Best stop between LA and SLC

Yeah - long drive. Keep in mind that our lovely state of Utah is not especially craft beer friendly in the more rural environs. ie. Southern Utah. I would suggest two choices. 1st - stop in Las Vegas at one of the breweries/eateries, then crank up your tunes and power through to SLC. 2nd - take advantage of what So. Utah has in abundance; check out Zion or Bryce National Parks, or Cedar Breaks National Monument (Bryce is a bit further away from I-15). Spectacular stuff. The state liquor stores should have a decent selection of craft beer, but it's on the expensive side. Beer in the grocery stores is all 3.2 alcohol. Upon arrival in SLC you will find more satisfactory choices for beer.

 

I'd agree with Hank, not much on I-15 between Vegas and Salt Lake City in terms of beer destinations (just drove that last month). There's actually a brewery in Springdale right before you get to the Zion NP entrance but it's not worth going out of your way for unless you want to hit up the park. Khoury's in Vegas is a good bottle shop, it's not exactly in the middle of town but maybe worth checking out if you're driving through. Seems like people have varying opinions on the many breweries there, so I won't speak to those.

As far as SLC goes, that's your best bet in Utah. For brewery taprooms I'd recommend the Epic "tapless taproom" on State Street for extremely cheap samples (you must purchase a food item) or go over to the Annex, which is a brewpub owned by Epic...they usually have something creative on tap and the same cheap samples. The "tapless taproom" can have really slow service depending on how busy they are, so just keep that in mind...only one person to serve everyone food and beer. Squatters and Red Rock are also good brewpubs with solid beer and lots of variety on tap and in bottles. My favorite "microbrewery" and brewpub is Avenues Proper – they've managed to get extremely creative with session beers on tap and crank out all sorts of styles, all which are solid to really good. Plus they have really delicious food. Uinta had a taproom but it's currently under renovation, so that one's out. For beer bars, most people agree that Bayou, Beerhive, and the Beer Bar are all good, although you will pay fairly high prices for some of their bottles. Those are all around the downtown area, Beer Bar seems to get the widest selection of U.S. breweries while Bayou has a lot of international offerings. Happy travels!

 

I would second every place mentioned by Shebby - good recommendations. In addition, Park City has a neat Whiskey Distillery w/restaurant that has enjoyed alot of praise. Also - don't know when the last time you came this way, but I-15 is now nearly all posted 80 MPH. Everyone seems to do 85 to 90. Makes it slightly quicker - Highway Patrol is in white vehicles.