I will be in SLC for a wedding the weekend of Oct 1st with my wife and our 2 year old daughter. I would appreciate recommendations on breweries/brewpubs to visit during our stay and possible recommendations on any beers to take back home to Minneapolis. We will be staying in downtown SLC literally a block from Squatters. Cheers!
Red Rock is definitely great. All of their beer is superb, but in my opinion their German styles are the best. They recently did an octoberfest that is awesome. If you're a block away from the Squatters brew pub then you're also a block away from Red Rock. Red Rock is better! Definitely stop by Epic to at least pick up bombers (though they do distribute to MN last time I checked). They recently released a new rendition of Big Bad Baptist with local Blue Copper coffee that is fantastic, as always. If you can drive, then visit what is now called Epic sugarhouse (can google "The Annex by Epic" if an address doesn't come up for what I mentioned above). There you can also pick up bombers, but you can sit down for a full meal. I also recommend Proper Brewing and 2-Row brewing. I don't know what beer they have available now but neither distributes anywhere near MN and they have great bottled beer you could take home with you. 2-Row Random DIPA is really good. I think you can get it at liquor stores, but you are more likely to find it at their brewery. Lastly, they won't allow anyone under 21, but Beerhive, Bayou, and Beer Bar (listed in order of my preference) have really, really good bottled beer selections. You'll often find beers like Sucaba or Parabola for example (especially at Beerhive). And they carry Melvin, which you should drink if you like hops. Otherwise a place like 9th and 9th Tap House has good food and beer and would be happy to serve your 2 yr. old daughter. Enjoy! Happy to give more info if needed (though there isn't much)!
why do you have to be so negative? Thats absolutely NOT true as SLC has beers that can hold their own against other examples of their respective styles found all over the world, let alone in MN. Off the top of my head I can tell you 2 Row makes fantastic IPAs, super balanced and refreshing. Epics BBB is a beer that craft beer lovers all over the world absolutely rave about, the hype behind it is real. I took a few bottles to Belgium and Holland with me, and everyone I shared with wished they had access to it. Elder Brett is one of the best brett beers available, the last release may have fallen off, but its still a great example to the style. Red Rock has had a few home runs lately, their Forbidden Peach is fucking amazing and Furlong (ba coffee stout) was awesome. Bohemian makes some of the best craft lagers in the world, and their Berlinner Weisse is one of the best examples of the style I have ever had the opportunity to drink, and its one of my favorite styles. I get it, we're Utah, we have quirky beer laws, but our breweries make due with these restrictions and I can drink a Utah beer every single night and be totally content. We might not be able to compete with Todd the Axeman yet, but we're getting there!
Just ignore that guy, It's impossible to have a discussion about Utah's suds without him sh**ing all over the threads. Prost!
2-Rows IPAs are decent for UT. Outside of this state they wouldn't hold a candle. They are good beers though. BBB is amazing. Love that beer. I'll have to try that Berlinner Weisse from Bohemian, huge fan of that style. I'm amazed that more Utah breweries don't brew more beers like say a Berliner Weisse. There are so many super flavorful beers brewed around the world that are intended to have alcohol lower than 4.0, Instead of trying to brew a low ABV version of a style that wasn't designed to have that low of an alcohol content. It's just frustrating living here. Travel anywhere else in the US and there are soooo many better options. The laws just stifle so many smaller guys that would be pushing the envelope and making the whole scene better. I've been disappointed so many times by red rock, uinta, epic that I don't even try their offerings any more. I can only be burned so many times. Liquor stores here are a joke. Warm beer that's often 3 months old. Selection has improved but I don't even bother anymore. Went to grab a sixer of Sculpin sometime in August and checked the date on the bottom and it was brewed in February. Sorry for the hate, just frustrating. Psyched that Melvin is at least attainable without having to drive to Jackson.
I'd beg to differ on 2Rows beers. They're true to style and done right. Even the IPL was delicious. Our liquor stores are a joke, can't disagree with you there. That's literally the only reason Evanston is so close. As for Melvin, I feel as if scaling up their recipes to the production facilities Brew house did them an injustice! Fortunate I travel to Jackson with regularity and get to drink beers at the brewpub.
I agree with you there on Melvin. 2x4 was a completely different beer last fall/winter and TMU I thought. Way more Hop Aroma and Flavor. It's still really smooth for 10% with almost no alcohol bight at all but I just get malt and not as much hop. Maybe it had to do with time of year and the hops they were getting were very fresh then and have just slowly degraded over time? I don't know. I was able to get a buddy to bring me a growler of 2x4 last November from TMU and you could smell it across the room when I opened it. I think Hubert is still just as good. Never was a fan of their regular IPA. Was just at TMU last week and Asterisk was awesome as usual. Was so fired up to try their Wet Hop! I got the first pour out of a new keg and i think I got an extra special amount of sediment and hops. Actually had a hard time finishing it. Way too bitter/piney for me. I have a feeling the later pours might have been a little better. Definitely FRESH! The total surprise was the PilsGnar. Wow was it good. Definitely a hoppy Pils but it used Loral, a new Hop that sort of straddles old and new taste. It was so damn good. Grabbed a Growler of Mary from Hill Farmstead in early September and that was hands down the best German Style Pilsner I've ever had. PilsGnar is much more americanized but wow it was good.
i literally just got back from there. not a huge fan this time around. It was a bit hotter than I remember
