July 2013
Gabe Spotts: Pushing through the Ranks
Gabe Spotts has become the next and newest Am to rise up from the Provo area. Like his friends and heroes Matt Fisher and Brodie Penrod, Spotts is hoping to garner enough attention to eventually get him out of the suburbs and into the big city. With the help of his sponsors, which include local companies Fortica Skateboards, Discrete Headwear, Skullcandy and Board of Provo, Spotts has been keeping the Utah scene relevant through traveling and competing on the amateur circuit. … read more
Finding My Pioneer Roots
I had wanted to be involved with the annual Beer Issue since its conception, but there was always one glaring problem: I don’t drink beer. As SLUG Magazine’s Highest Ranking Mormon ™, I was limited in what I could contribute. I had always been obsessed with the process of making beer (much like early Mormons were until that whole “Word of Wisdom” thing came along) and was intrigued by the culture of local home brewing. As I looked into it, I realized that, with an increase in home beer production, there was also an increase in the number of brewers that wanted to share the experience with their kids—albeit in a non-alcoholic way. Thus, I found my calling: I would brew my own root beer. … read more
The Concrete Waves of the Great Salt Lake
Hill bombing is the foundation of skateboarding. Sometime in the early 1950s, California surfers started unscrewing the trucks from their roller skates and began attaching them to carved planks of wood in an effort to figure out how to surf the streets. Skateboards were skinnier then and had clay wheels, but they still got the job done. Searching for the perfect concrete wave when the ocean lay flat became a daily occurrence among the California natives, until pool skating got big in the ’70s. You see, cruising hills wasn’t like the skate park back then—it was the skate park. Since that time, the concrete wave has only grown. … read more
Beer Pubs with History and Swagger
There is no better way to learn more about Utah’s history with beer than to take a guided tour of a few of the most charismatic pubs in Salt Lake City. The Thirst Fursday Historic Pub Crawl is sponsored by the Utah Heritage Foundation, an organization committed to preserving Utah’s historical buildings through outreach like this fun and drinky tour. On the first Thursday of the month, three pubs are crawled to, all offering insight into Salt Lake’s history. … read more
Mike Brown: The Year of the Gun, Goin’ In Hot!
After years of refusing to hold a firearm, I changed my mind a few weeks ago and decided to go to the desert and shoot the shit out of a banana with various assault weapons. … read more
Music + Beer = Family = The UBC Music Squad
If you’ve never met Utah Brewers Cooperative Business Manager Cindi Robinson, then you have never seen such a passion for local music. From tabling at shows for animal-activism promotion to organizing bake sales for bands to raise money to go on tour, Robinson now continues her superlative enthusiasm for the local music scene on a day-to-day basis at UBC, as she has surrounded herself with notable local musicians by hiring them to work for the brewery. … read more
Princess Kennedy: The Craft
One thing that is certainly not unique to Utah yet is an area we excel in, is the gift of arts and crafts. We’re steeped in the talents of furniture making, sewing, stitching, jewelry—you name it, we have a friend who does it. … read more
Beer Reviews
Odds are, if you’re reading this, living a “countercultural” lifestyle is at the top of the list on that whole quasi-grasshopper-vision quest thing you call a life. In SLC, beer would be considered a top player on the list. … read more
SLUG Holiday Comix – July 2013
SLUG Holiday Comix from Gazelam Ale, featuring guest narrator Brigham Young! … read more
Dear Dickheads – July 2013
I read the article on Salt City United in your June issue and my jaw dropped open. The author was clearly biased, or maybe too wrapped up in her shitty version of gonzo journalism and identity issues to see these assholes for what they truly are: a bunch of has-been nobodies trying to keep the “hardcore dream” alive by transferring their daddy issues and bully mentality to a different stage/stadium. … read more
Contributor Limelight: Megan Kennedy
Since joining SLUG in March 2011, Megan Kennedy has become our resident metal maven and queen of all things geeky. … read more
Beautiful Godzilla: Highway Haikus
For better or worse, I’ve accepted that being a human with breasts, long hair and a voluptuous backside automatically subjects me to a barrage of verbal assaults the moment I step outside. … read more