Utah Brewers Cooperative
Salt Lake City, UT
Available: UT
This beer, the newest release from Wasatch Brewery, is a turn of the century lager made with Saaz hops. “Currently distributed only in Utah, with outside requests being considered on a case by case basis.”
Alcohol by weight: 4 abv
Color: 4
Bitterness: low 20s
Gravity: 1040
I like the label with its patriotic, nostalgic images that say “Buy me!” I am less enthusiastic about the color of the beer, a light lemon-yellow tinged with green. The head pours bright white and dissipates immediately. This is your basic light American lager: clean and well made, but lacking in the excitement promised by the package. Serve well chilled with picnic fare like buffalo burgers and homemade potato salad.
A very light lager in the American style from Utah. Refreshing, light bodied, low in malt and hop character. A beer for light lager drinkers with a bit more hop and malt character than more popular versions of this style. Extraordinarily clean and fresh. Great drinkability for the casual beer enthusiast who enjoys light beers with some taste of malt and hops.
The label shows Benjamin Franklin and one of my favorite quotes: “Beer is proof that God loves us.” The 4% ABV beer is pilsner-pale and has an enticing, entrancing aroma of floral, noble hops and rich, slightly toasted malt. Biscuity malt and tart hops pirouette on the tongue, and continue into the long, lingering finish. It ends dry with delicate hops and ripe malt notes. Superb—one of the best new-wave lagers I’ve drunk. The Czechs would approve.
Founder of Merchant du Vin and the Pike Brewing Co., Charles Finkel is a pioneer in the marketing of craft beers in America.
Author of the New Complete Joy of Homebrewing, founder of the Great American Beer Festival and a Beer Examiner at www.examiner.com, Papazian is a leading voice in beer and brewing.
Roger Protz is the author of Complete Guide to World Beer and 300 Beers to Try Before You Die. He is a respected beer authority and editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
