New Beer Friday 9/7/18

Happy New Beer Friday! We're IPA heavy this week and the options pretty much run the gambit in regards to the style, this should make most of you very happy. Have a great weekend and don't forget to check out New Beer Friday on KBER101 with Mick and Allen later today at 3:30.

Kiitos Brut IPA: The nose is simple and fresh with citrus peel and waves of lemon and lime, backed up by honeydew melon. The flavor boasts with light grain sweetness and a hint of toast. From here the hops dominate adding a twang a various zests that carry on to the end. It finishes very dry and spritzy. 6.1%. Available at Kiitos, Beer Bar

SaltFire Citra Singularity: Dank orange citrus pith, has earthy and musky undertones with brighter points of tangy juice. Medium mouthfeel, smooth with a slowly gripping bitterness. Moderate sweetness and soft carbonation. Very nice. 7.3%. Available at Saltfire.

2 Row Constant Haze: Starts with big chewy tropical flavors along with a fair amount of sticky malts. This is definitely a full bodied IPA. As you work your way into the back end of the beer yuo get  more mango flavors along with a descent blast of citrus peel and pith. Noticeable alcohol in the finish. 10.5%. Available at 2 Row and most of your favorite better beer pubs.

Squatters Bike Week Amber: Smells of caramel and bready malts with some floral hops. The taste starts with more bready and toasty malts along with faint caramel that adds a bit of sweetness. Back end is toasty with a honey and a floral hop bitterness. light body. Solid all around. 4.0%. Available at Squatters and West Side Tavern.

Odell Cloud Catcher IPA: This "milkshake" IPA has lactic sugars added to give it that creamy sweetness. It has all the elements of a New England IPA. a big hop profile featuring grapefruit rind and mango. A lot of malt and tropical fruitiness in the end. Medium body with a finish that is lightly bitter. Not bad. 6.8%. Available at many of your favorite beer pubs.

Odell Oktoberfest: The aroma is full of caramel malt, spicy hops and a hint of rye. Tastes of big  caramel and wheat malt with some vanilla and hint of nuttiness. The hop profile is low but noticable with some grassy/spicy hops. This a a pretty solid Marzen/Oktoberfest that hits all of the marks.6.1%. Available at many of your favorite beer pubs.

Cheers!

Uinta Looks to Close-Out 2018 in a Big Way

In the beer world it's all about the fourth quarter. This is generally the time of year when the breweries begin to bring out their heavy hitters and and most coveted beers. As I began my research into what is "on tap" for later this year, I found quite a few intriguing options from Uinta Brewing that I thought you might be interested in.

Pictured above is Uinta's Single Barrel Series. This is more of a special edition label than a specific beer. This label looks to be an outlet for Uinta's R&D department. It's designed to give you an idea of  what Uinta is working so that you can provide feedback into what you'd like to see from the brewery.

Next up is Migrator. This is a Dopplebock aged in Bourbon Barrels. Bocks and bourbon are a perfect pairing the sweetness of the beer provides fertile ground for the whiskey to build upon. This beer will dial in at 8.0% and be available in 12 ounce cans.

As we get into harvest time in natural that the breweries feature fruited beers that reflect the autumn months. This label for Valley Orchard Wheat looks to feature cherries and could likely involve other fruits as well. This will probably be a 4.0% beer that could be
more than just a seasonal beer. This will also be offered in 12 ounce cans.

Brut IPAs are going to be the big thing in the next couple of months. Uinta was a little slow in the hazy IPA game, but it's looking to get into the brut game toot-sweet. If you're not familiar with the style yet, Brut IPAs are just as they sound, bone dry. Most of the fermentable sugars are fermented out leaving a minimally sweet very hoppy and dry beer. Saddleback Brut IPA will likely be at session strength and will be available in 12 ounce cans.

Old Ephraim really has me excited. This beer is an Oud Bruin; basically it's a Belgian style sour brown ale. These typically have a dark fruit sour profile that I find to be the most enjoyable of sour styles. This beer will be in Uinta's corked and caged 750 milliliter bottles that are reserved only for the breweries funky and barrel sour beers. it will have an ABV of  6.7%.

Uinta also has an  "Oktoberfest style lager" coming out. I have no image for this other than a keg collar. This will be a high point offering that will hit at  5.3%. Still waiting to see if this will be packaged in cans or not. Stay close on this one as it's getting to ne the time of the year for this style of beer.

All of these may or may not be hit in the fourth quarter so be patient and i'll get the info on these as they get it to me.

Prost!

Images found at Shipcomplient.com

New Beer Friday 8/31/18

Damn! August flew by fast. To help wrap it up, I came across bunch of great local options fine tuned for the coming autumn months. All of these are limited seasonal releases so don't wait to long before pulling the trigger on these.

 

Toasted Barrel American Farmhouse Ale: Nose consists of yeast, bread and slight fruit aromas.
For the flavor, I get yeast, a slight barnyard notes, lemon and apple. Some bready malt rounds out the back end. 6.2%. Available at Toasted Barrel.
 

Toasted Barrel Belgian Dubbel in Peach Bourbon Barrels: The aroma has familiar wild ale aroma that has a aromas of acetone peach and bourbon. Flavor begins sweet with notes of peach, toffee and light honey. Vinegar and moderate sour funk come next with a dose of lactic character. This moves into a middle with notes of oak, a faint acetone flavor, peach and honey-like sweetness. Finish is sweet, with sour peach and oak. Unfortunate acetone off-flavors. 8.5%. Available at Toasted Barrel.

RoHa Grapefruit Pale Ale: Tropical fruit, spicy pineapple and light tangerine twang overwhelm the palate. Round pale malts with hints of melon and lime following. These flavors are all wrapped up with a powerful dose of bittering grapefruit and pulp. Finishes with some chewy pith. 4.0%. Available at RoHa Brewing Project.

RoHa Wet Hop Pale Ale: Aromas of caramel and pine. The taste is immediately toasty with a subtle dose of caramel. The hop in with a dry pine character with some orange-ish notes. Finishes dry. 4.0%. Available at RoHa Brewing Project.

Proper SMaSH Pale Ale: This version of Proper's reoccurring SMaSH (Single Malt, Single Hop ) beer has an aroma of herbal grass and orange peel. The taste follows with the Wia-iti hops adding more herbal and lemon grass notes. Finishes dry. A nice pale ale made with local solstice malts. 4.0%. Available at Proper Brewing.

Strap Tank Roccozella Plum Saison: Missed out on this one. Jenni Curtis Shafer of Utah's Crafty Beer Girls says it has, "Great yeast character with subtle plum tartness and a dry, yet sweet finish". 4.0%. Available at Strap Tank. Thanks, Jenni!

Uinta Nobel Nectar: This Belgian style Golden Strom Ale is full of spicy phenolic yeast. The malt component is sweet and caramel-y with nice honey sweetness. The spelt adds a nice nuttiness giving it more dimensions. Finishes sweet and slightly boozy. 8.5%. Available at Uinta.

Squatters Arnold Palm Ale: Squatters recently did a draft version of this beer based on the Arnold Palmer drink. LOok for lemonade and tea to be major components. This goes on sale tomorrow morning (9/1) at Squatters downtown. 5.5% in 16oz cans.

Humperdoo!

Mad Fritz Hits Salt Lake

Mad Fritz Brewing out of California's Napa Valley region will be debuting their beers along the Wasatch Front and Back this week. Mad Fritz beers are made with their own house malt and ingredients found within the region of the brewery. All of the beers are barrel aged in various woods for unique flavor profiles and developmental features. The brewery touts their beers as being "not brewed to style" and all beers undergo secondary fermentation in the bottles and kegs.

I haven't had a chance to try any of these beers yet - here are some of the brewery's descriptions of what's available in Utah.

Mad Fritz The Wind and Sun - Golden Ale: Our rendition of a Belgian Strong Ale with Saison styling offers the spicy notes derived from the yeast without late hop additions. This beer is fermented in stainless steel and is aged in 3rd use French oak Chardonnay barrels for about 1 to 2 months which gives the beer a subtle vinous character and oak tones. Our Golden will age beautifully for months and potentially years to come due to its low terminal gravity that also makes it crisp, lean and deceivingly potent.

Mad Fritz The Eagle's Nest - DIPA: We opted not to dry hop as we feel there is adequate punch from the whirlpool/knock-out steep. After a warm fermentation we racked to a 3rd use Chardonnay barrel for aging for two to three weeks only.  This highly aromatic beer is bright with hops as well as subtle barrel tones and a rich yet dry texture terminating at 1.006 to 1.008 and alcohol at 8.4 to 8.8 % v/v and 85 IBUs.

Mad Fritz The Kite, Frog and Mouse Rye Ale: The generous spice and lift that Rye malt brings an aroma that is completely seductive as well as the synergy with the Ivanhoe heirloom hop this beer seems to get better and better with age. Aged in Bourbon barrels for about two weeks and is unmistakeably intense. We partnered up with The Bounty Hunter and their great source of Bourbon to make this happen. This batch will be available for a very short time although its possible a few bottles may leave the brewery and could end up in your glass.

Mad Fritz The Lion and Other Beasts - Grissette Ale: This Belgian Style ale called a Grisette that is somewhat of a lost beer style named for the coal miners wives that would serve this up after the long work day in the mines.  It is typically a low alcohol ale at 4 to 5% by volume with low bitterness and aromas of yeast-spice as well as subtle hop notes.  Our resulting beer is bright with light fruit tones, yeast spice, dry and clean. Clocks in at 5.7% v/v alcohol by volume and was aged in chardonnay barrels for one month. Our more recent bottlings have been aged in neutral French oak for 1 to 2 months with varying levels of ABV although typically landing at 5.5%.  We sometimes refer to this beer as a mini-Saison or even a Belgian Pale Ale in style.

Mad Fritz The Larks in the Corn - Blue Corn Pale Ale: The idea behind this beer is to single hop with our locally grown Cascade and have a grain bill with approximately 30% micro malted blue corn to craft a refreshing style while showcasing some of the color and flavor you get from the corn. The barrel age program is limited with another hop addition prior to racking for bottling. The result is a crowd-pleaser that parallels many milder IPAs yet offers aromatic beauty of one of the greatest hops currently cultivated.  The flavors of this beer are incredibly unique due to the layering of malted corn, cascade hops and yeast esters offering lots of stone fruit.  The color tends to be dictated by the blue corn and has a light red-blue hue to it.

Mad Fritz The Old Man and Death - Imperial Rye Stout: This Imperial Stout recipe pulls from our experience with past stouts with an added twist of rye that makes up about 14% of the grain bill. It has slightly more nutty/biscuit flavor and works well with the spicy notes from the rye and the roasted malts. We racked this beer into a French oak wine barrel for aging. This beer has it all from layered aroma profile to a fully textured palate even with a low terminal gravity of 2 Plato (1.008 SPG) and 8.1 to 8.4% v/v Alcohol

Mad Fritz The Fox and the Leopard - Dopplebock: This richly styled lager is perhaps far from a traditional Doppel Bock due to the use of  freshly emptied first use Petite Verdot French oak barrel from 2012 where it aged for another two months.  The aromas are very bold and bright showcasing the impacts of the barrel while the power of this 9.1% Alc. v/v lager pushes back both with flavor and palate texture.

Mad Fritz The Fox Grapes: We made two batches one with some variations and aged both in a combination of French Chestnut wood and a older Cabernet Sauvignon wine barrel.  After 7 months of aging we had a very dry beer (mostly due to the wild cultures of yeast and natural wine bacteria).  We did some light blending and the result is...well.. 'Wier'... The bright fruit aromas and flavors from the grapes are almost Rose' wine like yet the core of it is a beer rich smooth beer with light bitterness then dry crisp and carbonated with subtle chestnut and oak spice.  This beer continues to evolve and each year we push the amount of Petite Sirah we can get into the beer.

These beers are very "hands on" in the way their made and the price is going to reflect that. If you find them at your favorite beer nerd pub, plan on opening up a line-of-credit for them. You likely will not see them in DABC stores. If you've tried any of them, please share your experience.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 8/24/18

New Beer Friday is precious. One day to rule them all! 

2 Row Sour IPA:  Lemon, orange zest, and herbs in the aroma. The flavor starts with lemon, some grapefruit, and piney/herbal undertones. It's light and dry in the mouth with almost no bitterness, and balanced tartness. Finishes quick and dry 6.1%. Available at 2 Row and better beer pubs

Fisher IPA #3: This is Fisher's third high point limited IPA release. This version features Denali, Galaxy, Citra and Mosaic hops. The nose has good dose of citrus fruit, citrus zest, pineapple juice, and berry. The taste is much the same with candied citrus zest, tropical fruit, and grapefruit juice flavors in the end. the finish is bitter and lightly dry. A great west coast style IPA. 7.0%. This goes on sale tomorrow (8/25) at 10am. This probably won't last the day.  

Fisher Galaxy Kölsch: Aromas of bready malt and some fresh fruitiness - mostly grapefruit and melons. Starts off with some toasty malts and a bit of fresh fruitiness quickly giving way to the citrus peel hops. The finish is lingering and dry. The hops take this Kolsch and transform it into a session IPA. 4.0%. Available at Fisher.

 

Fisher Bright Lights Pale Ale: This pale ale goes a little old school with Cascade & Simcoe hops. The aroma is malty, with caramel and toasted bread, plus some piney hops. The taste is the same. Sweet malt honey-like flavors, some toasty bread, and some tangerine flavors. There is some grassy bitterness in the finish. 4.0%. Available at Fisher.

 

Fisher Glacial Pace IPL: A very pleasant tasting hoppy beer - a hint of citrus/fruity hops, but the  resinous/piney/grassy hops drive the show for the most part. Sticky, dry aftertaste. Very nice! 4.0%. Available at Fisher.

Lagunitas Passion Grass: Citrus, passion fruit, in the nose. The taste follows with the addition of lemongrass up front along with light grapefruit and passion fruit. The end a bit drying with heavy lemongrass. Finishes dry and puckering. 4.6%. I found it a Beerhive. 

Innes & Gunn Bourbon Barrel Scotch: The nose has mostly sweet malt and vanilla and bourbon. The taste follows with sweet burnt toffee, wood and light bourbon flavors. metallic notes come next providing that typical old world ale flavor. The finish is sweet with roasted notes. 6.6%. Found at Beerhive.

Ommegang Fruittanomyces: I missed out on this one. It's described as having tropical and orchard fruits along with citrus and a tart bretty base. 5.3% Available at the Bayou.

Rogue Dead 'n' Dead: It's that classic malty and toasted dead guys with the addition of oak and whiskey flavors. A very nice ale. 8.2%. Available at the Bayou.

 

Stone Idolatrous IPA: Just came across this one. it's described as being piney and bitter with resiny hops that dominate the palate along with notes of lemon, grassy notes. 7.0%. Available at the Bayou.

 

What did I miss? Please share!

 

Prost!

New Beer Friday 8/17/18

I guess the big news this week was the debut of Dogfish Head in our liquor stores and bars. If this was concert bootleg? I'd say, they're playing many of their hits along with a few deep cuts. Also A reminder that the Utah Beer Festival is going on this weekend. Hope to see you there. Have an excellent New Beer Friday!

Desert Edge Azacca Pale Ale: Starts with light pineapple, mango, grapefruit and tangerine. finishes with a nice dose of pine and floral bitterness. Great body for 4.0%. Available at Deseret Edge

Kiitos Barrel Aged Coconut Stout:  The nose has a good amount of bourbon. The taste starts again with bourbon and a little bit of roasted barley. You lose the coconut behind the whiskey, which is fine because the flavors are complementary. It’s thin for a barrel aged beer, but as you get into it the body starts to feel a little more round. 4.0%. Available at Kiitos Brewing 

 

Mother Earth Primordial IPA:  The aroma has a medium amount of tropical notes. As it hits the tongue it’s full of citrus floral and Pine. This one is pretty damn dank  with a ample amount of malts. Finishes slightly boozy and bitter.  9.5%. I found it at beerhive.

Dogfish Head Sea Quench Sour Ale: This has your basic lemon/lime tartness with a fair amount of malt sweetness for balance. Brine pops in next with barley a hint of coriander beneath. It's a fine Gose. 4.9%. Available at DABC/better beer pubs.

Dogfish Head Flesh and Blood IPA: Fresh hops with tropical fruit, blood orange, lemon, grapefruit and herbal notes, nicely balanced with a dry cracker backbone, fresh bitter orange/grapefruit finish. 7.5%. Available at DABC/better beer pubs.

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA: Starts off with sweet juicy malt and a good dose citrus hops. Tangerine, lemon and grapefruits are all there. The finish is lightly bitter, but it leaves nice biscuit notes as an afterthought. Probably one of their better beers. 6.0%. Available at DABC/better beer pubs.

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA:  The nose has a good dose of fruity hops. The taste begins with citrus and floral hops with a little bit of carmel.  It’s similar to the 60 minute but it doesn’t have the balance. The hops seem a bit muted with a fair amount of bitterness.  Finishes semi dry. 9.0%. Available at most better beer pubs and DABC.

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA:  The nose is full of candied sugar, malt, pear and pungent booze.  The taste starts with big barley wine sweetness that Tries to hide a big explosion of alcohol. Next comes a healthy dose of fruity, citrusy and piney hops.  Overall: it’s an interesting beer. It’s not really my thing, but it’s a good example of what can be done with super yeast strains.  18.0%. Available at better beer pubs.

Dogfish Head Lupu Luau:  The aroma is full of citrus and coconut. This taste starts with citrus than the coconut comes in, it plays off of the malts pretty well. Next comes the citrus peel and pine from the hop selection. It all fits together pretty well. If you’re a fan of coconut and IPAs you will like this.  7.3%. Available at better beer pubs and DABC.

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron: This brown ale has a nice malty and woody aroma.  The test starts with molasses, vanilla, malt and oak.  Dark cocoa and currents round out the end.   I love the barrel notes and the toasty feel of the grains in this. 12.0%. Available at better beer pubs.

Dogfish Head Wood Aged Bitches Brew:  I missed out on this one. It is described as a fusion of a Russian Imperial Stout aged in American oak and an Ethiopian Tej Honey Beer Aged in Palo Santo wood. 9.0%. Available at better beer pubs.

Dogfish Head Burton Baton: This oak aged Imperial IPA  has aromas of vanilla, caramel, oak and pine.  The taste starts toasty with subtle caramel, grapefruit and plum. Next comes oak and vanilla with a piny finish. If you are into more traditional IPAs I think you will enjoy this one  if you are into more traditional IPAs I think you will enjoy this one.  10.0%. Available at better beer pubs.

Dogfish Head Liquid Truth Serum: Aromas of tangerine pine and grapefruit. The taste follows with more tropical fruits along with guava and pine.  Overall: this is a fine IPA a lot of tasty fruity flavors, would try again. 6.8%. Available at better beer bars.

Dogfish Head Mixed Media: This mix of grape and grain has a little bit of Brett, apple, grape and cereal in the nose.  The Tatian reminds me of a farmhouse ale with serial white grapes and spicy yeast. Some bread rounds out the back end. Finishes medium dry. 7.5%. Available at better beer pubs.

New Belgium Hemperor:  Missed out on this one. It’s described as having a lot of hemp like qualities that play off of the citrusy hop selection. 7.0%. Available at the DABC and better beer pubs.

Rogue Hot Tub Scholarship Lager: Starts with grainy malt, soda crackers with hints of honey, a touch of apple peel. It ends with grassy and floral noble bitterness. A nice but unremarkable Helles. 5.4%. Available at DABC/better beer pubs.

Cheers!

Keep Dogfish Head and Kiitos on Your Mind Today

As promised, I have info regarding the initial releases of Dogfish Head's foray into the SLC market. As of today you will begin seeing DFH beers hitting DABC shelves and specialty beer pubs. Just in case you're wonder what's available, I have that too.

General Listed:
Sea Quench Sour Ale
Flesh and Blood IPA
60 Minute IPA
90 Minute IPA

Special Order:
Lupu Luau
120 Minute IPA
Palo Santo Marron
Wood Aged Bitches Brew
Burton Baton
Liquid Truth Serum
Mixed Media

Basically, the general listed stuff will be in the DABC stores and the special order stuff will be in the bars. Of course all of this is subject to change. Happy hunting!

Also today, Kiitos is releasing their new Barrel Aged Coconut Stout. This version of the popular coconut stout was aged in Sugar House Distillery's bourbon barrels. This 4% beer is packaged in 16 ounce cans and should be available when Kiitos opens today. There will be release party/pinball tournament at the brewery starting at 5:30pm.

On a side note: The barrels the Kiitos used for this beer have gone back to Sugar House Distilling and have been refilled with bourbon to become part of SHD's Boilermaker Series: a special offering that features whiskey aged in barrels that previously featured local beers. Boilermaker #1 was aged in Uinta's Cockeyed Cooper barrels and Boilermaker #2 was aged in Epic's Smoked and Oaked barrels. These are great whiskies that are definitely worth picking up when their released.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 8/10/18

All of this week's offerings feature a bit of tart and funk. I hope you guys like tart and funk!

Shades Kveik #2: This beer pours a purplish red color topped with a little to no head. The aroma has a fragrant sour cherry smell. Taste was tart and pleasantly fruity. Some warm spice notes in the end. The finish is very dry. Another winner from Shades' Kveik Series. 6.3%. Available at Shades Brewing.

Avenues Proper Brett Pale Ale 2:  Look for funky, earthy and tropical-fruit-like flavors in this dry and subtly tart take on the American pale ale. This beer is only available at Avenues Proper. 4.0%.

Rogue Combat Wombat: This sour Northeast-style IPA is brewed with blood orange and grapefruit. The taste has an ample amount of musty yeast tart tropical fruits, orange and grapefruit pith. It finishes with a good dose of piney bitterness. 7.2%. Available at select DABC.

Brewery Ommegang Queen of the Seven Kingdoms: Ommegang's latest beer in their Game of Thrones series features a base beer full of Belgian yeast, lemon tartness, apple and melon. The sourness is pretty light, it much more prevalent in the nose than on the tongue. A pretty smooth ale. 6.7%. Available at select DABC.   

In other beer news: Roosters Brewing Company will begin to unveil their new look and branding this Saturday at the Ogden Farmers Market from 9-2pm. There will be give-aways every half hour, from stickers and merch to gift cards and a private brewery tour of Roosters new B Street Brewery that is set to open this fall. The new brewery will feature a dining and tap room space along with an additional 6,000 sf of available space for retail and manufacturing, as well as an outdoor amphitheater and dining area.

From what I've seen the new B Street Brewery will be a beautiful addition to Ogden's craft beer scene. Stay close for further updates.

Cheers!

Oops. I Made a Mistake.

Last New Beer Friday I reviewed Salfire's new Summer Camp Crush. I believe I said that, "it missed the mark" and was out of style. A few of you contacted me and wondered what I had been smoking in regards to this review (including Saltfire). After thinking about it, I couldn't recall ever seeing the bottle with the beer that ordered so I poured a new verified bottle and found that my review was way off the mark.

Summer Camp Crush has a nice aroma of tropical and citrus hops. The taste started with bright oranges and tropical fruit is highlighted by lightly tart citrus pulp. It ended with light tart citrus hop smack with pith and pine. The finish was tropical and lingering.

There's no excuse for not verifying that I had the right beer before giving a review. Especially when I found it to be so far off the mark. My oligopolies to Saltfire and to those of you that choose to spend your precious time and bandwidth on the Utah Beer Blog.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 8/3/18

I love a nice round selection of beers for New Beer Friday; that is exactly what you're getting this week. Nearly all of this week's beers are local. Enjoy!

Strap Tank Utah Valley Foraged Ale #1: Also known as "Treebeard" this version of Strap Tank's locally sourced ale has willow, spruce, juniper, local wheat, solstice_malt barley, and Bagley Honey. 8.0%. Available at Strap Tank.

Saltfire Summer Camp Crush: This pours a  straw color with soapy white head. The aroma is citrusy and herbal with some honey. The taste is light and grainy; like a pilsner but more hoppy. The hops are floral herbal and citrusy. Aftertaste is slightly bitter. Medium body with a good amount of carbonation. As a NEIPA this really missed the mark. As a very hoppy kolsch I give it high marks.7.1%. Available at Saltfire, Dick n' Dixie's, Beerhive.

Uinta Alpenglow: This was supposed to hit last week, however shit happens and now we have this week. This Wild Golden Ale is a blend of Uinta's soured wild ale with a brett dosed golden ale that been ageing for two years in oak. The result is a beer with a medium fruit like sour/tart profile combined with a small dose of funky Brett with perceived pineapple flavors & malt. Finishes with oak and a brut champagne dryness . It’s a winner! 7.0%. Available at Uinta

Toasted Barrel Blueberry Summer Wheat: Missed out on this one. The name says it all. 4.0%. Available at Toasted Barrel.

Squatters Umbrella Ella-Ella Nitro IPA: Fruity and herbal hops with light malt & toast. The nitro enhances the sweetness from the malt. You can't really appreciate how much bitterness CO2 gas adds to a beer until it's removed. Very light and tasty. 4.0%. Available at Squatters Brewpub.

Squatters Long Boat Red Lager: The aroma has a light floral hop presence with some toasted cereal. The taste is full and smooth with a well concocted malt presence. The hop profile is medium in strength with a spicy/herbal bite and flavor.This is a wonderful malty lager, I wish I had found this weeks ago. 4.0%. Available at Squatters Brewpub.

Hitachino Nest Anbai Ale - Ume Plum Gose: Missed out on this one. This is described as being infused with grown green sour plum (ume), and finished up with a pinch of Japanese sea salt (moshio). The balance of sourness, bitterness, comes from the plum and subtle saltiness. 7.0%. It's available at Takashi in downtown SLC. Takashi actually does a great job of getting great craft beers imported from Japan, that are exclusive to their restaurant. Check them out.  

 Cheers!

Two New Breweries on the Horizon

Just when you thought the pack was at capacity, I bring word of two new players in the craft beer world that are vying for your hard earned beer dollars.

The first brewery is another addition to Ogden's beer scene. Cerveza Zólupez Beer Company will be a small batch craft brewery: Dedicated to Mexican-style artisan cervezas. Very small handmade batches will be the focus with limited beer selection and pequeño inventory. The brewery is owned by Javier Chavez Jr. an Ogden resident and attorney. His beer recipes will be influenced by the beer and food heritage de México. Javier beers will be using ingredients traditionally found in Mexican culture. Cerveza Zólupez's construction is  underway and received it's alcohol manufacturing license from the DABC yesterday. Javier plans to open Cerveza Zólupez later this year. Felicidades, Javier!

The other brewery was tracked down by Utah beer lover and photographer DJ Benway. DJ found a brewery called Emigration Brewing Company. By all appearances it appears to be appropriately located in Emigration Canyon and looks to be located at the old Santa Fe Restaurant - located next Ruth's Diner. Their website suggests that the owners may already be active in Utah's hospitality/restaurant industry and has some financial backing. 

As I get more info on Emigration and Cerveza Zólupez I'll be sure to pass it on.

And just in case your keeping score - Cerveza Zólupez would join Saltfire, Toasted Barrel, Templin Family Brewing and Saint George Brewing as Utah's 2018 new breweries. Assuming all goes as planned by the individual breweries.

In related news: Saint George Brewing received its alcohol manufacturing license from the DABC yesterday, the Templin Family Brewing received their liquor license from the DABC as well, and Policy Kings Brewery in Cedar City got their full-service bar license.

Salud!

New Beer Friday 7/27/18

It's all about local tart and sour beers this week. That doesn't happen too often.

Epic Pie and Beer Day Sour Ale: This originally hit SLC on Tuesday it has aromas of dark fruit and oak. The taste is soured blueberries and boysenberries with some oak and red wine. Finishes with a good dose of funky yeast. Very nice. 7.7%. Available at Epic and Beer Bar.

Kiitos Cherry Berliner: This tastes a little less tart than some of Kiitos' other sour beers. This gives the cherry a chance to shine and really come through. Very nice. 4.0%. Available at Kiitos.

Uinta Alpenglow: This brand new wild ale from Uinta is being bottled this morning and should hopefully be ready sometime this afternoon. I should have tasting notes at 3:30 for New Beer Friday on KBER101. 9.4%. Available at Uinta.  

Toasted Barrel Grisette: This hoppy Belgian style is herbal with tea and a good dose of citra hops. 4.0%. Available at Toasted Barrel.

Deschutes Black Butte XXX: Missed out on this one. This Imperial Porter was blended using 8 different types of oak barrels, with notes of salted chocolate, whiskey and dried fruit.13.6%. Available at DABC.

Belhaven Scottish Ale: Missed out on this one. It's described as having a nutty, biscuit character, balanced with a subtle spiciness from Challenger and Goldings hops 5.2%. Available at DABC.

Cheers!

The 9th Annual Utah Beer Fesival Preview

We're less than a month away from the Utah Beer Festival and this year's looks to be one of the biggest yet. To give you an idea of what will be poured at this year's fest I got my hands on the 2018 line-up. It's deep and you likely will not be able to sample everything, but I know some of you will try. There will be over fifty breweries/cideries with close to a hundred options to keep you happy. Here is the complete list. Enjoy and I hope to see you there.

Ace Cider - Angry Orchard - Ballast Point - Bohemian Brewing - Boneyard Bloody Brew - Bonneville Brewing - Boulevard Brewing - Deschutes Brewery - Desert Edge - Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Epic Brewing - Fisher Beer - Great Basin Brewing - Guinness - Hoppers Grill and Brewing - Kiitos Brewing - Lagunitas - Mikes Hard Lemonade - Melvin Brewing - Moab Brewing - Mountain West Cider - North American Breweries

Odell Brewing - Park City Brewing - Grand Teton - Proper Brewing Company - Red Rock - Ritual Brewing Co. - Roha Brewing - Roosters Brewing - Salt Fire Brewing - Salt Flats Brewing - Samuel Adams - Sapporo - Shades Brewing - Shiner - SKA Brewing - Sockeye Brewing - Squatters - St. Killian - Stone Brewery - Strap Tank Brewery - Talisman - Uinta Brewing - Upslope Brewing - Wasatch - Western Standard - White Claw - Zion Brewing - Schofferhofer

As City Weekly's Beer Nerd, I will be floating around the beer festival Saturday doing "quality control". It's the burden of a beer writer. If you see me, please stop and chat, I'd love to hear from you. I'll be the guy with the beer in hand.

Cheers!

Photo Credit: City Weekly - Salt Lake Tribune

Epic and Matumoto Brewery Collaborate on Sister City Beer

Did you know that Salt Lake City has a sister city in Japan? It’s true, our sister city is Matsumoto, Japan. For 60 years Salt Lake City and Matsumoto have been part of the Sister City Exchange, a program dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges, business and trade relationships along with community development. Matsumoto is roughly the same size as Salt Lake and shares many of the same geographic characteristics as well. It also has a kick ass brewery which leads us to today’s blog post.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of our two cities’ partnership, Epic Brewing Company and the Matsumoto Brewery have teamed up to brew a special brew to mark the occasion. Yesterday morning (7/23/28) Matsumoto Brewery Managing Director, Mr. Takahiro Fukuzawa, and Chief Brewer, Mr. Takumi Katsyuama Joined, Joined forces with Epic’s Jordan Schupbach, Director of Brewing Operations (and his brew team) to create a special beer that will be available both in the U.S. and Japan.

The collaboration beer that they brewed is a hop-forward double IPA inspired by Epic’s popular Hopulent but with a sweeter aromatic focus. The beer will highlight honey brought from Japan and

will possess Ekuanot, Motueka, and Mosaic hops. Epic will be utilizing some of the new techniques developed with their popular New England-Style IPA in a way that reflects current flavor trends in Japanese IPAs; a portion of the finished beer will be exported to Japan and highlighted at the Matsumoto Craft Beer Festival, September 14-17th.

The Japanese craft beer scene has been steadily gaining steam in recent years; Epic has been exporting their beers to Japan since 2012, so they’re already a known player in the region. Currently there are more than 200 craft breweries open nationwide and the Matsumoto Brewery has been leading the way in the Japan’s Nagano region.

It was a pretty cool day for beer in Salt Lake yesterday and it looks like everyone in the brewhouse had a blast. As soon as the this special IPA is ready, I promise to give you the heads up on the where and when.

And on a an Epic side note; today is Pie and Beer Day (or Pioneer Day if you prefer)! Epic has also created a special beer that will only be avaiable for Pie and Beer Day and it goes on sale later today. This is the only beer that I know of that was created exclusively for Pie and Beer Day. Feel free to thank my wife Krin for spearheading the production of this beer. The beer is part of Epic's Oak and Orchard series. It's a sour ale aged in oak barrels with Blueberry and Boysenberry. It a phenomenal sour ale that's a Utah exclusive and can only be purchased at Epic's SLC brewery or at Beer Bar. If you're into sours, you know your going to need this.

乾杯 Kanpai !

Your 2018 Pie and Beer Day Preview

You probably don't need this but you're going to get it anyway! This is your 2018 Pie and Beer Day Event Calendar. I haven't vetted most of these, so further homework on your part may be required.

The Original & Official "PIE & BEER DAY"
  
COPPER ONION, SQUATTERS

SAAG PANEER SPANAKOPEA
PAIRED W/ PROVO GIRL

DISPENSARY, ROHA
PURPLE POTATO PIEROGI W/ ONION JAM, CHEESE
CARAWAY BUTTER, & CARAWAY SALT
PAIRED WITH KENSINGTON GRAND SAISON

SLACKWATER PIZZA, ROOSTERS BREWING
FANCY 5 CHEESE PIZZA W/ FETA AND GORGONZOLA
PAIRED WITH PIOLT BREW DOUBLE IPA

RED BUTTE CAFE, DESERT EDGE BREWERY
BLACK BERRY ALMOND
PAIRED WITH UTAH PALE ALE

PROPER BREWING, PROPER AVENUES
STRAWBERRY APRICOT WITH TOASTED MERENGUE AND BALSAMIC CRUST
BOURBON PECAN PIE WITH SALTED CARAMEL POPCORN
CAROLINA LEMON PIE WITH SALTINE CRUST WHIP CREAM AND MALDON SALT
PAIRED WITH LA BELLE PECHE & GOSE LAKE EFFECT

STEIN ERICKSON LODGE, PARK CITY BREWING
BANANAS FOSTER DOLCHE DE LECHE
PAIRED WITH HOOKER BLONDE

GARAGE ON BECK, MOAB BREWERY
FUNERAL POTATO PIE
PAIRED WITH ROCKET BIKE AMBER LAGER

NORMAL, EPIC BREWING
ICE CREAM MOON PIE WITH PEACH ICE CREAM, FREEZE DRIED PEACH BITS CORN COOKIE DIPPED IN WHITE CHOCOLATE
PAIRED WITH OAK & ORCHARD SOUR BLUEBERRY BOYSENBERRY

ESTE PIZZA, HOPPERS BREWING
JALAPENO ARTICHOKE PIZZA PIE
PAIRED WITH THIS IS THE PILSNER

BEER BAR, KITOS BREWING
BLACK BERRY PIE WITH ORANGE BITTERS AND CARDAMON ALLSPICE CRUST
PAIRED WITH VANILLA NUT CREAM ALE

WASATCH BREWING, WASATCH BREW PUB
APPLE CRUMB PIE
PAIRED WITH EVOLUTION AMBER

HONEYCOMB BAKERY, RED ROCK BREWING
RASPBERRY PISTACHIO GALETTE
PAIRED WITH GRAND BAVARIA

BELTEX MEATS, 2ROW BREWING
JAMAICAN BEEF PATTY PIE WITH COCONUT CURRY
PAIRED WITH HIPACRIT IPA

TRADITION, FISHER BREWING
STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE
PAIRED WITH RYE CREAM ALE

EATING ESTABLISHMENT, BONNEVILLE BREWING
VEGETARIAN QUICHE
PAIRED WITH SYNERGY SEVEN

RIO GRANDE CAFE, BOHEMIAN BREWERY
GRANDE KEY LIME PIE
PAIRED WITH BOHEMIAN KOLSCH

STEIN ERICKSON LODGE, PARK CITY BREWING
BANANAS FOSTER DULCE DE LECHE
PAIRED WITH HOOKER BLONDE

NOMAD, UINTA BREWING
SWEET CORN CREAM PIE WITH BLUEBERRY STREUSEL, SMOKED RASPBERRY JAM POPPED SORGHUM & MALDON SEA SALT
PAIRED WITH CRIMSON TART AND CROGGY SAISON

FIRESIDE, SALT FIRE BREWING
NEW ZELAND CHICKEN EMPANADAS WITH MEYER LEMON BROWN BUTTER SAUCE
PAIRED WITH NEW ZELAND PILSNER

TOSCANOS, SALT FLATS
JALAPENO ARTICHOKE PIZZA PIE
PAIRED WITH THIS IS THE PILSNER

OMARS RAWTOPIA, MTN WST CIDER
OMARS TIERRA MISSOU
PAIRED WITH COTTONWOOD HOPPED CIDER

BAMBARA, SHADES BREWING
MIXED BERRY TART W/ OAK CRUST PIE
CHERRY CHOCOLATE PORTER WITH PORTER GANACHE PIE
APRICOT PINENUT AND THYME PIE PIE
PAIRED WITH BERLINER WEISSE
_________________________________________________________________

Pie & Beer Day FUNraiser 

Pie n' Beer Day at the RoHa Brewing Project

Pie and Beer day at Cheers to You (Midvale)

Pie and Beer Day at the Ice Haus

Pizza Pie and Beer Day at Gracie Barra Brazillian Jiu Jitsu

4th Annual Pie & Beer Day Tournament 

Pie and Beer Ride

Pie and Beer Day at Park City Brewery

Pie and Beer day BBQ at the Sun Trapp

Pie & Beer Day at St. Catherine Siena Newman Center

Cheers and have a happy and safe day!

New Beer Friday 7/20/18

Happy New Beer Friday! For the most part this week's option are mostly out of the Northwest, get on these while they're fresh and new. Also keep in mind that Pie and Beer Day is coming up. I'll be talking beer with Mick and Allen on KBER101 today at 3:30, then from 4pm - 7pm I'll be with Bad Brad Wheeler on KUAA 99.9 to preview Pie and Beer Day stuff.

 

Toasted Barrel Brett Brown: A malty brown base beer with a good dose of funky Brett. More beer like this is going into oak barrels to become sourlicious and funkified! 4.0%. Available at Toasted Barrel.

Rogue Kulture Clash: This beer/kombucha blend tastes malty and doughy with funky herbal tea and some orange/grapefruit rind. A hint of tartness and earthy/leafy hops round out the end. Even if you're not a kombucha fan you may like this. 6.9%. Available at DABC.

 

Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion 10: The nose has a good ctirus and stonefruit along with light pine and bready undertones. The taste starts off with a bit of orange, grapefruit and light apricot. Next comes a nice earthy pine bitterenss that has lightly toasty malt undertones. Finish is mildly bitter with lingering grass and a hint of citrus pith. Very nice. 5.9%. Found at Beerhive.

 

Anderson Valley Hop Hyzer: This has an aroma of toasted grains and lemon and coriander. The flavor follows for the most part; adding more citrus, a more subdued spice profile and a good dose of malts. Finishes with medium bitterness. 4.9%.  Available at DABC.

 

Gigantic Kölschtastic: A good amount of toasted cereal with complimenting floral and citrus-like hops. Slightly over hopped, other that that very true to style. 5.0%. Available at Beer Bar.

 

Gigantic Kiss the Goat: Missed out on this one. It's described a Bock/Porter hybrid if that helps. Can't wait to get into this one. 8.0%. Available at Beer Bar.

 

Gigantic High Fidelity IPA: Light citrus, tangerine and hints of stone fruit, light pine and citrus hops, semi-sweet malts. Nice IPA that veers into APA territory. 5.9%. Available at Beer Bar.

 

Cheers!

Another New Beer Friday the 13th

There's nothing unlucky about this Friday the 13th. We've got great a great selection of local and regional brews on this New Beer Friday the 13th; sounds pretty damn lucky to me!

Kiitos Kiitoria: Lime zest upfront, slightly tart with some mild acidity. Cracker in the middle with a hint of hay and grass.  Finishes crisp and clean with a light but tangible salt presence. Nice summer quencher. This beer is the first of many from Kiitos that will have a percentage of the proceeds go to a different charity with every batch. 4.0%. Available at Kiitos.

Shades Kveik #3: Tart flavors of juicy tropical fruits, citrus and berry start you off. Then a light amount of lactose sweetness kicks in, followed by light flavors of vanilla. The addition of lactose takes the tartness and gives it a very nice sherbet/gelato feel. Delicious! 6.3%. Available at Shades.    

Talisman Raspberry Gose: Very strong raspberry flavor, lightly sweet wheat/malt flavors, and a tart berry and lemon finish. This is a great fruited gose. 4.0%. Available at Talisman

Epic Drama Juice NEIPA: This dank and fruity mix of Comet and Simcoe hops produced a super citrusy and juicy IPA that has a decent dose of bitterness that comes through as orange/grapefruit pith. Very Nice! 6.2%. Very limited - only available in special growlers at Epic.

Wasatch Lemon Coffee Cream Ale: An odd combo of flavors here. It's not unusual to serve espresso with lemon peel of zest and I think that's the inspiration here. The result is a crazy salad of fruit and smoked/grilled veggies. It’s not my thing, but I appreciate the creativity. 4.0%. Available at Wasatch Park City and the West Side Tavern.

Lagunitas Cherry Jane: The aroma is a pleasant blast of sweet cherries with mild funky Brett. The taste is cherry forward, sweet and spicy pie cherries dominate for the most part. The funky Brettanomyces adds a bit of sourness to take some of the edge off of the cherry sweetness. Finishes tart and semi-sweet. This is a great beer and a nice entry beer for those looking to get into American wild ales. 5.5%. I found it at Beer Bar, Beerhive.

Ska Brewing Rue B. Soho: Subtle grapefruit on the nose. The palate is light and subtle with toasted grains and tangy grapefruit. The grapefruit doesn't linger long, and neither does the ever-so-slight bitterness of the hops. It's like an IPL with grapefruit. 5.1%. Available at DABC.

Cheers and have an excellent weekend!

New Beer Friday 7/6/18

Whoa! It's damn smokey out there today; not to mention that it's going to get in the triple digits as well. You're definitely going to need something to lift your spirits from all of this bad air. Everything that I came across this week is more on the quenchable side of the beer spectrum, I hope you find these helpful.

Saltfire Saison De Trahison: The aroma contains clove, wheat malts and some citrus. The taste starts out bready with flavors of clove and a hearty malt character. Some caramel, and ginger root comes next with just a hint of lemony citrus coming through in the end. The hops presence is mild but complementary and brings a good balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet and slightly bready. 6.3%. Available at Saltfire, Bayou and Dick n Dixie's.

Saltfire Charlotte Sometimes:  The nose is fruity and grainy, with some citrus peel, honey and earthy bread. The flavor opens mildly sweet with a peachy, fruity yeast note. There's citrus, a little bright, with honey, candied orange peel and a little grapefruit. 5.2% Available at Saltfire, Bayou and Dick n Dixie's.

Wasatch/Lauter Day Brewers - Raspberry Saison: Fresh raspberry in the nose. There is hint of spicy yeast as well. The taste is more fresh raspberry with a hint of the saison's yeast. It's not entirely noticeable, but it does add balance to the berry and helps round it out. finishes medium dry. 4.0%. Available at Wasatch Park City and at the UBC's West Side Tavern.


Odell Sunny Rain: The aroma is grassy and citrusy with a touch of acidity. The flavors start off with sweet malts, vague citrus and a touch of pineapple. A light dose of  tartness and moderate bitterness come next. The tartness is minimal, which gives the the juxtaposing citrus and fruit something to work with.  Very tasty! 6.0%. Found at Beer Bar.

Rogue 10 Hop IIPA: Missed out on this one. 10.1%. Available at DABC.

What did I miss? Please share.

Cheers!

New Utah Law Will Affect Your Beer Enjoyment

You will probably notice a change the the next time you hit your favorite brewpub. Thanks to the infinite wisdom from our religious overlords; all local eating establishments that fell into that gray area between bar and restaurant were forced to make a choice to be one or the other. Some places that did not require you to buy food with your pint will require you to do so - others may have gone the opposite way and have gone full 21 and over bar.

I learned a long time ago that no matter what advance may come our way in regards to legalizing adulthood our favorite prairie religion run legislature will most certainly bitch slap you back to the temperance movement with stupid shit such as this.

Please don't let these new designation dissuade you from enjoying these fine craft beer establishments; if they do, then they've already won.

Here is a list of your modified craft beer adulting options.  Restaurant = Food Required/Kids Allowed - Bar = No Food Requirement/No Kids Allowed:

2 Row Brewing Co. -  No change
A. Fisher Brewing Co. - Bar
Bohemian Brewery -  Restaurant
Bonneville Brewing Co. -  Restaurant
Desert Edge Brewpub - Restaurant
Epic Brewing at Dolce Sicilia - Restaurant
Epic Brewing Co.  - Bar
Grogg's (Pinnacle Brewing Co.) - No Change
Hoppers Brewpub - Restaurant
Kiitos Brewing Company - Bar
Moab Brewery - Restaurant
Mountain West Cider - No Change
Park City Brewery - Bar
Proper Brewing Co. - Bar
RedRock Brewing - Restaurant
RoHa Brewing Project - Bar
Roosters Brewing (Layton) - Restaurant
Roosters Brewing (Ogden) - Restaurant
Salt Flats Brewing Co.(AKA the Garage Grill) - Restaurant
Saltfire Brewing Co. - Bar
Shade Brewing Co. - Bar
Squatters Brewpub - Restaurant
Strap Tank Brewing Co. - Restaurant
Talisman Brewing Co. - Bar
The Avenues Proper Restaurant & Publick House - Restaurant w/separate bar
The Hop 'n Keg Brewery - Restaurant
Toasted Barrel Brewery - Bar
Uinta Brewery - Bar
Utah Brewers Co-op - Bar
Vernal Brewing Co. - Restaurant
Wasatch Brewpub - Restaurant
Zion Canyon Brewery - Restaurant

High West Distillery - Bar 

Let me know if there are any mistakes.

Dogfish Head Coming to Utah

The title says it all; the East Coast's kings of weird beer are sending their suds to the beehive state in the coming weeks. A little birdie from the east coast gave me a heads up the other day and I was able to confirm it with a local bar owner so it looks like it's about to be a done deal.

If you're not familiar with Dogfish Head Brewing: Founder Sam Calagione started Dogfish Head over 20 years ago in Milton, DE. He created a brewing culture that offers a wide selection of off-centered ale that have often skewed the boundaries of what beer could be. Some of their best known beers include  Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA, Palo Santo Marron, Burton Baton and Bitches Brew. I'm not sure what beers will hit the SLC market first, but I'd put a solid bet on Dogfish Head 90 Minute leading the charge.

As soon as I get better info, I'll pass it along. I'm sure this will make many East Coast transplants very happy.

Cheers!