New Beer Black Friday 11/26/21

Hope you all had a great holiday. If you thought that the our local brewers would be taking the week off, you'd be sorely mistaken. This New beer Black Friday has a something for everyone. 

Kiitos - Key Lime Pie: Pours a hazy gold color with a decently retained half inch white head that left little lacing. Smells like lime juice with a hint of sweetness. Tastes of lime, lime zest, lactose sweetness, salt, crackers and moderately sour . Light bodied, medium carbonation, tart, sour and refreshing. Pairs great with Mexican food.

Salt Flats - Brew-Tiful Mind: Made with Mindful Coffee Co's Ethiopian blend. It has a nice coffee aroma with a hint of flowery hops. Flavor starts with more coffee the malt sweetness gives it a nice cappuccino feel. Coffee lovers will find it a pleasant cold weather lager. 5.0% Available at Slat Flats and the Garage Grill.

SaltFire - Grievance: The aroma is quite boozy with Brandi and apples. Some apple pie as well. The taste is more mellow with pleasant toffee malt driving the flavor. Brandied apple and spice pick-up the rest of the show and drive to the end. The malt sweetness is quite complimentary. This might be my favorite winter warmer so far this year. 8.0% - Available at Saltfire. 

Heber Valley - Fixed Grip: This pale ale was hopped with Idaho 7 and Sabro hops. Sadly I missed it. 5.0% - Only at Heber Valley.

Ogden River - Mango with the Flow: This is part of ORB's Separation Sour Series featuring, you guessed it.. mango. Missed this. 5.0% - only at Ogden River Brewing.

Strap Tank - Twisted Cherry: This is cherry pie beer that's made with tart pie cherries. The malt mimics pie crust quite well and rounds out he cherry tartness. 5.0% - only at Strap Tank in Springville. 

Level Crossing - Tangerine and Pineapple Philly Sour: Ale was fermented with Philly sour yeast then aged on tangerine and pineapple purée. It has intense tart and fruity aromas and mouth puckering, yet refreshing flavors from the sour fermentation.5.0% - only at Level Crossing  

Melvin - Scenario: Missed this robust porter. 6.4% - Found at The Bayou and Slackwater.

Melvin - Comet Me Sabro: Missed this is a IIPA. Found at the Bayou and Slackwater. 

Cascade - Baked Apple Sour: This barrel aged sour features apples cinnamon and maple flavor and I missed this one as well. 5.0% - Found at Slackwater. 

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 11/19/21

Many of you may be planning your holiday getaways. If you're getting away for Thanksgiving, please bring back beer. If your sticking around like me, I have found some excellent New Beer Friday suds that'll make those excursionists wish that they'd kept their asses put!

SaltFire - Mobius Trip (Prickly Pear#2): This foeder-aged golden features the addition of prickly pear. This version features more prickly pear flavor with with medium tartness from the base beer. Oak is prominent along with some watermelon flavors in the finish. 8.0% - Only available at SaltFire.

Offset Bier - Movember (Mosaic/Motueka): Missed this pale ale, sounds tasty though! 5.0% - Only at Offset.

TF - Jarda: This Czech Pilsner starts with nice toasty and sweet crackers. The hop profile is is nice, gassy and herbal with some sneaky lingering bitterness. A great example of the style. 5.0% - Only on draft at TF.

Fisher/City Weekly - Private Eye PA: This beer is an ode to City Weekly's beginnings and is made to support local Journalism. This pale ale has an aroma that 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. 5.0%. Available at Fisher.

Bewilder - Sauced: This beer is a sour at it's base and is dry-hopped with Idaho Gem. Cranberries, cinnamon and orange peel. Its designed to be a holiday beer. The nose has a lot of orange peel and cinnamon. taste is mildly tart with more orange peel. The cinnamon isn't too overwhelming but it does cover up the hops. 5.8% - Only at Bewilder

Epic - Cranberry IPA: Wasn't sure this would work, but it does. It has a nice malty body with noticeable citrus forward hops (Centennial/Amarillo?) the cranberry is present for sure but not overwhelming. The can says there's lactose but no sweetness that I can detect. Nice stuff. 7.5%. This will be released on Monday 11/22. 

E9 - Transmissions On Air: Missed this new IPA. 6.4% - Found at the Bayou.

E9 - Realize Real Lies: Missed this new IPA. 6.5% - Found at the Bayou.

E9 - Puppies vs Kittens: E9 - Puppies vs Kittens. 6.6% - Found at the Bayou.

Cascade - Single Malt Sour: Missed this new sour. 11.2% - Found at the Bayou.

Cascade Double Dutch: Missed this new sour. 9.2% - Found at the Bayou.

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

Cheers!

Hoppers Says Goodbye to Fort Union

 In 1996 craft beer life got a little easier in the south end of the Salt Lake Valley. Though craft beer had had a presence in Utah for a solid 11 years, we who lived in the southern part of SL County never had a place to call our own. Then came Hoppers. 

It was a modest brewpub that was started by the local owners of the Sizzler/Red Robin franchise. Who used the small 10 barrel brewery to feed many of its multiple locations with local beer, all made from the brewdeck located at the corner of 900 e. Fort Union. 

At the helm, secret agent and tenured brewmaster for nearly twenty years, Donovan Steele has been overseeing many of the brewery's advancements and innovations taking in from neighborhood pub to a south valley member of the family. 

Now all the dozens of fermentors, medals, staff and award winning beers will need to look for a new address, as the current landowner has sold the property to the incoming Raising Cane’s franchise out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Ironically, both Hoppers and Raing Cane’s were both established months apart in 1996.  

Hoppers is NOT done, but they’re last day of operation at their corner on Fort Union will be on November 24th, as the new property owners take control on Dec 1st. The time in between will be used to dismantle the brewery, Kitchen and all the important equipment to get them off and running at their new location. 

Speaking of the new location, that is still up in the air. Hoppers owners (not the Sizzler people) have been scouring Salt Lake County for a new address for the past six months, trying to find the best fit for Hoppers 2.0 and its staff. 

If you have some time in the nine days I’d encourage you to stop by to hoist a pint or two for the old building that took care of us when we were in need, and to encourage the staff that we’ll be back when Hoppers 2.0 opens its doors once again.

Cheers.         

New Beer Friday 11/12/21

Well, we're at the beginning of 'barrel-aged season'. All manor of full flavored and boozy lagers and ales are rolling in as we speak. Also happening this week, the newly reorganized Park City Brewery is debuting some of their beers this week. These are all new beers that are coming from all new management and crew.  These Park City beers are hitting various pubs around the Wasatch Front and Back, including  O.P Rockwell, Grappa, and Downstairs, as well as Whiskey Street and Piper Down Pub, located in Downtown Salt Lake City. 

Park City Brewery - Siren’s Call American Lager: 5.0%

Park City Brewery - Powder Buoy Pilsner: 5.0%

Park City Brewery - Sneaker Tree IPA: 5.0%

Park City Brewery - Silver Creekwater Amber Lager: 5.0%

Park City Brewery - Gold Town Pale Ale: 5.0%

Salt Flats - Barrel-Aged Rye IPA: Nice aroma mostly whiskey and sweet malt. Big rye whiskey up front with a good amount of toffee. Nice hop punch of mostly citrus and pine. The finish is moderately bitter with a wee bit of alcohol heat. 9.3% 

2 Row - Covert Hoperation: This has a big explosive nose full of citrusy hops. Taste follows with pant loads of tangerine and grapefruit peel. the malt brings out some peach and vague tropical notes as well. The alcohol is very well hidden. One of the best IPA in the market right now for sure. 9.0% - At 2 Row, the Bayou, Beer Bar, Dick n Dixies and Slackwater to name a few.  

RoHa - Barrel Aged Nights Out: This is a Belgian stout at its base aged for six months in Beehive Rye barrels. It starts with pleasant chocolate qualities that quickly transition into rye whiskey with notes of vanilla. Alcohol heat is low, and its 8.6% ABV is pleasant. A small batch Available at RoHa, Slackwater. 

Uinta - Ellipses: This barrel-aged oatmeal stout debuts today. Sorry, no notes. 11.9% - A limited batch beer only at Uinta.

Lagunitas - Contents Under Fresher: This features whole-cone Mosaic, Citra, Simcoe & Sabro hops. Lots of piney, resin on the nose and the taste follows suit. Pretty dank with a nice mouthfeel and bite. On the bitter side. Good stuff. 7.7% - Found at Slackwater.

Odell - Hazer Tag: Not completely opaque, but a half hazed apricot color. A grapefruit aroma starts your off with tangerine, mango, and passionfruit. Taste is light citrus without tang, acid or sweetness. All of the aromatic notes are mild and restrained on the palate. The hops are super light grapefruit and not bitter. Some light malt as well. 7.0% - Found at Slackwater and The Bayou.

Odell - Positive Latitude: This IIPA is made with passion fruit and is pretty much the opposite of the Hazer tag. Besides the notes of passion fruit you also get more citrus peel and more dank pine bitterness. 8.0%  - Found at Slackwater and The Bayou.

Mother Earth - Wet Hop Dream: This year's version features Sabro hops. It has a nice chewy quality full of citrus peel and herbal hops. great stuff. 6.7%  - Found at Slackwater, Dick n Dixie's and The Bayou. 

Mother Earth - Barrel Aged Old Fashioned: This is an Old Ale as its base, Mother Earth's brewers blended Maraschino cherry syrup, Navel orange zest, and Aromatic bitters and aged it in whiskey barrels. 12.5% - Found at Beerhive.

Mother Earth Abstract Consciousness:  7.3% Found at Dick n Dixie's 

Revision - Reefer Truck:  Pours a clear pale yellow straw color with a nose that is piney and full of tropical fruit. Taste is resinous and mildly dank. 6.5% - Found at the Bayou.

Revision - Moment Commander: This is full of Citra and Simcoe hops which provide nice  orange, grapefruit and pine blast all around. Very crushable with medium bitterness and some tropical notes.  6.6% - Found at the Bayou

Lone Pine - Kiwi Cannon: Missed this one. Look for light, fluffy, silky flavors of honeydew melon, white flowers, and of course, kiwi. 7.7% - Found at the Bayou, Slackwater

Bombastic - Pandemonium: Missed this one. This imperial stout combines heaps of peanut butter and marshmallow to bring back the classic FLUFFERNUTTER! 10.5% - Found at the Bayou

The Bruery - Frucht Cucumber: Missed this one. Look for the freshness of cucumber blended with the sour aspects of the base beer. 4.3% - Found at the Bayou.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 11/5/21

The last few weeks have been quite brutal in regards to quantity. So I'm defiantlye not going to complain about this relatively light New Beer Friday weekend.  I hope you find a way to enjoy some of these tasty beers.

Epic - Big Bad Baptist [Chocolate mint]: This is the last of Epic's 2021 BBB variants. This stout features the usual suspects: Coffee, cocoa and whiskey barrels with the added chocolate and mint. The nose is rich with chocolate, mint and whiskey. The taste starts with big Thin Mints cookie flavors that seem like they were dipped in Kahlúa. Notes of bourbon come in next, adding some vanilla and heat. The mint intensifies towards the end. Another big beer at 12.0% - Available starting today at Epic.

Hopkins - Cowboy Lite: This unique pilsner is truly a league of it’s own, bittered with Chinook and Saaz hops, it clocks in just above 40 IBU’s. They fermented it off their Campfire Smoked Lager yeast, giving it a fairly subtle amount of smoke. The hop profile is very nice, with a firm bitter smack of grass and citrus peel. excellent stuff. 5.0% - Only at Hopkins.

Hopkins - Sauvin Blanc Brut IPA: Highly effervescent and super dry with a low malt-profile, this beer style focuses on hops that produce a white wine-like flavor and aroma with homegrown Chardonnay grapes added to the fermenter to make this a true wine-beer hybrid. Hallertau Blanc hops were used in the whirlpool, then Nelson Sauvin hops were used in the dry-hop. The beer's vinous qualities are pretty subtle.

Policy Kings - Terror Squad IPA: This is described as being brewed with Nelson, Citra and Mosiac hops with a perfect amount of bitterness and hoppiness.

Policy Kings/Iron Gate Winery - Anniversary Ale: Brewed to celebrate PK's 3rd Anniversary. This sour ale was aged on Merlot grapes from Iron Gate Winery with added vanilla and the perfect amount of tartness. 6.0% -This will be released Nov 6th at 3pm. This is a limited release so don't miss out on this incredible creation.

Sünner Kölsch: I first tried this at the Utah Beer Festival. It pours a clear golden/dark straw color with a slightly metallic aroma, followed by a wheat, toasted malts and light herbal spice.

Sweet and malt forward at first with balancing, moderate grassy and herbal hops. Some nice  lemon zest with a finish that is semi dry. Medium to light in body with a moderate and tingly carbonation which adds crispness. Solid and refreshing all around. 4.8% - Found at the Bayou on draft.

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

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 10/29/21

All penned-up with nothing to do? This week's New Beer Friday offers a nice selection of dark and malty with some excellent IPAs peppered in. 

Offset - All Black Nothing: This is Offset's first "high point" beer and it's not a Black IPA, as the name may suggest. All Black Nothing is dedicated to showcasing the amazing aromas, flavors, and complexities of New Zealand hops. Equal amount of Nelson Sauvin and the incredibly scarce yet fascinating Riwaka combined with a small addition of Southern Cross bring out flavors and aromas of ripe grapefruit, mango, gooseberry, and apricot layered on top of fresh cut herbs. Coating hop oils hit the front of the palate yet the beer still remains light and airy and doesn't linger.  6.5% - Available starting today only at Offset Bier to-go. 

Epic - Big Bad Baptist [Black Forest Cake]: Smells like chocolate cake doughnuts, fresh from the case. Taste starts with big chocolate & whiskey. Some tart cherry comes in next with some big sweetness that may be the coconut. Loose the coconut & this would be exceptional. 11.5% - Available starting today.

TF - Jesse Delmar Barrel Aged Imperial Stout: Aged in whiskey barrels, this big impy stout goes on sale today at noon. 12.0% A limited run only at TF. 

TF - Europa: This Hazy IPA actually came out last Sunday and features a wonderfully spicy hoppy citrus profile. with a mango and apricot malt flavors. Galaxy hops are getting old to me but this showcases them in a whole new way. Not bitter, but “rack” spice forward. Easy drinking & full of tropical gravy. Very nice. 6.7%  - Only available at TF.

Uinta - Children of the Corn Black Saison: This debuts today from Uinta's R&D dept. Look for a whiff of chocolate that gives way to hints of allspice, nutmeg and clove. Belgian yeast adds subtle fruity notes and depth. 5.0% - Only at Uinta.

Ogden River - Devine Apparition: This limited release was made to celebrate ORB's one-year anniversary. This dark sultry Baltic Porter has a rich tan head and bold aromas of dates, chocolates, prunes, caramel, and dark toasted vanilla. A full-bodied beer with a warm finish. Available at Ogden River Brewing.

Strap Tank - Lil' Scot: This Scottish style wee beer is malt forward with creamy caramel, toast and light floral hops. This is a table beer perfect for meals and session drinking. 4.0% - Available at Strap Tank (Springville).

Hopkins - Don't Use Jelly Tangerine IPA: Nice citrus profile. Not sweet but you can tell that there’s tangerine juice. Finish is dry, but not super bitter. I like it’s drying citrus qualities a lot. 5.0% - Only at Hopkins.

Toasted Barrel - Fall Beer: This limited ale features Cranberry, maple and cinnamon with a lightly malted base. 5.0% - Only at Toasted Barrel.

RoHa - Mild and Free: This was made from the second running’s of RoHa’s Nights Out Stout. Traditionally this is called a “small beer” and it’s the best way of getting every drop of goodness from the malts.

RoHa - Dad Bod: This is a sour brown ale. Big bracing tartness with some balancing caramel malt sweetness lurking beneath. Puckering finish. 5.0% - Only at RoHa.

Mountain West - Ghosted Hard Cider: This limited release offers the intense flavors of Ghost Pepper with only a mild amount of hot spice on the finish. This cider balances the spice with the full flavored apple base that Mountain West is known for. 6.8% - Only available at Mountain West. 

Stone - Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstout: Dark roast malt, candied pecan, dark chocolate. Subtle bourbon, but still there. Burnt caramel/molasses, rye spice with slight bitterness and alcohol burn on back end. Well balanced and lots going on.  13.0% - Found at the Bayou. 

Pipeworks - Spice Latte: Oat Ale with pumpkin puree, Dark Matter coffee, lactose, vanilla, and pumpkin spices. Basically, if you like Pumpkin Spice lattes, this is a beer for you. 6.8% - Found at the Bayou.

Returning Favorites 

2 Row - Devine Lunacy: The barrel aged quad is back! aged in bourbon barrel for nearly a year. The bourbon is nearly overpowering at first, but once you palate adjusts the bubblegum and peach from Quad begin to assert themselves. Very nice! 11.5% - Available at 2 Row Brewing.

Level Crossing - Red Sea Rift: Really strong rich roasted coffee dominates the nose. A touch of dark chocolate is there, but the coffee roastiness is the main factor here. Taste starts with a rich dark chocolate, slowly turning over to a deep, rich coffee and a moderately high bitterness. Coffee character on the backside overrides the other flavors. 9.6%

Bewilder - Mole Porter: This has a solid Porter body without a doubt. There is a bit of chocolate and maple up front. Those flavors give way to chili, cinnamon and peppers. Not much heat – butr the mole spects drive you to the finish.This was Bewilder's first beer above draft level and it hits at 6.0%. 

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 10/22/21

You'll see your world in a whole new way after sampling the massive amount of tasty suds that your favorite beer spots have to offer this weekend.

Level Crossing - Rising Hope: This fruited IPA supports children's cancer charities and is part of a nation collaboration.  Passion fruit hits off the top with the mango coming in next. Malt profile is nice but mostly hidden behind the fruit. Orange juice rounds it out with a good dose of bitterness for balance. The finish is long & lingering. 6.5% - Available at Level Crossing.

 Level Crossing - Idaho 7 Wet Hop: This will debut Saturday. 5.0% - Only at Level Crossing. 

Grid City - Ghost Pepper Mango Azacca Whole Flower Dry-Hopped Nitro Pale Ale: Peppers & mango up front. The heat is real, the ghost peppers are not at full strength but there’s definetly  some fuego involved. They’re offering to cut it with nitro pale if you’re not into the whole heat thing, there’s a nice pale beneath with nice citrus and mango qualities. Tasty stuff. 5.0% - Only at Grid City.

Wasatch - Brave Noise: This beer was made to support safe spaces and inclusive environments by requesting breweries be transparent with their policies and commit to long-term work. Nice citrus qualities with notes of pineapple and melon. Crazy drinkability. 5.0% - Available at All Wasatch locations.

Epic - Big Bad Baptist (Double Jam): This version of BBB features Raspberry, blackberry, and coffee.  Sweet blackberry that stands out and jives well with the base chocolate and the whiskey/vanilla sweetness. Sweet caramel and vanilla linger in the end with a slight booziness. There is also a hint of raspberry in the finish. 11.1% 

RoHa - Bodhi Brett Beer: The first beer in RoHa's 'Point Break' Brett Beer Series honors Bodhi 'Bodhisattva', dreamy surf hunk and the head of the Ex-Presidents gang. Funk & horse blanket. Nice berry fruitiness (no fruit added). A really tasty combo of funk, malt & age. Sadly I’m drinking the last one, must have been quite popular. The next in the series should be our soon. 5.0%. 

Fisher - Stream Access Ale: This special Hazy Pale Ale was brewed with the Utah Stream Access Coalition and gives a nod to the unclear rules and regulations surrounding public access to Utah rivers. Dry-hopped exclusively with Citra, this hazy is slightly lighter in color than recent iterations, but is perfectly hazy. Low to no bitterness, the beer pops with ample fruity, citrus aromas. A portion of proceeds from the entire 10 barrel batch of beer will be donated to the USAC. 5.0% - Only at Fisher.

Fisher - Uranium Maiden American Honey Wheat: This beer was made to coincide, and celebrate Kate Mcleod's this new album of the same name. The beer itself is ultra refreshing. Low on bitterness, the smooth graininess from the wheat is apparent, while a slight acidity is is present, courtesy of high carbonation playing off the mild astringency left over from the fermented honey. A very nice beer for the few warm days ahead, 5.0% - only at Fisher.

Hopkins - Friendly Introduction Pale Ale #16: Hopkins' house pale ale is brewed with locally grown and malted Solstice Mild Malt, then dry-hopped with Citra, Mosaic, Centennial, Chinook, and Cascade. Tropical, citrus and stone fruit aromas and flavors are the highlight of this pale ale while allowing a delicate malty backbone with minimal bitterness and a dry finish. 5.0% - Only available at Hopkins

Hopkins - Deseret Dunkel: Not “dessert” not “desert”; say “deh·zr·et”. This is Hopkins' version of a Munich Dunkel. The aroma is malty and bready, while the flavor profile is rich and complex; displaying notes of toasted bread, chocolate, and graham cracker, with a minimal bitterness. A delicious dark lager without the roasty character of a stout or a porter. 5.0% - Only available at Hopkins

Hopkins - Campfire Smoked Lager: This is Hopkins' version of a German Rauchbier. Local cherry-wood smoked malt from Solstice Malt adds a distinct smokiness with some light crystal and aromatic malts to give it a nice malty backbone but a nice crisp finish. 5.0% - Only available at Hopkins

Bewilder - Mouth Hugs: Missed this one. 5.0% - Only available at Bewilder 

Offset Bier - Stivot: This is a modern hop forward lager made with Motueka and Centennial hops. Intense with hop flavors of lemon and lime, subtle bready flavors from the German Pilsner base and a dry, crisp, snappy finish. Lagered for 5 weeks. Think the Sprite soda version of a beer. 5.0% - Only available at Offset Bier.

Shades - Hazy Brah (Tall Pines): Brewed with Spruce tips, juniper, pine cones, fir tips and dry hopped with Simcoe. If you like piney IPAs you'll be in heaven with this one. The juniper adds a nice balancing fruitiness that is subtle snappy. I'm loving this so much! 7.0% - At Shades.

Beer Zombies - Evil Haze: A big DDH hazy DIPA with Citra, Mosaic & Galaxy that's absolutely stuffed full of hoppy, hazy deliciousness! Fresh pineapple, ripe mango & juicy peaches blend together with a blueberry lemonade back end that comes cutting through the can!  9.666% - Only available at Beer Zombies 

Beer Zombies - The Hoppy Horror Picture Show: A DDH Hazy Double IPA, oozing with Ekuanot! Citra! Amarillo! They went all big citrus on this one, grapefruit, lime, lemon and loads of juicy orange. With a hint of floral sweetness and ripe peaches rounding out the back end. 9.1% - Only available at Beer Zombies 

Mason Ale Works/Booze Brother's Brewing - Bothers of the Freemason: This beer contains nothing but Citra. The two breweries tracked down every different variation of the Citra hop they could find to create this citrus bomb. Containing Cryo Citra, Incognito Citra, and regular T90 Citra hop pellets, this beer is much more complex than your standard single hop beer. 9.0% - Only available at Slackwater

Mason Ale Works - Dankenstein's Monster: Just in time for the spooky season, this monstrous unfiltered double IPA packed is packed to the brim with classic and dank hops. We pieced together this monster with Cascade, CTZ, Chinook, Centennial, and Simcoe giving you big citrus. big pine, and all the dankness you could ask for. 10.0% - Only available at Slackwater

Mason Ale Works - Bride of Dankenstein: This Classic west coast single IPA is the significant other, or bride so to speak, to Danknestein's monster. Mason sewn together a bouquet of Citra, Idaho 7, Cascade, Cashmere, Strata, and Amarillo to create a beer that is lighter and more fruit forward than her more monstrous other half. - 7.0% - Only available at Slackwater

Mason Ale Works - Jambi: Their flagship IPA features flavors of aggressive Pine and Citrus. Classic hop notes from a blend of Amarillo, Cascade, Simcoe and Mosaic 7.2% - Only available at Slackwater

Mason Ale Works - Sword of Surtr: A giant pastry stout named after a fire giant. See what they did there? Much like Surtr, the fire giant prophesied to destroy Asgard during Valhalla, this giant of a stout is sure to destroy your taste buds with big Coffee, Oreo, Vanilla, and Chocolate notes. 13.0% - Only available at Slackwater.

Great Northern Brewing - Going to the Sun: 5.0% - Only at Uinta Brewing in 12 ounce cans, Soon to grocery stores.

Great Northern Brewing - Huckleberry Lager: 5.0% - Only at Uinta Brewing in 12 ounce cans and draft. Soon to grocery stores.

Lagunitas - Hazy Wonder IPA: Missed this one. 6.0% Found at the Bayou.

Lagunitas - StereoHopic #2: Missed this one. 7.2% Found at the Bayou.

Revision - Boogie Bus: Missed this one. 6.0% Found at the Bayou.

Revision - Soul Gangster: Missed this one. 6.5% Found at the Bayou.

Revision - Invitation to Party: Missed this one. 8.5%. Found at the Bayou.

Prairie Ales-  Christmas Bomb!: Missed this one. 13.0% Found at the Bayou.

Prairie Ales - Seasick Crocodile: Missed this one. 6.3% Found at the Bayou.

Cascade - Northwest Flanders: Missed this one. 7.1% Found at the Bayou.

Cascade - Pineapple Dragon: Missed this one. 7.2% Found at the Bayou.

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

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 10/15/21

 

When all else fails, you can always believe in New beer Friday. This week we have everything from barrel aged stouts, to wet hops, to lagers. It's cold out there, stay in and enjoy a great locally made beer. 

Epic - Double Barrel: In collaboration with Blue Copper Coffee, Epic aged green Columbian Coffee Beans in whiskey barrels and selected choice Baptist casks for a double blast of bourbon barrel character. An extremely limited release. The coffee really pops in this one, with a great medium roast character. Lots of cocoa comes next with big whiskey rounding it out. Did I mention that it's 13.9%? Oy! Available at Epic Brewing.   

Epic - Baptist in the Rye: Epic strayed from the bourbon beaten path on this brew by aging it in 100% rye barrels, which add unique peppery notes and deep earthy tones to this version of Big Bad Baptist. This a little more balanced than the Double Barrel. The aroma was heavy on the whiskey barrel character, with notes of chocolate and dark fruit. There is a lot of complexity to the flavor, which seems to come alive as the beer reaches cellar temperature. In addition to the whiskey, roasted malt, cocoa, and raisin, notes of licorice begin to come through. It is quite sweet and a little boozy, but finishes crisply without any lingering sweetness or oakiness. 11.5% -  Available at Epic Brewing.   

Fisher - Grande Fresca: This pale ale has big fresh and chewy citrus peel punching out with a good dose of pine, white pepper and grass. This defiantly worth swilling a pint or two, or picking up a crowler to go. 5.0% - Only at Fisher.

Saltfire - Lupulin Dew (Triumph): The "wet hop" pale ales keep coming with Saltfire's newest version that features Triumph hops. This varietal features bright aromas of orange, lime, and peach. The citrus is most prominent with the stone fruit and herbal aspects popping towards the end. This is super fresh and dank tasting. Probably my favorite Lupulin Dew. 5.6%

SaltFire - Series of Singularities (French Elixir): Another new beer that goes onsite today. This single hop IPA features French Elixir hops. This is a new American hop varietal that comes with a lot of German influences. There Citrus and big melon up front with chewy Hallertau Mittenfrüeh  - like spiciness backing it up. It's super tasty. The can artwork is pretty cool too. 7.3% - Available at Saltfire.

Uinta - Brave Noise: This small batch pale ale debuts today on draft. I don't have any specifics on it. 5.0% - Only at Uinta. 

Uinta - Pumpkin Spice Lager: This a special firkin that will only be available today at Uinta. It's pretty self explanatory. 5.0% 

Bewilder - Wit Chamberlain: It has a nice grains of paradise zip with pillowy wheat malts. Orange zest builds towards the finish and is pleasant and bright. Low yeast esters create high drinkability. This is a wonderful witbier. 5.0% - Only at Bewilder. 

Bewilder Vitruvian Lager: This is a collaborative beer made with The Leonardo in SLC. I'm told it features All Italian malts and French hops. This lager features sweet biscuit malts with nice toasty edges. The hops are mostly grassy and herbal with some orange peel accents. Lager nerds will dig this one. 5.0% - In cans now at Bewilder and draft will be available by Saturday.  

Vernal - Harvest Ale: This is a wheat wine that's made with at least 50 percent wheat malt, this full-bodied beer features bready and candy flavors, and finishes with a great deal of malty sweetness. 12.5% - Only at Vernal Brewing. 

Melvin - The Life Hopquatic: Missed this NEIPA. 7.0% - Found at Bayou and Slackwater.

Melvin - Dry Hoppers Guide to the Galaxy: Missed this IIPA. 9.0% -  Found at Bayou and Slackwater.

Cascade - Pineapple Dragon: Missed this sour fruited ale. 7.2%  - Found at Bayou and Slackwater.

Cascade - Boysenberry Sour: Missed this one. 7.0%  - Found at Bayou and Slackwater.

 Cheers!

New Beer Friday 10/8/21

Full Disclosure: New Beer Friday does not manipulate your data for profit. That being said, when/if we ever make any serious coin, moolah, shekels or quatloos while doing this shit..... you're pretty much screwed. Until then, check out this week's most excellent new beers. 

Ogden River/Becker's Best - American Pilsner: Head Brewer/Partner, Pat Winslow told me that he spent hours pouring over old invoices that are archived at Utah State University to figure out what ingredients were used to produce Becker's original lager. "not everything available then is available now", Winslow says, "but I've found malt and hops that are very close". Pat's lager is crystal-clear, light gold body; thick, sudsy head. Sweet, crystal malt aroma; sweet grass scent; pungent with a very light citrus undertone. A fine base of light cereal grain flavor with a good hop bitterness presence from start to end. Medium-light body; crisp and clean; gently warm on the palate; mostly dry finish. 5.0% - Only at Ogden River on draft and in 12 ounce cans. 

Epic - Naked Baptist: So what makes this version "naked"? Well, it contain's no adjuncts. This is just a barrel aged imperial stout with no coffee or cocoa added. Apparently the brewers at Epic have been wanting to do a straight-up, barrel-aged stout for some time. This may surprise you all but Epic has never made a BA Impy Stout, only the Big Bad Baptist. Now we have it. This is full of chocolate and vanilla qualities with a big dose of bourbon. It's quite delicious. Beware of the ABV which ranges from 13.1% - 13.7% depending on the the batch. Only at Epic.  

SaltFire - Heavy Metal Parking Lot: When I first met Kevin Kirk, The Heavy Metal Shop was located in Sandy on 9400 s. He shared with me his love Metal, Alice Cooper and that he once dated my cousin. 34 years later the Heavy Metal Shop is still killing it and with help from SaltFire's Ryan Miller, we all get to celebrate Kevin's iconic music store with a beer as black as his t-shirt collection. The American style black lager has a good amount of malt sweetness with subtle use of roasted malt. This is different than a Schwartzbier or Baltic porter. 6.66% - only at Saltfire

Shades - Kveik Passion Dragon Fruit Sour: This non-lactose fruited sour relies on the fruits for its sweetness. Passion Fruit dominates  for the most part. I'm not too familiar with Dragon Fruit, so I'm not sure if I'm tasting it or not. Tasty stuff. 6.5% - Available at Shades.

Toasted Barrel - Small Batch Hazy IPA:  Hazy, gold on the pour with fluffy head and lots of lace. Aroma is citrus and melon. Taste is fruity, floral with some resin but finishes sweet and smooth. As the kids say, it's crushable but pleasant also to sip and savor. 5.0% - This small batch is only at Toasted Barrel.

Hopkins - Märzenhead Lager: Their take on Märzen/Oktoberfest German lager, featuring a light amber color, with a malt-forward flavor full of toasted bread and slight caramel notes. 5.0%

Hopkins - Munich Helles: A traditional German lager, featuring a heavy amount of bready malt notes accompanied with a crisp light body accented with Hallertau Blanc hops.5.0%

Hopkins - Deseret Dunkel: A version of a Munich Dunkel. The aroma is malty, sweet and bready, while the flavor profile is rich and complex, displaying notes of chocolate, and graham cracker. With minimal bitterness, the flavor is reminiscent of Golden Graham cereal. A delicious dark lager without the roasty character of a stout or a porter. 5.0%

Hopkins - Campfire Smoked Lager: A German style Rauchbier. Local cherry-wood smoked malt from Solstice Malt adds a distinct smokiness with some light crystal and aromatic malts to give it a nice malty backbone and crisp finish. 5.0%

Deschutes - Squeezy Rider West Coast IPA: Pretty mellow hop profile. Hits on notes of orange, pineapple, guava and just a touch of grapefruit. Fair bready malt backbone that also adds a trace of toastiness. Finish hangs onto the light tropical notes, and linger in the aftertaste. 7.0% - Found at Slackwater.

Returning Favorites

RoHa - Project Porter: Roasty malt is strong on the nose. There's a lot of chocolate in the taste, and there's a rich creaminess, too. A touch of hop bitterness to balance (or is it char?). Its body is rich and substantial, a lot like a stout. 5.0% - Available at RoHa.

Here are this week's Small batch Beers from Hopkins Brewing.

Cheers!

New Beer Friday 10/1/21

Boys and girls of a certain age will remember the painstaking efforts that went into the composing of the "make-out tape". It was the soundtrack of the night and it could make or break your evening out. I've made a mix tape of a sort with beer – the New Beer Friday Mix Tape is compilation of beers that if enjoyed properly is guaranteed to get your groove on... in more ways than one.

Squatters - 147 West IPA: This is a straight up citrus hop slammer. slight pineapple, white grapefruit, some tart tropical hops, hint of malt sweetness. Same with the citrus nose. Bright gold hue, Hazy/opaque,with tall white foamy head and nice lace. Medium body. 5.0% - Available at Squatters/Wasatch locations.

Squatters - Hazy Hop Rising: Taste is a crisp pretzel malt along with tropical fruit flavors. Citrus - lemon, lime, orange. There is a hint of creamy vanilla Orange Julius. Grapefruit and pine with a soft bitterness. Pineapple. Manages to be relatively dry even with the tropical fruit sweetness. I really like the very light malt bill which strikes me clearly as having a pretzel flavor; this sets off the citrus and fruit hop notes beautifully. Bitterness increases as the beer warms but remains soft and mild. 9.0% - Available at Squatters/Wasatch locations.

Epic - It's Got Citra: Single-hopped with Citra, as the name would suggest. Pours a somewhat hazed light copper with a touch of unfiltered cloudiness, a full finger of head. Perfect balance between malt cracker and hop bitterness. Not bursting, but full of flavor, pink grapefruit, orange zest, wildflower honey, biscuit, ripe avocado, pine resin, and pineapple. Delish. Sadly, this likely will not be brewed again. 8.0% - Available at Epic now. DABC in a few weeks. 

Proper - Hop vs Hop (Strata): This beer pours a dull gold with a moderate head. The aroma is unusual,with a combo of berry and stonefruit notes and an undercurrent of cannabis, black tea, and vague berries. The flavor is super juicy upfront, with strawberry, cannabis, fruit loops, and a solid amount of bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Overall this is a really excellent beer with a tasty based and solid bitterness. 8.0% - Available Friday at Proper. 

Bewilder/DaveDave Brews - Rocket Surgeon: If you're familiar at all with Utah's home-brew scene then you've probable heard of the infamous award winning duo. DaveDave Brews and Bewilder have recreated one of their gold medal winning ales.  5.0% - Available now at Bewilder.

RoHa - Bumpy Pucker (Raspberry): Pour is a transparent red with a mostly white head that has a faint pink hue. Nose is almost all raspberry. Very fleshy raspberry with big tartness. Taste is heavily raspberry with puckering tartness and a sour finish. Puckeringly sour and dry, fairly assertive carb. A little sweetness would help take the edge off a bit. Sour fans will rejoice!  5.0% - Available at RoHa.

Grid City - Kona Coffee Macadamia Nut Coconut and Vanilla Bean Nitro Brown Ale: With a name like that, you don't need me.... But if you're still here, this nitro brown ale is full of medium roast coffee. With the combination of coconut and vanilla,I feared this may be too sweet. In Fact the sweetness is fairly low; just enough to keep the coffee from getting out of control. 5.0% - Only at Grid City.

TF - Haile’s Comet: This new wet hop features 400 lbs of Comet hops and is named for Haile Templin, the daughter of owner/brewer Kevin Templin. No tasting notes, as it hits today. 5.0% - Only at TF. 

2 Row - Hoppy Days IPA: Not Hazy, but not filtered. Wow, what a great citrus hop profile. Fresh orange and grapefruit peel. The malts create a great bed for the hops to get freaky on. Sooo nice. This is a smaller  batch than normal, don't procratinate on this one. 7.4% Available at 2 Row, Slackwater. 

2 Row - Mark of the Yeast: This is a red ale that celebrates 2 Row's 666 batch of beer. There's a great fruity malt profile that is berry forward. The hops add a ton of citrus qualities with balancing pine resin at the back. Highly recommended. This is a smaller  batch than normal, don't procratinate on this one. 8.0% - Available at 2 Row, Slackwater.

Hopkins - NAIPA: When I saw this, I thought, "non-alcoholic" IPA; I was corrected and informed it means "Not Another" IPA. Now you know too. This is an NEIPA 

Returning Favorites

Proper - Coward's Fist: This Gin Barrel IPA was supposed to hit last week, but due to a lack of labels.... well, you know. 

TF - Jellyfish Juicy IPA:  This Hazy IPA features 3 different dry hops of Mosaic, Citra and Amarillo. All were added post boil, kepping the bitterness low and and the fruitiness high. Look for big tropical fruitiness with a huge explosive aroma. However when it warms that triple hop does begin to shows itself. 7.7% - Available at TF Brewing today at Noon.  

Shades - Pumpkin Pie Ale: 'Nuff said, it's a great interpretation on pumpkin pie. 6.5% 

Cheers!