mike Johnson SLC,UT Scottish 80 - Scottish 80/ 3

Table 10 - 10A American Pale Ale XX (16 Entries)
Vince Stuart South Jordan,UT Freezer Douche - American Pale 1
Rory Matson SLC,UT Wedding Pale - American Pale 2
Jerry McPhie SLC,UT Pail of Pale Ale - American Pale 3

Table 11 - 10B American Amber (11 Entries)
Rob Phillips SLC,UT Reverse Camber Amber Ale - American Amber 1
Jerry McPhie SLC,UT Red-demption ale - American Amber 2
Brian Michel , Iron Man - American Amber 3

Table 12 - 10C American Brown (9 Entries)
Zach Gildersleeve SLC,UT Madison Brown American Brown 1
Alex Lemieux SLC,UT Biere Brune - American Brown 2
Vince Stuart South Jordan,UT Taste Like More - American Brown 3

Table 13 - 11 English Brown (8 Entries)
Trent Bangert Herriman,UT Blutty Brown - Mild 1
Ed Harrach SLC,UT Alt - Mild 2
Steven LaRue Ogden,UT Mild Mannered - Mild 3

Table 14 - 12 Porter XX (17 Entries)
Ed Harrach SLC,UT Porter - Robust Porter 1
Sean Meegan Sandy,UT Porter the Dog - Brown Porter 2
James/Connor Mancuso/Forbes SLC,UT Brown Porter - Brown Porter 3

Table 15 - 13 Stout XX (22 Entries)
Ricky, Quinn Hansing, Eskelson SLC,UT Sven the Spartan Imperial
Resistance Stout - Russian Imperial Stout 1
Dallas Barlow Bountiful,UT Dirty Hippie Celebration Stout - Russian
Imperial Stout 2
Stephen Anderson West Jordan,UT Mud - Foreign Extra Stout 3

Table 16 - 14A & 14B English & American IPA XX (19 Entries)
Tracy Johancsik Murray,UT Hoppy Ending IPA - English IPA 1
Erik Nordstrom SLC,UT IPA - American IPA 2
Zach Gildersleeve SLC,UT Hat Trick IPA - American IPA 3

Table 17 - 14C Imperial IPA (8 Entries)
Chris Detrick SLC,UT Hopgasm - Imperial IPA 1
Jim Lauscher Sandy,UT Canadian I Pee, Eh? - Imperial IPA 2
Kent Haynes Sandy,UT Impish IPA - Imperial IPA 3

Table 18 - 15 German Wheat and Rye (12 Entries)
Carlos Aguirre SLC,ut von Weizen II - Weizen 1
Mike Johnson SLC,UT Weizenbock - Weizenbock 2
Bert Ley SLC,UT Lost Flock Weizenbock - Weizenbock 3

Table 19 - 16A Witbier (8 Entries)
Doug French SLC,UT Wit O Honey - Witbier 1
Daren Wightman Murray,UT Witbier - Witbier 2
Dakota Broadhead SLC,UT 28 Fingereal Witbier - Witbier 3

Table 20 - 18 Belgian Strong XX (17 Entries)
Mike Johnson SLC,UT Tripel - Belgian Tripel 1
Tyler Makmell SLC,UT Belgian Strong Dark - Belgian Dark Strong Ale 2
Carlos Aguirre SLC,ut Seething Blond - Belgian Blond Ale 3

Table 21 - 19 Strong Ale (6 Entries)
Trent Bangert Herriman,UT 9-9-9 Barleywine - American Barleywine 1
Andrew/Brad Russell/Guiliano SLC,UT E.B. Farnum's Compromise - Old Ale 2
Brothers (Rio) Connelly SLC,UT Faultwine - American Barleywine 3

Table 22 - 20 Fruit Beer (7 Entries)
Rob Kent WVC,UT Old Limey - Fruit Beer 1
Rob Kent WVC,UT A3 - Fruit Beer 2
Daren Wightman Murray,UT Apricot Stout - Fruit Beer 3

Table 23 - 21 Spice, Herb, Vege XX (20 Entries)
Jim Lauscher Sandy,UT Sam Adams Summer Ale Clone - Spice, Herb,
Vegetable Beer 1
Cameron McFarland SLC,UT Chamomile Country Ale - Spice, Herb, Vegetable
Beer 2
Chris Detrick SLC,UT Jack Mormon Breakfast - Spice, Herb, Vegetable
Beer 3

Table 24 - 22 Smoke and Wood (8 Entries)
Ray Madsen Heber,UT Smoked Porter 2009 - Other Smoked Beer 1
Sarah Crane SLC,UT Smoked Porter - Other Smoked Beer 2
Trent Bangert Herriman,UT Oak 13 - Wood-Aged Beer 3

Table 25 - 23 Specialty XXX (32 Entries)
Mike Johnson SLC,UT Golden Touch - Specialty Beer 1
Zach Gildersleeve SLC,UT Reaper Rye - Specialty Beer 2
Jim Lauscher Sandy,UT Rye Not IPA - Specialty Beer 3

Table 26 - 24, 25, 26 Mead & Melomel (7 Entries)
Ricky, Quinn Hansing, Eskelson SLC,UT Brad the Braggart Braggot -
Braggot 1
Ricky, Quinn Hansing, Eskelson SLC,UT Your Peach Braggot is in another
castle - Braggot 2
Andrew Dalton SLC,UT Peach Mead - Other Fruit Melomel 3

Table 27 - 27, 28 Cider (6 Entries)
Andrew/Brad Russell/Guiliano SLC,UT Ebbel oi Sprudelnd - Common Cider 1
Tracy Johancsik Murray,UT Hangman's New England Cider - Other Spec. Cider/Perry 2
Tracy Johancsik Murray,UT Deseret Honey Cider - Other Spec.Cider/Perry 3

Table 28 - 16B, 16C, 16D Belgian Pale, Saison and Biere de Garde
(12 Entries)
Jim Lauscher Sandy,UT 1882 La Vielle Saison - Saison 1
Andrew/Brad Russell/Guiliano SLC,UT Third Nephite - Belgian Pale Ale 2
Stephen Anderson West Jordan,UT Wit & Wisdom - Belgian Pale Ale 3

Table 29 - 16E & 17 Belgian Specialty & Sour (13 Entries)
Alex Lemieux SLC,UT Vallee d'Or - Belgian Specialty 1
Brent Winkler SLC,UT Abbey - Belgian Specialty 2
Michael Pezeley SLC,UT Delbruck Weisse - Berliner Weisse 3

BEST OF SHOW
Ray Madsen Heber,UT Smoked Porter 2009 - Other Smoked Beer 1
Mike Johnson SLC,UT Golden Touch - Specialty Beer 2
Trent Bangert Herriman,UT 9-9-9 Barleywine - American Barleywine 3

Thanks to Jamie, Mark, Mike, all the stewards and everyone one involved for making the Second annual Beehive Brew-off a huge success.

Cheers!

Weekend Happenings 8/21/10

The boys over at Bohemian have a new seasonal beer on tap that's perfect for this post monsoon weekend.

This new seasonal wheat beer is different from the Weiß that occupies a year tap at the brewery. This one has more of a hazy orange appearance with a nose of banana and spice. The taste is the same with a bit of lemony tartness and a dry wheaty finish.

Only available at the brewery in Midvale.

Don't forget that Brian Head Resort is hosting the Festival of Flavors tomorrow (8/21). Nearly a dozen local breweries Castle Creek Winery and High West Distillery will offer up their beverages for sampling.

Also happening this weekend, judging for the second annual Beehive Brew-off begins Saturday morning and goes through Sunday with the Awards Ceremony taking place at the Bayou, Sunday afternoon at 4:30pm. If you entered, it would be worth your time to show up. The Bayou is located at 645 s. State Street.

And... Oktoberfest at Snowbird begins on Saturday. There's no excuse not to safely enjoy a beer this weekend.

Cheers!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

The Power of Beer

The St. George RoadRunners Professional Baseball Club, announced recently that they were suspending operations for the remainder of the 2010 Golden Baseball League season.

The reason, poor attendance. Why were people staying away? No beer.

Apparently when the Golden Baseball League was looking into setting up shop in St. George, they encountered opposition from the City and Dixie State College concerning beer sales at the ballpark and ultimately were denied a beer license.

This isn't the first time a baseball league has tried to establish a team in the Southern Utah town. Four different ownership groups have tried to provide professional baseball to the greater St. George community, and all four have failed.

"I know it was a controversial issue, but beer sales was critical to our success here, in terms of increasing attendance, increasing revenue, and as a factor in attracting necessary outside capital investment. It simply makes no sense to operate a minor league franchise without beer sales. Beer concessions comprise about 33 percent of total revenue stream for minor league baseball operations." said Will Joyce, CEO of Hot Corner Baseball.

"We felt strongly that the community would recognize the value of a professional baseball franchise, both to the local residents and to the local business community as a tourist attraction and as a source of community pride Joyce said. Apparently, we were overly optimistic."

I get it, the ballpark was located on a "dry campus". But if the citizens of these smaller Utah communities want to expand their quality of life and bring more entertainment options to their areas of the state, they're going to have to expand their tolerances and loose some of those anti-liquor biases.

Cheers!

Site Maintenance

We're doing site maintenance today. If you have a link that's pertinent to Utah's craft beer scene and would like it considered. Please email us at utahbeer@gmail.com/

Cheers!

2010 Snowbird Oktoberfest

Believe it or not, Oktoberfest time is upon us! Snowbird Resort once again will host the 38th Annual Snowbird Oktoberfest beginning this weekend on August 21st.

The seventeen-day celebration (every Sat & Sun through Oct 10) Attracts over 50,000 visitors and has grown to become one of the largest festivals in the state of Utah. Oktoberfest includes Oktoberfest Halle featuring the tastes of Bavaria with entertainment from local and national yodelers, German bands and even Alpenhorns.

Of course beer will be available some of the local craft options include Uinta's Black Bier, Punk’n Harvest Ale, Cutthroat Pale Ale, Golden Spike Hefeweizen, WYLD Organic Pale Ale and Bohemian Brewing's Pilsner.

Also today Mark at the Bayou just received a shipment of Lagunitas Hop Stoopid. This is the first time Lagunuitas' beers have been available in Utah. Now that they're in the system, Mark is hoping he can start getting more of their labels.

If you couldn't tell by the name Hop Stoopid is an 8% Double IPA. It has big grapefruit, pineapple and peach notes with touch of pine and floral hops in the finish. It's quite delicious.

Prost!

Snowbird Photo: Mandi Coleman

Beer For Your TV

Craft beer seems to be finding it's way into more pubs and home refrigerators every day. People from all segments of society are taking notice as more labels start popping up in every region of the country. Many are finding that with craft beer's popularity comes and opportunity to ride it coat tails and make some money.

Television has always been one of those vehicles that tries to cash in on popular trends. Since television's inception it's been a barometer of our cultures likes and interests. So I guess it would seem appropriate that given beers popularity now you should see more of it blazon across your flat screens.

And in the coming moths you will. Last February the Fox Network announced that it was producing a pilot episode for a new sitcom revolving around a family run Microbrewery. The comedy named Strange Brew (no relation to the iconic Bob & Doug Mckenzie movie) from "Will & Grace" creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick. Like most sitcoms that deal with such a narrow theme, I have a feeling that it'll exhaust all the cleaver beer jokes in the first episode then "flame out" from there. I hope I'm wrong. If done right it could really promulgate craft beer.

The Second series scheduled for production is the Discovery Channels "Brewed". The series will air this fall and will explore the culture, history and variety of beer. The show will feature Dogfish Head Brewery's Sam Calagione. Sam travels the world to experience what every culture brings to its own special brew.

In BREWED, Sam shows viewers the other side of the bottle, sharing the stories of beer sub-cultures as well as exploring life inside The Dogfish Head Brewery. BREWED goes behind the scenes at Dogfish Head as Sam’s band of creative brewmasters concoct new varieties beers.

Two very different show to say the least. Some in the Beer Industry are not exactly jazzed on the idea of brewery sitcom. Some say "it won't help craft beer's image". Or that "misrepresenting the technical aspects will diminish the brewers technical expertise". I say, "get over yourselves". Craft beer needs all the converts it can get.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 8/13/10

Two new beers for you today.

First is Zatec Dark Lager from the Czech Republic. Roasted malt, chocolate, and caramel up front with an earthy hop bitterness that comes through nicely on the finish. A nice complement to the semi-sweet biscuity malt base. Available at State Liquor Stores.

Next is Boulevard's Two Jokers Wit. Herbal with coriander and a notes of chamomile tea up front with a strong toasted malt biscuit backbone through to the end. Available at the Bayou.

Cheers!

Wasatch's Jalapeño Cream Ale

Ever find yourself in a "beer rut"? Can't find a beer or a style that provides you with the love that you so badly need? I have found your liquid rut buster, but beware it's not for the timid.

Wasatch's Jalapeño Cream Ale is the creation of Matt Beamer, Head Brewer up at the iconic Wasatch Brewpub in Park City. The beer is quite the hit with locals and is a perfect combo of flavor and spice.

The Jalapeño Cream Ale starts life as a basic English Pub Ale. Then Matt adds 50lbs of fresh Jalapeño to the mash and that English base becomes muy caliente... eh poquito. "When I blanched the Jalapeños in the brewery, the entire downstairs had an intense jalapeno aroma that lasted for hours"!

Now, even thought this is a Chile Beer it's not going scorch your mouth, though it's not a lawnmower beer either. There is an intense Jalapeño aroma and flavor, but not too much burn. The malty backbone from the cream ale provides a slightly sweet finish to back-up the burn off your tongue.

A beer spiced such as this is great for a couple of pints, but really shines when paired with most Mexican styles dishes and even Sushi.

This is a limited run, so Matt expects it to be gone in a few weeks. Available on draft at the Wasatch Brewpub and the Beer Store in SLC.

Cheers!

Here Comes Santa Haas!

On any given day in downtown Salt Lake City you may encounter various mothers and fathers; schlepping about their beloved papooses in one of those comfy looking bicycle "kiddie coaches". It's a great way to get out and exercise while keeping the little rug rats close at hand.

My buddy Chris Haas has no children, but his "babies" never stray far from his sight, especially when he's delivering his craft beer.

You see, Chris is the Brewmaster at Desert Edge Brewing. It's a small operation, Chris takes care of his accounts personally. And when the days are nice and he's not hang'n from the night before, you may see Chris on the Desert Edge Beer Bike, making his weekly rounds. Think of him like Santa Claus.... with a Bike....except with beer. SANTA HAAS!

So if you happen to see Santa Haas bumping around downtown SLC on the Beer Bike with Kegs of his yummy craft beers in tow, Make room, say "Prost"! and offer that working boy a beer.

Prost!

Pictured above. The Pilot: Chris Haas - The Keg: Dave Watson
Photo: Dave Watson

Utah Getting Out of the Liquor Business?

Is the State of Utah Getting out of the liquor business? Believe it or not it's being discussed by some of Utah's state legislators.

Here's the idea. The state would sell all of it's liquor stores to the private sector, they would all be independently owned and operated. The state would still set prices and control amount of taxes.

Right now the tax on liquor, wine and heavy beer is 85%. That's pretty steep for an independent retailer. The state would have to drop the tax to a reasonable level to make it possible for a these newly privatized stores to make a profit and pay employees.

Beer has not mentioned in the plan. However, if I was buying a liquor store you could bet your sweet ass that I would provide refrigerator units inside for beer.

No word on what would happen to the DABC warehouse or if the distribution model would change.

Remember, this is very preliminary info. It's in the earliest phases of discussion.

Here's Fox13 report on the story.
 
What are your thoughts? Is this a good thing? - could it mean much higher costs at the liquor stores? - could it bring in retailers like Trader Joe's?

Cheers!

2010 Utah Beer Festival Information (Update)

Here is some updated info for the City Weekly Utah Beer Festival.

The 1st annual Utah Beer Festival will take place at Washington Square (the Salt Lake City & County Building) on Saturday, Sept. 11 from 1-6pm.

3 oz samples of over 40 of Utah's award winning brews will be available, including full strength brew varieties. 3oz tasters will be offered.

Ticket are available here or at Smithtix locations. prices are $25 Adv/$35 Day of, for unlimited pours.

The idea here is to provide a huge variety of craft beers for sampling and to get people interested in Utah's craft beers. It's not an excuse to get everyone shitty drunk.

A portion of the event proceeds will be donated to Local First , so come out to this truly local event and taste what Utah 's craft brewers have to offer.

As the event gets closer we'll try tell you, who will be pouring and what.

If your interested in becoming a food vendor, info is here.

Cheers!

Greg Schirf Has a Chubby for You!

Anyone remember the Coors Party Ball? If you were of drinking age back in the late 80's you may have encountered one at your local Frat or basic weekend bash. The Party ball was a five-gallon disposable container of beer - packaged in a box with a plastic liner (to hold ice). It dispensed the equivalent of 55 12-ounce cans. It was quite ingenious and very popular at the time.

After a few years on the market the Party Ball was found to be a contributing factor in tragic accident and was pulled from Utah store shelves (along with all Kegged beer). Eventually, legislation was enacted that limited beer container sold to the public to no more than 2 liters.

Now remember, this is Utah. Here the legal definition of beer is "a fermented beverage that does not exceed 4.0% Alcohol By Volume". Anything above that is considered liquor by the state. That's why higher alcohol beers are sold in liquor stores.

Why am I telling you all this? Well... it seems that the statutes that govern grocery store beer don't apply to Liquor store beer. The container size limitation never really applied to heavy beer!

Enter Greg Schirf. Utah's modern craft beer pioneer. Greg noticed that some wine containers in state liquor stores far exceeded the 2 liter limit. And since wine and heavy beer are considered to be the same by the state, heavy beer should receive equal treatment. The Utah D.A.B.C. agreed.

So with The DABC blessing Schirf began developing the next big thing in Utah's craft beer scene. The Chubby. Now the Chubby is nothing new. It's the same 5 liter mini keg that have been around for sale outside of Utah for years. The Chubbys come with a spout and pours from the bottom via gravity and can also be used with a low cost pressurized tap.

Schirf will debut his first Chubby sometime in September. It will contain Wasatch's newly released Golden Ale, then eventually Squatters IPA (yesssss!) and Devastator Double Bock.

If your interested in purchasing one of the dispenser units for the Chubby's Schirf is working on selling them at the Beer Store. They are also available at most retail stores like Target, Walmart etc. Pretty cool, eh?

Writing about beer is my hobby, but I'm a photojournalist by trade. Yesterday my friend and Fox13 colleague Scott McKane visited Greg Schirf and the boys at Epic to do a story on Utah's beer economy. Here's what we came up with.  

Cheers!

A Few Beers to Help Beat the Heat

I've been getting my ass handed to me by the heat and humidity lately. And since there's not a hell of a lot going on right now, I thought I'd through a few under-the-radar "summer beers" at you.

RedRock Saison: Great slight banana and spicy clove notes up front with a huge lemony finish - all thanks to a brilliantly blended yeast cocktail. Surprisingly no spices were used.

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis: Full flavored, sweet from the bready yeast, tart from wheat acidity. There is are big lemon zest notes in the end with faint spicy hints of coriander and white pepper.

Boulevard Tank 7: Starts off with a light dry malt that are paired with spicy peppery notes. Mid-stream builds with floral notes then ends with grapefruity hops. Finishes grainy, dry, with a tad bit of funk. Fantastic!

Full Sail Session lager: This is a great, simple lager. Ever so faint pale malt sweetness and lightly toasted grain up front, crossing over to a minimal earthy and herbal bitterness right at the finish.

Firestone Walker 31: Hops are the star of the show here. A very tasty pale ale. Crisp, clean, floral and citrus (tangerine and orange) Light, but assertive. One of my favorite Pale Ales

Unibroue Blanche De Chambly: The taste starts with bitter citrus and Belgian yeast up-front then that fades into a touch of coriander and hop spiciness. Finishes quickly with a hint of bitter lemon peel. The malt is well balanced against the the citrus.

Anyone else have a good "under the radar" recommendations?

Cheers!

Elephant IPA and Other Beer News

Earlier this year RedRock Brewing Co. erected a new brewing facility to help expand their brewing operations out side of the pub and give the boys in the brewhouse a little extra elbow room.

Designed primarily for the commercial aspects of the business the new brewery has for the most part been helping to keep up with their kegging demands and storage of oak barrels.

Now the new brewhouse is finally moving into high gear. With addition of a new bottling line RedRock is moving forward with new beers to add to the new Utah beer landscape.

To christen the new bottling line RedRock "Beer Yogi" Kevin Templin has developed Elephant a new Imperial India Pale Ale that's big on hops without stripping the enamel off your teeth.

Imagine plucking a tangerine off tree, ripping it open and... and just crushing in your mouth. That's how juicy the hop profile is on this som' bitch! Medium to full bodied malts and an 8% abv will get you to your happy place pronto. Should be available next week sometime at around $5 a 16 oz. bottle.

RedRock also has a great Saison on-tap a the brewpub right now. This one is all thirst quencher. Great spicy notes up front with a huge lemony finish - all thanks to a brilliantly blended yeast cocktail. Very limited, only ten barrels made - won't be around for more than a few days.

And if that wasn't enough from the RedRock camp, plans are underway for a third RR Brewpub to be located at Fashion Place Mall, near the Cheese Cake Factory. No set open date yet, possibly by years end.

Okay, as you can see the RedRock guys have been busy. Squatters has got some good beer news going on as well.

Starting today (Friday July 30) Squatters is selling their Big Cottonwood Amber at the downtown pub. Out the door sale will be done at the bottle shop (brewery door).
The bottle shop hours will be Monday, Wednesday and Fridays noon - 3pm. Jenny appoligizes for the limited hours, but they have to make them work around the brew schedule for now. $5/22 ounce. 1 case per person per visit.

This is part of their Small Batch Series so the quantity is limited. Right now their just selling the Big Cottonwood, but starting September 1st they'll be selling 529 and Fifth Element for $12.95/750ml.

In other beer news batch #4 of Epic's Hopulent IPA is in the breweries cold case and the Bayou is selling Hoppers' Double Black Lager.

Have I given you enough?!

Cheers!

Shades of Pale Update

Getting a brewery off the ground is a huge endeavor. From brewing equipment to supplies to city ordinances it can be a daunting task. Now try to imagine doing everything by yourself. That's what's happening at Shades of Pale Brewing Co. Trent Fargher's one man band brewery has been slow getting off the ground, but considering Trent's tenacity and love for brewing the end result should for make for happy Utah beer lovers.

Since Trent got his license to brew he has spent more time giving away samples of his brews at area beer festivals than he's sold (which is zero). The beer festivals are an important tool to help tweak recipes and get feedback from colleagues.

After the Mountain brewers festival and based on input from festival judges, Trent redesigned his anchor beer, Parley’s Pale White Ale. "Based on the feedback of the judges I redesigned the beer. I believe it to be a much better - easy drinking adult beverage that will have you wanting more than one. It is nice and refreshing with a light flavor profile.

Shades of Pale is also close to finalizing recipes for two other beers, a Kolsch named A Perfect Stranger and a yet to be named Espresso Stout. "I will have a batch of the Kolsch ready sometime this week for sampling and feedback". As far as the Stout goes Trent will "dry coffee" (like a dry-hop) for addition aroma and flavor during the secondary fermentation. That should make the stout "perfectly robust". The recipe is based on a Russian Imperial grain bill but scaled back to 4.0% abv.

Shades of Pale is also going to produce a small batch series of beers called EXP SOP the X factor "We plan on having a monthly release where we get customer feedback based on a limited production. Most likely one of a kind beer from very small batches. This will be beer that will be all over the board, no holds bar".

Initially Trent's plan was only to keg beer. Now the plan is to have a small bottle shop as well. "We'll do that after we start lining accounts up for distribution as we understand our supply chain and make sure we meet demand".

The bottler is on the list of need to purchase Items. "I held off on it to see how much room we have once the 7bbl system is in place. It might have to go upstairs on the second floor. Once I know the amount of space we have to play with I will be seeking either a bottler or a small can line".

Hopefully all will be in place within the next month or so, if you can't wait Shades of Pale will be pouring some of their beer at the upcoming Festival of Flavors at Brian Head Resort on August 21st. Good thing he's making beer... he's gunna need one.

In other Utah Beer news. Uinta Brewing is finally opening their long awaited Bottle shop at the brewery today. Now you can get every beer that Uinta/Four+ makes, cold right from the brewery. Don't get me started on why it's taken so long... Today's post is long enough. Just thank the boys and girls at Uinta for figuring out a solution and bring the bottle shop to fruition.

Cheers!

The Good and Bad of Cold Beer

I get it... it's summer - it's hot you want your beer cold to help quench your thirst. But how cold is too Cold?

Last week the City Weekly's cover story focused on "The best places in Utah to order a cold one". Now I'm not opposed to a frigidly ice cold beer on the right occasion, but given the option, I'd much rather taste my beer than flash freeze my taste-buds with it. And let's face it some beer is better not being tasted.

I was going to write up some comments about City Weekly's Coldest Beer Issue, but Mark Alston of the Bayou beat me to it - and frankly did a better job at it than I would have. Mark is the number one purveyor of suds in Utah, so I invite you to please check out Mark's keen insight on the matter at his blog on the Bayou's Website.

I give the City weekly's staff credit for getting out there and dipping their thermometers in beer statewide and not just keeping it localized to Salt lake City. I understand it's good work if you can get it!

One thing is for sure, properly refrigerated beer will be pouring at the City Weekly's Beerfest on Saturday September 11th. The Beer fest will be held at Washington Square (SLC City/County Building block) and run from 1-6 PM. Please put it on your calendar.

Cheers!

2010 Evanston Brewfest

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the 2nd Annual Evanston Brewfest. Here's some basic info, if you wish to attend.

There are two different admissions: $25.00 – includes wristband, souvenir tasting mug (4 oz) and unlimited tasting or $5.00 (wristband) + $1.00 per token (each token is good for one taste) – for those that don’t want to drink a lot.

The Fest runs from Noon until 10:00 PM on Main Street in Downtown Evanston. Microbrews from Noon until 5:00 PM and then street party until 10:00 PM!

Here's a list of the participating breweries.

Bohemian Brewing Co.
Deschutes Brewing Co.
Grand Teton Brewing Co.
New Belgium Brewing Co.
Odell Brewing Co.
Snake River Brewing Co.
Suds Brothers Brewing Co.
Alaskan Brewing Co.
Big Sky Brewing Co.
Blue Moon Brewing Co.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Also, New beers in SLC today!
Check out Hop in the Dark from Descutes. This beer has subtle coffee undertones born from a blend of oats with dark, Munich and crystal malts. Classic IPA flavors and aromas are due to courageous additions of Cascade, Citra and Centennial hops.

Full Sail's Spotless is a true Northwest style IPA – richly hopped with Willamette and Zeus hops. A deep golden color, bright bitterness and a definite fruity finish.

Both are at the Bayou, Beerhive and some Liquor stores

Cheers!

Better Beer Ordinances in Provo?

We all know that it's a little tougher to get a beer in the ultra conservative city of Provo than it is in other Utah communities. The huge number of churches and schools make it difficult to accommodate businesses that want to sell beer.

Currently the distance between a store selling beer and a church, school or library is 500 ft. with such tight restrictions it's impossible for new grocery and convenience stores that want to sell beer to open in the city.

Well the Provo Municipal Council agreed Tuesday to consider rolling back that ordinance from 500 to 200 feet. The proposed ordinance would only affect convenience stores and grocery stores that sell beer, not bars.

With the Utah County Convention Center coming, it is important for the city to adopt more reasonable standard as prospective businesses start looking to expand in the city.

The council will vote on the matter at its Aug. 3 meeting. If you live in Provo and this affects you, it may be worth your time to attend this meeting and voice your opinion.

Cheers!

Tracks Brewing is Still Open for Business

Last month we reported that Tracks Brewing Company had closed it's doors and was up for sale. The latter is true, Tracks Brewing is for sale. However, it is still open for business.

We were misinformed about their status and we regret that we gave out info that may have had a negative impact on Tracks' day to day business. We also apologize for our lack of diligence on fact checking.

Beers for the Pioneers

Here's a bit of topical humor From Bill Frost's column The Ocho in the current issue of the Salt Lake City Weekly.

Eight new local commemorative microbrews arriving just in time for Pioneer Day 2010:

8. End of Days Pale Ale: No aftertaste (but there is afterlife), dry-hopped for the apocalypse and filtered through the tears of Glenn Beck.

7. Gary Herbert Hefe: A flavorless, predictable, ultimately forgettable wheat beer best served before Nov. 2, 2010.

6. Immigration Amber Ale: An undocumented, medium-bodied ale that takes the jobs no other beers want (unavailable in Arizona).

5. Chevron Stout: A dark (black, actually), thick stout with a petroleum-slick finish, served chilled and/or spilled.

4. Birther Brau: A crisp, suspicious lager with Hawaiian and Kenyan malts that may or may not have been brewed in this country. Tank certificate not available upon request.

3. Hipster Pils: A lukewarm, light beer best drunk through an ironic mustache (real or tattooed on finger), painstakingly brewed to taste exactly like a PBR tallboy.

2. Lonsberry Lager: In remembrance of recently-canceled “local” talk-radio host Bob Lonsberry, a flat lager with an anticlimactic finish.

1. City Weekly “Sorry” Seasonal: The beer we’ll be buying for everybody inevitably pissed off about our “Coldest Beer” issue.

Speaking of City Weekly, still no updates on their planned Beer Festival on Sept 11th.

Cheers!

Zoo Pub!

The other evening I was sitting on my porch enjoying beer and I thought to myself, "This beer is great - but you know what would really make it great? to drink it in the company of an Asian Tiger". We'll the folks at Hogle Zoo must have been reading my freak'n mind!

On August 5th, after all the lil' kiddies have have left, Zoo Pub opens for the adults. Zoo Pub will offer up to 15 different beers, including selections from Hoppers, Uinta and other local favorites. The ticket price is $40 and includes Zoo admission, bratwursts and snacks courtesy of Taste of the Wild Catering and of course the beer!

Zoo Pub is for adults, 21 and older, and valid ID must be presented at check in. The Zoo will admit guests 30 minute prior to the start of the event. Parking will be in the South Parking Lot behind the Zoo, just off Wasatch Blvd. Zoo staffers will guide you to the Asian Highlands exhibit from there.

The Hogle Zoo is a great place and it could really use you support. For more info on how to purchase tickets, call Guest Services at 801-584-1769.

Cheers!

Oxfordshire Triple B

Some of you may have already seen this already but it caught my eye the other day at Smith's Marketplace, so I thought it might be worth looking in to.

The Oxfordshire Triple B comes from the Oxfordshire Brewery on the outskirts of the village of Marsh Gibbon in the U.K. The village has long been associated with beer making and brewing with records tracing back as far as 1850.

It seemed like an odd find at a Utah grocery store of all places, then I caught the ABV on the side of the bottle then it all made sense. The Triple B is a true session beer in the purest terms. It's 3.7% ABV is dinky even by Utah standards. However it gives you an sense about the nature of real British ales. That they are for quenching not just for getting piss drunk.

Poured a clear copper color with very little - to no head. The nose was of tea, wood and some spices. The taste starts with tobacco and tea - well-hopped with Golding hops? Next comes big, sweet bready malts with a dry, herbal hop finish. A little thin in the mouth with low carbonation.

Worth checking out if your in the mood for a balanced English pub ale. Available in 16 oz bottles.

Also, I updated yesterday's post on Squatters' Big Cottonwood. Check out the new labels for their "Small Batch Series".

Cheers!

Big Cottonwood Amber Ale

Squatters will be releasing a new beer soon, based on an old favorite. Big Cottonwood Amber Ale is a 6.4% version of Squatters popular Emigration Amber Ale. "I have always wanted to make my Emigration Amber at a higher level of alcohol - and since Emigration was the first beer brewed at Squatters twenty one years ago, I thought a higher alcohol Amber would make a perfect beer for first release on my new filler."

The filler that Jenny is referring to is a new 2 head beer filler that will allow the Squatters staff to get their high abv beers in the bottles quickly and more efficiently.

Anyway back to the beer. Big Cottonwood Amber is made with all fresh whole flowers and they're using a new whole flower dryhop technique that gives it an amazing hop character. So it is definitely brewed for those who like their Amber Ales on the hoppy side.

Big Cottonwood will be sold in 22 oz bombers and is at 6.4% abv with 49 IBUs. The cost will be $5 and will be sold out of the brewery door to customers for packaging store price. Restaurant/table price will be more than $5, but the exact restaurant markup has not been decided yet.

The release is tentatively scheduled for July 19th. That could change.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 7/9/10

Wahoo! More new beers. All are at the Bayou.

Samuel Smiths Stingo is a traditional strong ale originating in the north of England, is mentioned in literature before 1700. Samuel Smith's Stingo melds the fine history of this style with the signature elegance of the brewery. Brewed from British malt and multiple hop varieties, Stingo is fermented in open-topped stone "Yorkshire Squares," with the Samuel Smith ale yeast strain. It is then aged for over a year in oak barrels that previously held cask-conditioned ale, gaining complexity and depth from the wood. Bottle conditioning - bottling the beer with live yeast for carbonation - produces soft conditioning as well as a fruity aroma and finish; it also allows Stingo to age and develop in the bottle for many months.

Only 2000 cases of Singo are brewed each year.


Pinkus Organic Jubilate Dark Lager

History Jubilate was first brewed in 1966 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Pinkus Brewery. Crisp and with some caramel notes from dark malt, this beer pays tribute to German lagers of the early 19th century. Deep amber-brown color with great depth and richness; a medium-to-full-bodied celebratory lager with an elegant hop finish.


Lindemans Faro

Faro is a Flemish classic, served throughout pubs in Brussels but uncommon outside Belgium. Historically, sugar or sugar syrup was sometimes added to young, unblended lambic by a bartender - it helped balance the lambic's tart acidity - and eventually lambic brewers began to bottle faro.


Samuel Smith's Organic Ale

Samuel Smith's Organic Ale is reminiscent of the early 20th century brews not only in the brewing process and flavor, but label design as well. Certified organic by the USDA-accredited UK Soils Association. A delicately flavored golden ale in which subtle fruity esters from the Samuel Smith yeast strain interact with a background of maltiness and fresh hops.

Cheers!

Bar X Closes

If your fond of glass tankards of 3.2 Bud & peanuts I have some very sad news for you. Bar X one of Salt lake City's most infamous dive bars will be closing it's doors tomorrow (7/9/10).

Building owner Gary Tedesco, whose grandfather Feno opened the bar near the end of prohibition has decided not renew the lease to current Bar X owner Charmayne Clingman and the bar is to be no more.

The influx of full service bars with microbrews and hard liquor make for a tough sell, when looking for other locations for a tavern that serves up bowls of peanuts and nothing stronger than 3.2 Budweiser

One of the things that made Bar X so infamous over it's long tenure downtown was it's "No Women Allowed Policy". In 1986, a judge ruled that anti-discrimination statutes applied to clubs. The owner at the time, Mayne Clingman, was so angry he refused to install a women’s restroom until forced by the state Health Department.

Charmayne, his daughter and namesake, contends the addition of a women’s room had more to do with the demolition of the kitchen, which provided enough room for a single stall and a wash basin.

Still, former longtime bartender Clyde Triptow, who worked into his 80s, often ignored women who happened in for a beer. That pugnacious stance didn’t get him into trouble with his boss. Mayne Clingman didn’t care much for women customers either, said current bartender Lynda Anderson.

He supposedly thought women would steal the Bar X’s thick tankards, one of its main measures of fame. Over the years, many a man downed icy cold beer poured into the thermos-like glasses.

If you'd like to say goodbye or visit a piece of local history one last time, Bar X is located at 155 E. 200 South in downtown SLC.

And a reminder that tonight is Erica Palmer's last night tending bar at the Bayou. Go in and send her off right.

Cheers!

Source: Salt Lake Tribune/ Photos courtesy Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune.

Silver in Sigapore

Last month Epic Brewing won a silver medal for their Galloway Porter at the 2010 Asia Beer Award Competition in Singapore. They were in good company, Stone Brewing Company's Smoked Porter took the Gold and Southern Tier Brewings' Porter got the bronze. Congrats Epic! Here's the complete winner's list.

Also Epic has worked out a Recycle/Reuse program with Cali’s Natural Foods. Take your empty and rinsed Epic bottles in the box to Cali’s at 1700 S 389 W and get 10% off on that visit. They offer Local and Organic products and will reuse the bottles. Even if you don't normally shop there, it beats tossing them into the landfill.

Cheers!

Bye-Bye Erika

About a decade ago I decided that this craft beer thing that was happening around the country "had me written all over it" and I need to emerge myself in the almost nonexistent beer culture that existed in SLC at the time. I frequented all the Brewpubs of course but I needed a broader view; eventually I found the Bayou. A great beer selection with a cozy atmosphere and the staff didn't suck.

That's where I became reacquainted Erika Palmer. I was aware of Erika from places like Port o' Call, The Zephyr and Uinta Brewing but had never really gotten to know her. From my time at the Bayou we became fast friends. She indulged my thirst and I became the greatest pain in the ass she ever encountered.

Soon this "Beer Witch" got into my head and started providing me with beers I didn't know I wanted - before I knew I wanted them. If I got a little crazy and ordered a Fizzy yellow beer, she'd give me that stern look one gives a puppy that's just shit the carpet to set me straight.


After a few years, with Mrs. Mikey's permission. We named Erika our sister wife and were to be joined together in the celestial beer garden forever. But all good things must come to an end.

Erika is leaving the Bayou for great things and we wish her the best. If you know Erika and would like to wish her well, her last day tending bar at the Bayou will be July 8th, but we'll be celebrating her all week starting today.

I personally would like to say it's about Goddamn time. Get out of my head, witch! Take your "magic beer juju" and cast your spells on some-other poor, unsuspecting beer nerd and give me a chance to buy you a beer for a change.

Cheers to you Rika!