President's week crowds at SLC area resorts...?
- Thread starter snowave
- Start date
Marc_C
Active member
Admin":1us2ar8t said:
Speaking of which, Squatters Brewing is releasing a new brew on Feb 7. Redder Than Hell is a red ail named after the Radio From Hell morning show on KXRK (93.6). It's supposed to be exceptionally well balanced and a 5.5% alcohol content. Packaged only in 750 ml bottles and available only at the brewery and state liquor stores*, but a mere $3.99.
*: only a few at first, as the state runs a test market of any new products.
Another local item worth checking out..... High West is not the only distillery in Utah. There's also Ogden's Own Distillery which has just come out with an excellent vodka, reminiscent of Tito's. $20 for 750ml. They're named it....
berkshireskier
Active member
"Five Wives Vodka".......great name for a vodka.......in Utah! I wonder how many of those are related to Mitt Romney?
berkshireskier":2twz35vm said:
There's of course Polygamy Porter from Wasatch Brewery, where the tagline reads, "Bring Some Home for the Wives." But my favorite was a billboard a number of years ago to promote the new quad chairlifts
at Brighton. It read:
"Wife. Wife. Wife. Husband.
Ride our high speed quads."
Sent from my Android device using Tapatalk
Admin":3kdjyzsx said:
Sometimes it's nice actually to enjoy a really good tasting beer without getting wacky on 3 or 4 of em. Overally, I just wish the % was a little higher and/or the price of a pint (in some places) were more aligned to the buzz.
Some casual beer drinkers may not know, but for people like me that drink mostly crafted beers that are in the 5-7% range, yes... I realize it's half the %. :-$
Looking forward to trying out that Red from Squatters! Red Ales are my favorite!
Marc_C
Active member
Recall also that Utah is the only state that expresses beer alcohol by *weight* - everyone else uses volume. Thus "Utah 3.2" = 4% by volume. And remember the 3.2 is what you purchase at supermarkets and C-stores. The state liquor store can sell beer of any alcohol level. We have some high gravity beers locally brewed that push close to 10% alcohol.snowave":3m2crudj said:
Evren
New member
I added Costco this past summer, while keeping Sam's. Soon afterwards, most of my shopping switched to Costco. It's not the price difference but the much more extensive selection of fresh "gourmet" foodstuff. It's also good to be able to go across the street when one or the other has run out of a particular fresh vegetable or fruit or two -- which happens irritatingly often.Admin":3c3hc54j said:
Marc_C
Active member
It supposedly comes from Ogden's history, when a pioneer wagon train passed through. There were 66 men and 5 women. Ogden was a pretty rough and tumble frontier outpost in the 1800's. Pretty much all of 25th street was bars and brothels. Similar to Alta.berkshireskier":25ezxojh said:
Marc_C":b3on63vn said:
Many of the world's great beer styles naturally clock in at 4% or less ABV. Of course, many of the world's great beer styles naturally clock in with ABVs significantly greater than 4%. The truest expression of some of these higher-than-4%-ABV styles is bottle conditioning. Such beers are legal to sell in Utah. However, the truest expression of many of the higher-alcohol styles is cask conditioning. Such beers are, apparently, not legal to sell in Utah.
From the point of view of the beer geek, this is an abomination and Utah will never have a truly well-rounded craft brewing scene without a change in the law. Period.
For people who take their beer a little less seriously, it probably doesn't matter that much.
Marc_C":sn43a1up said:
Marc,
Yes, while some of it is ignorance on our part....I think alot of it is how you adapt to it, too. I know if I lived there like you guys, I would get into a routine where it probably wouldn't be a big deal to get the beer/booze I wanted.. I would know where to go, when to go, how to do it.... and also getting familiar with the laws because I'd live there day in and out..... also, how do I know you guys aren't people that drink much or are happy with 3.2 beer? :-s (which is fine if that's the case)
But... for the periodic visitor.. The post below is a prime example of the kinda stuff that kills Utah and gives it a bad name for it's liquor laws ... and why you guys are always having to defend it.
---just posted on a thread on the Mammoth Forum when were talking about the X-games and why it wouldn't work in SLC (Although, i kinda think it would.. esp at PC.. but thats for another topic and day [-( )
"I was in Sandy Utah a few years ago and we went to Chilis for dinner. There was a wait so we went into the bar to have a drink. My buddy sat at the bar and ordered a beer. I ordered one too while standing behind my buddy. I was told I couldn't be served because I was standing. The bartender poured the beer then walked around the bar and set it down in front of my buddy then walked back around the bar. He got up, I sat down and ordered a beer. She poured the beer and repeated her exercise. It turns out it is illegal for her to serve the beer across the bar for some bizarre reason. It's like playing a game of Simon Says."
Now, I admit I don't know all the ins and outs of the newer revised laws... so maybe some stuff has changed in the last few years since that incident. I do know that as recent as last August in PC... I still had to do a short version song and dance to take home a growler and get a sampler taste of beers from Wasatch Brewing Co. I still know I couldn't walk into any gas station and get a six pack of Fat Tire.. I couldn't find wine anywhere... etc.
Yes, there are some that still overly generalize the booze situation in Utah... and again, to some extent I'll plead guilty to that... I know it's gotten a little better, but the bottom line is it's still apparently somewhat of a PIA for visitors to drink in Utah. I also understand why you guys get sick and tired of defending the rules and have pride in your home. I don't blame you, in many other sense'... as I've said before, Utah is a wonderful state!
It will be interesting on my trip in a few weeks when I get to spend alot more time in the area to see if it indeed has become easier.
p.s. I'm open for meeting you guys for a beer when I'm there, and you can explain all the rules to me... ok, I'll even buy a round. \
/ I've met up with Admin a couple times. We like to share ski gloves every few years, apparently. Edit: to come think of it, didn't we make some turns at Solitude a few years ago Marc_C (with Admin and a friend of mine?) :-k
Marc_C
Active member
Another misconception. It is not legal to sell beer in a keg or any container larger than X ml (I don't recall the size limit at the moment) to consumers. However, in a bar it is perfectly legal to dispense and sell the contents of said cask. We in fact do have a number of cask conditioned beers. Squatters Pub always has at least one on tap. The bigger problem is that since a cask conditioned ale is unpasteurized, it must be kept cold, and in Utah, it is illegal to have coolers in the state liquor stores.flyover":a9nxhz0r said:
snowave":3w2v2ved said:
This may surprise you but I agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly. That's one reason why I, and presumably Marc_C as well, go to such lengths to try to explain the realities of it here on these forums. We've got some of the most peculiar liquor laws of any state (while admitting that some other states have some different bizarre ones, too), and we seem to have a much larger number of weird liquor laws than most states. Those quirks lead to the aforementioned misconceptions although some residents like Tcope prefer to bury their head in the sand and assert that it's not a problem at all. He also believes that those misconceptions don't actually exist. :roll: Believe it or not he still pines for the days that Utah bars were restricted as private clubs.
And things lately haven't become any easier. In fact they've become more complicated over the past couple of years. The Huntsman administration understood the situation and successfully pushed through a number of changes that relaxed our liquor laws. The primary liquor amount allowed in a mixed drink was increased from 1 oz. to 1.5 oz. and more importantly, private club requirements were eliminated. Since then, however, after the Obama administration sent Huntsman out to pasture in China his successor, Gary Herbert, has allowed our laws to regress. For example, restaurants can no longer display bottles of alcohol in the bar area, marking the return of the dreaded "Zion curtain." The state's allotment of liquor licenses has run out and legislators have failed to authorize more.
snowave":3w2v2ved said:p.s. I'm open for meeting you guys for a beer when I'm there, and you can explain all the rules to me... ok, I'll even buy a round. \
It would be great to see you again and even explain all of this stuff in person. When you live here it's easy to know how to get what you're looking for within the current system. However, we shouldn't have to explain this stuff to a visitor. That in and of itself is indicative of a severe problem. As home to our ski resorts and five National Parks the biggest industry in Utah is tourism, and I shake my head in disgust when I see another legislative change to further complicate our liquor laws.
Great points.. said much more informatively and eloquently than I could have. Have you been drinking? :-D
I wasn't aware of the downsliding of the new laws, so that's unfortunate to hear.
I for one, do alot of research whenever I go somewhere.. but I admit, when it comes to the liquor laws there, I just can't seem to delve into all finding all the details. It gives me a headache.
I would boldly predict if we hooked up, after 1/2 beer consumed (even if it were 3.2 \/ ), we'd probably bail on the liquor law talk and revert to some ski stories or something else more enjoyable and entertaining.
Will shoot you a PM when the time gets closer to our trip.... right now, our best bet for being in the local SLC immediate area is Thursday Feb 23rd when we are planning on hitting Brighton that day and staying in Cottonwood that night at the Residence Inn.
I wasn't aware of the downsliding of the new laws, so that's unfortunate to hear.
I for one, do alot of research whenever I go somewhere.. but I admit, when it comes to the liquor laws there, I just can't seem to delve into all finding all the details. It gives me a headache.
I would boldly predict if we hooked up, after 1/2 beer consumed (even if it were 3.2 \
/ ), we'd probably bail on the liquor law talk and revert to some ski stories or something else more enjoyable and entertaining.Will shoot you a PM when the time gets closer to our trip.... right now, our best bet for being in the local SLC immediate area is Thursday Feb 23rd when we are planning on hitting Brighton that day and staying in Cottonwood that night at the Residence Inn.
snowave":1rr22bj8 said:
Right now, a Full Sail IPA from Hood River, Oregon that I had to buy at the state liquor store because it's 6.0%. Tastes good after skiing today.
As a side note, another strange law is that "strong" beer in the liquor store is priced by the bottle with no six-pack or case discount available. That, however, leads to something I find to be fun: buying one or two bottles of this, one or two bottles of that until I've got two or three six-packs' worth of brew. I can try something without committing to a six-pack. I get to bring home an extensive assortment. I actually like that.
snowave":1rr22bj8 said:
Perfect, please do that. I seldom know what I'm doing tomorrow, so that's a good plan.
Marc_C":3ezfe1hc said:
My understanding is that I cannot walk into Squatters brewpub in downtown SLC and buy a greater-than-4%-ABV beer that doesn't come in a bottle. If I am wrong about this, then it is a misconception shared by just about everyone who has ever reviewed a Squatters beer on beeradvocate. Here's beeradvocate's list of Squatters' beers:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/7375
You'll notice at least two odd things about it. First, a truely remarkable number of beers clock in at exactly 4% ABV, indicating a high liklihood that the alcohol content of Squatter's beers is heavily manipulated. (Out of respect, I'm trying really hard not to use the W-word here.) Second, and more to the point, just about every dang one of the reivews of Squatters' beers with ABVs higher than 4% indicates the beers were sampled from bottles. (I found exactly two outliers in the 107 reviews for the 6% ABV IPA.)
I don't doubt that Squatters sells cask-conditioned beers at its brewpubs (in fact, I think I may have had some on one or more of my SLC trips), I just question whether any of them are higher than 4% ABV. Clearly, they are selling a lot of 4% ABV beers in styles that naturally finish with higher ABVs.