As a beer judge and writer, I’m often presented with the opportunity to critique what’s in the glass vs. where its container came from. It removes prejudice and reminds the tongue and brain that they’re on the same team when it comes to beer.
Any beer that you manage to get your hands on has its own little sliver of history to go along with it. I’m not talking about beers being made with the brewer’s “beard yeast” or some crazed fringe zymurgist deciding to throw yak testicles into his latest stout—I’m talking about culturally significant reasons why one region’s beer is so much different than anothers. Looking back on Lenten season (the six weeks leading up to Easter), I thought it would be appropriate to review some beers that were originally designed especially for Lent.
Settle down, class. Today we are going to discuss proper St. Patrick’s Day etiquette. Hopefully, this tutorial will give you the skills to navigate this most hallowed beer day. Many of the “beer nerds” you may encounter likely consider St. Pat’s Day to be “amateur hour” for the majority of revelers. These simple tips and recommendations will hopefully strip that douche-bag aura from your hipster tendencies.
Now that we’re into February, we can finally start putting all of those heavy, spicy holiday beers into our cellars and pray they won’t become chunky, oxidized messes come next November. Now is the time we get to gear up for the early-spring beer releases: ales and lagers that are sturdy, fruity and light. We have three very different beers for February. One is a classic style, another a hybrid and the last is unique and completely new.
Getting a beer-reviewing gig is no easy thing––every asshole out there with a tongue can pretty much tell you if they like or don’t like a beer. Apart from being a conniving bastard, I’ve also been writing about the local beer scene at the Utah Beer Blog for the last seven years. I think I have a pretty good pulse on Utah’s beer culture and hope you can find some use for my reviews.
When looking back on this year, in regard to Utah beer, I’m glad. We’ve seen new breweries arise, more community involvement with craft brewing and enough high-point beer to ram down the fucking esophagus of that asshole who “only drinks real beer.” If those change-ups weren’t enough to convince you of an impending doom, allow this to be the icing on the cake: This is my last issue. Now, I know my two readers out there are heartbroken. So, Nana and UteBeerFan87, thank you for all your support over the years.
Nov. 1, 2012 marked the culmination of nearly six months of hard work and collaborative efforts to produce a product as unique as Utah powder.
The year is wrapping up and our brewers have yet to settle on their stock beers. With even more beers on the horizon—and given my current sobriety level—I figured a muddling of selections is in order. We have lined up for you a long overdue addition to RedRock’s bottled series, a twist on a Uinta staple which ought to make you wet and a Pro-Am hopeful that was sent off to the Great American Beer Festival.
Our livers have survived the City Weekly Beer Festival, we’ve avoided a DUI at the Snowbird Oktoberfest and we’ve slowly made the budgetary adjustments to put up with the DABC fuckwits’ newly implemented taxation on high point. With all those things making your beer-damaged bladder quiver, what better month do we have to incite fear than the present? The beers we have are sure to cause a fright––there is a bock back from the dead, and some foreign invaders from Ogden are claiming to make high point beers.
Summer is roaring to an end, and if you’re still reading this, your liver, or at least some motor functions, are still intact. That deserves a “cheers” and probably a slap on the wrist for not drinking hard enough to support our local brewers. Nonetheless, this month we have a stellar lineup of some hop-emphasized beers, and a newer stylization of beer to impress any Belgian connoisseur. So sit back, enjoy, and for god’s sake, please step up your game.
