Beer and Tavern Reviews

 by Gregg Smith

 

 

Ale and Beer in Utah - Salvation at the Great Salt Lake

Standing at the four corners you turn northwest and start moving. As you travel there are symbols of bee hives and sea gulls, references to a settlers land of milk and honey and the salvation from a grasshopper swarm of biblical proportions. A tourist's vision of this region is either a Great Salt Lake or a desert city with strange outdated laws, like only allowing sales of domestic 3.2 beers on Holidays. Despite this there are places to go for fresh and satisfying brew.

In Salt Lake your oasis is Squatters. The significance of the name is a mystery even to the staff, but there seems to be no connection with anything to do with the rest rooms. Located downtown, and a three block walk from the old Salt Palace, the building is an old turn of the century hotel which catered to the working man. In its day it rented 9X12 rooms for 25 cents a night. The upper floors remained a hotel of this type until 1960 when a mishap in the dry cleaner\laundry on the main floor caused extensive damage. Following the accident several business cycled through until 1989 when Jeff Polychronis and Peter Cole saw the building in a whole new light. The two friends had been in the commercial real estate business for 12 years and were looking for a change. Both of them were beer enthusiasts and had sampled most of the Northwest micro brews. A brew pub seemed a natural choice and the old hotel was selected for a go of it.

The ale house is set-up in a three level, all grain, gravity system built around a JV Northwest 7 barrel kettle and originally had four 7 barrel fermenters. Within one month a 14 barrel fermenter was added along with another 14 barrel fermenter during the first summer and a third in 1992. Unfortunately all this success has used up the floor space and thus the search is on to start up yet another brewpub. The idea is to begin brewing in the second location, then to move into local distribution of kegs and finally to open as a separate brewpub.

As you pass through the door titled "Salt Lake Brewing Company" you enter an expansive room with a high exposed raftered ceiling. Along the left wall there is a large fire place built of cobblestones recovered from a street refurbishing project. Ironically these stones were originally located alongside the Mormon temple; what heresy for the old stones to stand guard here! On the opposite wall is the bar with a glass walled back showcasing stainless steel tanks. Throughout the pub there are wooden pegs for ski jackets and in the summer the outdoor patio has piped in Jazz and alfresco dining.

Sales used to peak around the ski season, but as Salt Lake has grown into a more urban and heterogenous population the demand forbeer has reached a fairly steady year round level. A result of the brewery size and high demand is a brewing staff of Jennifer Talley, Eric Buehner and Dan Burick. Dan got his start as an all grain homebrewer who heard about the squatters project months before it opened. He readily admits he rather thrust himself into their midst by always hanging around during construction. As the brewery got more and more busy he found himself on staff and attending the Seibel Institute. According to Dan there was never any regret in leaving his job in the world of finance and insurance. Producing only 3.2 beers, which translates to starting gravities of around 1.040, is a challenge for the brewers but does reap many benefits. Under Utah's liquor laws their level of beer does not require the usual restrictive hours which burdens most bars, and at Squatters you can buy "just a beer" without the usual requirement for a concurrent purchase of food.

Generally there are four or five beers available including weizen, amber, pale ale, porter and stout. All were very clean and bright with a proper amount of carbonation for each type. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this brew pub is their ability to produce good ales that meet the Utah 3.2 requirement. The weizen had a nice pale yellow color, faint nose of clove, and a balanced mellow, drinkable mid–taste with no hop bite. The stout is a favorite, a toasty flavored version with chocolate, smoky, nutty undertones. Low hops and esters were appropriate for the style and though the color was a touch light it's still a good example of a dry stout. The amber was typical of the generic brew pub style and proves a reliable choice. The pale ale comes across a little thin and under–hopped, but the effect is a balanced beer more along the lines of a well made ordinary bitter. The star of the squatters brews is the porter. This smooth rendition of a classic porter is produced from two row barley, wheat, carapils, chocolate and black patent malts. At the 1992 Great American Beer Fest people were passing by the booth with mostly dubious looks. But after the award of a bronze medal Squatters found they had lots of friends.

As you sit in the restaurant gentle whiffs of garlic float across from the open cooking area and suggest the promise of good food. Selections include all the usual pubfare with the addition of entrees such as richly spiced chicken breast, pasta dishes and a fiery jambalaya in a thick rice sauce. Most of the menu has items prepared with a western twist and even stir fry is a surprising blend of cultures. The menu also includes specials such as grilled Mahi-Mahi; however, beware of the chicken wings, these are not for the faint of heart. Although delicious, these can be real lip chappers. Do your beer tasting before diving into the wings.

Should your travels take you to the Great Salt Lake take heart. Despite some people's misconceptions, the skiing is among the world's best, the people are friendly, and the beer is fresh and tasty. Enjoy it, but try to keep it a secret.

 

Water hole to water hole: a pub crawl through Salt Lake

Nothing was more important on journeys in the old west than a route between watering holes. Stories and movies reinforced this with images of cattle skeletons and circling buzzards. Some hardships were unspeakable and even when mother nature seemed to provide relief she could really be lining up a cruel trick. Imagine what it was like to be a settler coming through the mountains of the Wasatch range. The party comes through a pass and spots a huge lake in the valley below. The wagon train must have been ecstatic, but at the shore their spirits were near crushed when they discovered it was more salty than the ocean. Things haven't changed much since that time. True, today it's skiers and other visitors traveling to Salt Lake but it can be a disappointing and dry trip without a map to the watering holes.

At one time there were upwards of 22 operating breweries in Utah. Of course now people rarely think of it as a beer friendly state. Fact is there are now eight breweries in the beehive state and plenty of watering holes in Salt Lake to dispense the output.

A little study of a city map reveals just how easy this crawl is to follow. Unlike other American urban areas, which conform to the irregular windings of rivers and lakes, Salt Lake was laid out in a simple grid. The width of the streets are also surprising, designed to allow the early settlers room to pull a U-turn with horse drawn freight wagons.

This version of pub crawling includes suggestions on turning it into a progressive dinner so bring an appetite. It all begins just beyond the edge of downtown in the section called "Sugar House". Named for its early roots in the sugar beet industry, the farms and refinery have given way to small businesses. Near the center of the district is your first objective, Salt Lake Pizza & Pasta at 1063 East and 2100 South (801) 484 1804.

There's good reason to begin the journey here, sustenance is part of this tour and a vital ingredient in ensuring you stay the course. The dinning room of Salt Lake Pizza & Pasta has an uninspired interior but all other aspects are far from bland. All appetizers are recommended; foremost is a very garlic infused calamari, fried to a golden perfection few restaurants attain. Other good bets include sauteed mushrooms, or the chicken pasta with spicy peanut dressing listed as an entree but which makes a great starter. What to drink with this? The selection is even broader than the food menu: there are 25 taps from which to choose. The owners are proud of the beers they offer and they try to ensure all Utah micros are represented. No easy task with the growing list of breweries in the state. Patrons even have the option of purchasing a growler of their favorite.

Next you head downtown to 254 south and 200 West, home of Red Rock Brewing (801) 521 7446. The airy modern decor, open kitchen and piped in music (often the Grateful Dead) differs sharply from the traditional image of Salt Lake and makes for a comfortable visit.

This is the salad stop, but beware, they give new meaning to the phrase "generous portions." It might not be a bad idea to split one with a friend. Try the shrimp with its hints of Cilantro matched to one of their fresh brewed hefe-weizens. Other beers include a pale, amber and smooth oatmeal stout. The wood fired ovens, veggie sandwiches and Red Rock beers may tempt you to stay but there's more to do.

Exiting the Red Rock turn right and walk to the corner. Continue across the street, turn left and cross again walk one half block and you're at the next stop, Salt Lake Brewing Company is Squatters, another brewpub (801) 363 2739. As featured in All About Beer, Squatters is the oldest brewpub in the area. In the door is a bar to the right and dinning room on the left but the recommended spot from spring through fall is straight ahead to the patio. Here's the location for the main course, and the grill provides any number of well prepared entrees from chicken to mahi-mahi. Try pairing these with the emigrant ale, or if dinning on red meat, the award winning porter.

By this point you've noticed one of Utah's strange liquor laws; the staff is not allowed to ask if you want another drink. You must initiate a request and Squatters can be just the place to require a second round.

Back out the door, make a right and head up to Port O' Call. This is another of the oddities in Utah - a private club. For higher strength beers, liquor and legal after hours drinking, clubs are the answer. Patrons must be members but after a short application and small fee (usually $5) everyone qualifies. The interior is an incongruous mix of neon, tin ceiling, brash neon and deep wood wainscoting. Still it rates as the dessert stop because of the dozen taps and seventy-odd bottles with enough variety to match with any dessert. If you visit during daylight hours grab a table near the window for the impressive mountain vistas.

This isn't the end of the crawl, there remains the matter of an after dinner beer. A few doors away (out and turn left) is the Market Street Oyster Bar (801) 531 6044, which presents an opportunity to have a Guinness or make a selection from their single malt scotch list.

A few blocks north is the sister brewery to Squatters, not far from the new Delta Center. From Port of Call walk 2 blocks north on West Temple and turn left on 2nd South, walk three more blocks to 2nd South and 4th West, and there you'll find Fuggles, named after the famous British hop variety (801) 363 7000. This pub is larger than Squatters and though it offers a similar lunch menu the dinner is a bit more upscale. Don't hesitate to visit, it may appear a touch modern and trendy, but it maintains a pub–like feel. It's a warm and friendly place to relax and even includes darts.

Need one more stop? As you leave Fuggles head back the way you came toward 1st Street South. Pay your respects as you pass near the temple and head to 22 East 100 South (four blocks east of Fuggles) for the Ashbury Pub (801) 596 8600. Keep a sharp eye, this bar is down a half flight of stairs in a red stone and brick walled basement. The music and posters conjure up memories of Haight-Ashbury but the beers feature 10 taps backed by a line up of various bottles. As the last stop on your trek it could be time to relax with a yard and if you saved room they have growlers to go.

There's always been great skiing in the mountains and now there is even more to enjoy. Salt Lake has made remarkable advances in the last decade and there's more to come as they pursue the winter olympics. Don't think of it as the ancient seat of repression, it's fast becoming an oasis of beer.

 

An American Playland - Jackson Hole

It wasn't a friendly place when John Colter, Jim Bridger, Jedediah Smith and other "mountain men" first traveled through Jackson Hole. The severity of the winters made these early visitors declare the "hole" uninhabitable. But that was in the days before snow plows, resorts, nightclubs and guided mountain tours. Today it is a year round magnet for outdoor activity, and that has transformed Jackson into one of America's most photographed playlands. If that isn't reason enough to visit, there's the brewing.

Don't think of Wyoming as a beer desert. Catering to the evolving tastes of tourists brought imports to town long ago. Then in 1988 Otto Brothers Brewing introduced their local microbrews to the area. They even set up a series of "Growler Filling Stations" around town. As other ski areas in the west began having brewpubs pop up near the slopes it was only a matter of time till the same would happen in Jackson. That time came when Albert Upsher arrived.

If you want to trace the roots of the brewery you're led back to New York where Al worked for twelve years as a securities analyst. Having enough of that he made a move to the Northwest. It was in McMinnville, Oregon where Al got his first taste of the beer business as owner of an Anheuser Busch distributorship. But in the Northwest can anyone resist the call of micro's for long? In 1990 he sold his interest in the business and in 1992 started planning his own brewery. After arriving in Jackson, he purchased a former Coca Cola warehouse at 265 S. Millward street and renovation quickly followed.

In reality the modifications more closely resembled a near demolition, with the majority of it torn down to make way for an old building. Or at least old looking. From outside the brewery appears very similar to what it replaced, an old fashion industrial warehouse. Inside the rafters of exposed structural steel, prominent brew kettle and stainless tanks not so subtly proclaim this a brewery, and the implication is not accidental. The intention is to reinforce that this is a place where beer is manufactured. Thus, when you first arrive the effect seems rather cold and sterile. However within a few minutes the finer details begin to emerge. Outside there's a large outdoor deck for the summer crowd, which is also the only place smoking is permitted. Inside there's piped in jazz, small potted trees and large windows which open on a vista of Snow King, Jackson's "other" ski area, all of which soften the harsh edge of industrial architecture. With brewery plans proceeding it was time to hire a head brewer and the search took Upsher to another mountain, in Colorado.

Curtis "Chip" Holland seemed almost destined to work here. He's lived most of his life in mountain resort areas and when not mashing moguls he was mashing in his homebrew. This is what landed him in a three year tour as assistant brewer at Breckenridge Brewery. Later he attended Seibel Institute and finally settled into his role at Jackson during the construction phase. This non-brewing time is always unsettling for a brewer, but Chip made the most of it and literally learned the system from the ground up. It paid off, a scant seven months after opening he was walking away with a silver medal from the 1994 Great American Beer Festival.

There's little doubt Holland has done a good job, so after taking in the view and brewery it's time to turn your attention to the beers. And worthy of it they are. There's a mixture of rotating regulars among the six taps along with seasonal features. Lightest in style is the Wapiti Wheat named for a specie of elk. Quite appropriate for Jackson is also home to the national elk range. The beer is generally in the American style with a prominent hop signature, low clove aroma and dry finish. Snake River Pale Ale is a bit more adventurous deep golden ale. A clean and inviting aroma of low fruit notes, it starts somewhat sweet before going to a grapefruit-like Cascade hops finish.

More intriguing is the Jackson's ESB which is a bit deceiving. The first impression is that this beer may be a little thin in body. Give it some time, the one problem with the brewpub's beers is that they are served too cold. This unfortunately masks some flavor if you rush into it. To give this beer a little time to warm, try ordering a pint at the same time you indulge in a flight of samplers. Then come back, as the ESB warms you'll find what originally appeared as thin is more than compensated by a complex mixture of caramel and low butterscotch with a nearly elusive hint of pear at the finish.

An oddity is what's called a Red Lager in the "Dort" style. This actually proves to be more a Vienna with a toasty malt and caramel middle and a hint of fruit. Don't be put-off by the misnomer, this beer is a good choice with some of the spicier menu items.

The heavy hitter among the selections is Bald Eagle Bock, a favorite in the winter season with a nutty, almost chocolate texture. The more balanced hops of the bock lets you savor the maltiness while the alcohol warms the spirit. It makes you want to take a glass over to the open hearth sitting in the corner.

As with many newer brewpubs there's significant emphasis on the food. Paula Dipaola formulated the menu which contains pasta, chicken, and vegetables along with pizza from a wood fired oven. Selections are rich and satisfying, and very skier friendly. Slope time is easily traded for a bit of this lunch, but it won't slow you down, except for maybe a couple of the dessert items. Need a recommendation for matching a beer with the food? Ask the staff, they're friendly and knowledgeable.

The worst part of leaving a brewpub is saying goodbye to the beer. This isn't a problem in Jackson, their "Snake River" brand of beers are packaged in a new bottling line located in the basement. You can find take out bottles throughout the valley and they are now available in your choice of 22 or 12oz sizes. There's a lot of things to do in the Jackson area, and good beer drinking is among them. See you on the slopes.

 

 Table Rock Brew Pub - Boise, Idaho

When you mention Idaho, you usually get one of two different responses, either "What state is that in?" or "Is that one of those big square western states?". At best your listener has visions of either high desert or mountain men; and despite the vast tracts of both barley and hops (especially near the great duck range of Parma, Idaho) almost no one thinks of it as an area for brewing. Yet nestled in the attractive state capital of Boise is one of the country's newest brewpubs, the Table Rock.

Located between the state capitol and Boise State University it resides in an unassuming adobe painted, one story building. As you walk in the door a small ante room opens into a modern airy space with a western influence. Along the back wall is the bar which, in the requisite fashion of brewpubs, allows patrons to face well displayed aging tanks. On either flank are tiered areas which make up the dinning areas.

The brewing operation uses a JV Northwest system consisting of a 483 gallon mash-tun and a 548 gallon brew kettle along with five finishing tanks. Table Rock brews are usually produced in the range of just under 4% alcohol starting The brews themselves are all natural and contain no artificial adjuncts.

Brewmaster Terry Dennis has his roots in the local home brewers the "Ida-Quaffers". The marketing analysis performed prior to opening indicated that the area would support sales of approximately 27 barrels. Like many establishments they find themselves with the mixed blessings of success and have far exceeded those estimates. Fortunately there was room to expand and now they are working on a separate brewery and bottling line. Till the bottling plant is ready their outside sales consist of growlers, a take home beer jug.

Among the standard beers is the popular "Depot Gold" a light ale, with a delicate but distinct hops nose and taste. Another brew "Table Rock Red" is a good example of the American Amber style that presents a malty aroma with light hops in the nose; the taste is a fine mingling of the malt and assertive but not overpowering hops which fades in a dry finish. The "T.D.'s Nut Brown Ale" is a good rendition of the Brown Ale style with a mild nose and a hint of nutty flavor and low hopping in this classic thirst slacker. In addition, the Table Rock produces "brewers whims" as specials. including a Raspberry Ale, with a nose that lightly suggested raspberry. It gave a deliciously complex berry\malt taste which continued in its distinctive fruity finish. Samplers of the beers are available.

The all grain brews use hop varieties of Clusters, Williamette, and Mt.Hood. Carbonation is generally natural; however, some CO2 is injected on occasion to adjust any inconsistencies. Thankfully this is always handled with a very light touch. After establishing their spot in the market (and educating their patrons?) they have introduced their versions of Wheat, Stout, and, of course, a potato beer.

The food, with ample western appetite sized portions, is yet another reason to visit. Among the tempting offerings are Quesadillas with scallions and chorizo, tender onion rings, generous well made hot and cold sandwiches, and several varieties of beef. A good bet is the grilled chicken sandwich.

The Table Rock is exactly the type of brew pub beer lovers look for in their travels. The only disappointment would be those who show up expecting a mug clanking, foam sloshing, cowboy hootin', six gun shootin', Saturday night display of trail hands liberating their pay. Sorry, the west is a bit more sophisticated today. But, it's good to know that fine brew is waiting, fresh, chilled, and in a welcoming atmosphere.