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When traveling in Utah



 
 
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Old January 30th, 2009, 05:22 PM posted to rec.travel.marketplace
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Default When traveling in Utah

Brew Pubs Gain an Unlikely Following in Utah

By VANESSA CHANG
New York Times
Published: January 25, 2009

IN the 1980s, a good beer was hard to come by in Utah. Although the
state wasn’t dry, its alcohol laws were strict, a reflection of a
traditional Mormon culture that frowns on drinking. But masses of
skiers were invading, bringing their thirst into Utah along with their
boots and poles. Greg Schirf, a ski bum who had been making his own
beer at home, saw opportunity.

He went commercial, opening Wasatch Brewery, the state’s first modern
craft brewery, in ski-centric Park City in 1986. That much was easy
enough, but adding a cozy après spot where patrons could relax and
imbibe proved harder. Brew pubs were illegal. Most of the state
legislature shied away from challenging the status quo, but eventually
Mr. Schirf found a sympathetic legislator from a small mining town in
central Utah who was willing to sponsor a bill. It passed, and Wasatch
opened its brew pub in 1989. A new beer scene was born.

Wasatch is the granddaddy, but these days other brewers’ craft beers
are thriving, too. And around Salt Lake City a string of inventive
small breweries make for an inviting, if unexpected, tasting tour.

Utah still has quirky alcohol laws, including one that sets a limit of
3.2 percent alcohol — a little more than half the amount standard in
most beers around the world — for beer sold on tap. But they don’t
seem to be holding anyone back. Utah breweries do make higher-alcohol
beers, though they are treated as liquor and are sold under more
limited circumstances. And the state’s brewers have consistently won
medals at the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival.
“Utah craft brewers can coax a lot of flavor out of a relatively low
amount of material," said Garrett Oliver, brew master at Brooklyn
Brewery in New York, co-author of “The Good Beer Book” and a longtime
judge at the Great American Beer Festival.

On a chilly Wednesday night in January, tragically hip 20-somethings
and skiers with severe goggle tans stamped the remnants of two
blizzards off their boots at Wasatch’s entrance, thinking food as well
as drink.

Wasatch’s affordably priced pub fare is popular in Park City, a town
bloated with posh restaurants. Patrons waiting for tables gazed at
huge stainless steel fermenting tanks, and deeper inside the pub,
others studied a hall of fame chronicling Wasatch’s clashes with
politicians over names, labels and ad campaigns. The staff was
delivering plates of fish and chips or buffalo burgers.

The server at the table where a friend and I were sitting brought a
flight of Wasatch creations, including Polygamy Porter, which has
sultry, malted, espresso notes, and a smooth and slightly spicy
Evolution Amber Ale.

The server also recommended a crisp Belgian White Ale and the darker
Winterfest, which left a lingering taste of caramel and malt — both
served in bottles because of Utah’s 3.2 percent limit for brews served
on tap. For a finale there was the Devastator, a double bock with an 8-
percent-alcohol punch.

Most brew pubs in Utah are in tourist areas. Slick-rock bikers and
backcountry hikers in southern Utah congregate at the Zion Canyon
Brewing Company, near Zion National Park, or Moab Brewery and Eddie
McStiff’s in Moab. Skiers at Snow Basin drop in at the Roosters
Brewing Company in Ogden, to savor a rich chocolate stout.

But the Uinta Brewing Company, the state’s largest brewer — though its
63,000 barrels a year are minuscule compared with, say, the output of
Budweiser or Heineken — is tucked into Salt Lake City’s industrial
district. Its shiny silo of malted barley shares the sky with
satellite dishes of a TV station next door.

At lunch (closing is at 7 p.m.), a toasty, malt-scented air wafted
over the tables and huge circular bar of Uinta’s brew pub. Office
dwellers, truck drivers and TV employees mingled with visitors waiting
for brewery tours as they tasted the pub food and the organic Wyld
Extra Pale Ale and Anniversary Barley Wine.

The action is livelier downtown, where restaurants and bars buzz. On a
chilly Saturday night, biting high-desert air didn’t deter pedestrians
strolling toward the Red Rock Brewing Company. It occupies what used
to be a dairy building. Enjoying the beer in its expansive pub were
“High School Musical” cast look-alikes and travelers with suitcases
stopping off on their way to the airport. One of the most fascinating
brews in a sampler flight was the Bamberg Rauchbier, a seasonal beer
made with beechwood-smoked malt and pleasantly redolent of barbecue
and bacon.

Around the corner at Squatters Pub Brewery, frequented by young
hipsters, aging hippies and local celebrities, a fixed flight of
classic brews arrived on a tray fashioned from a sawed-off ski. The
Provo Girl Pilsner paired well with crispy ahi spring rolls from the
kitchen — to no one’s surprise. The craft brewers play a role in
Utah’s nascent artisan food culture, participating in multicourse beer
pairing dinners and beer-and-cheese pairing workshops.

The next day, the taps at Squatters flowed again at 10:30 a.m., when
beer service could legally begin. Brunch was being served, and the
crowd included a group of stylishly tattooed friends tucking into eggs
Benedict and breakfast burritos, washed down with pints of a light,
forgiving beer. The chatter was light, the mood happy, and the meaning
clear: in Utah, beer lovers need not go hungry — or thirsty — for
long.

THE LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY, AND MAYBE WITH A HEAD ON IT

Most Utah brew pubs are open daily and serve lunch, dinner and
sometimes weekend brunch. They offer typical pub fare like burgers,
nachos and pizza; some also serve gastro pub fare like vegetarian and
Asian-influenced dishes. Brewery tours may be available by
appointment.
Wasatch Brew Pub (250 South Main Street, Park City; 435-649-0900;
www.wasatchbeers.com), Utah’s original brew pub, is in a modern
building on Park City’s Historic Main Street strip. Twenty-ounce mugs
are $4.50; seven-ounce sampler glasses, $2. Signature brews include
First Amendment Lager, Evolution Amber Ale and Polygamy Porter.

Uinta Brewing Company (1722 Fremont Drive, Salt Lake City;
801-467-0909; www.uintabrewing.com) offers a lunch menu of sandwiches,
soup and chili. Pints of Bristlecone Brown Ale and Cutthroat Pale Ale
are $4; three-ounce sampler glasses, $1. Red Rock Brewing
(www.redrockbrewing.com) has two locations: 254 South 200 West, Salt
Lake City, where all beers are made (801-521-7446); and Red Rock
Junction at Kimball Junction (1640 West Redstone Center No. 105, Park
City; 435-575-0295). Seasonal and year-round brews like Oatmeal Stout
and Amber Ale are $4.50 a pint; a 4.5-ounce sample pour is $1.25.

Squatters Pub Brewery (www.squatters.com) has its main location and
brewery at 147 West Broadway in Salt Lake City (801-363-2739) and
satellites in Park City (Squatters Roadhouse Grill and Pub, 1900 Park
Avenue; 435-649-9868) and the Salt Lake City International Airport
(801-575-2002). At the downtown pub, pints of the award-winning brews
like the Full Suspension Pale Ale and Captain *******’s Oatmeal Stout
cost $3.79. A flight of six brews is $4.49.

Other Salt Lake City brew pubs include: Desert Edge Brewery (273
Trolley Square; 801-521-8917) in a trolley station turned mall;
Hoppers (890 Fort Union Boulevard; 801-566-0424; www.hoppersbrewpub.com);
and Bohemian Brewery (94 East 7200 South; 801-566-5474; www.bohemianbrewery..com).

In Moab, microbrewery fans can try Eddie McStiff’s (57 South Main
Street; 435-259-2337; www.eddiemcstiffs.com) or Moab Brewery (686
South Main Street; 435-259-6333; www.themoabbrewery.com).

The Zion Canyon Brewing Company (2400 Zion Park Boulevard, Springdale;
435-772-0404, www.zioncanyonbrewingcompany.com) is near Zion National
Park.

North of Salt Lake City, the Roosters Brewing Company
(www.roostersbrewingco.com) operates beer pubs in Ogden, near the Snow
Basin ski area (253 Historic 25th Street; 801-627-6171) and nearby at
748 West Heritage Park Boulevard in Layton (801-774-9330).

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/200...tah_index.html
 




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