In Blurry Focus: Utah Brewers Guild

In Blurry Focus: Utah Brewers Guild
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On one of the most beautiful days on record this year, I shunned the sunshine to settle into a seat deep down in the basement of the BeerHive Pub (128 S. Main). With a chilled glass of barleywine about halfway drained, I soon found myself sitting across from Phil Handke, the President of the Utah Brewers’ Guild. With a Master’s Degree in Communications, he certainly seemed like a business-minded professional—a pragmatist unafraid of raw, hard numbers, whose qualities may prove very useful as the Guild grows and develops a stronger lobbying voice for the brewing industry in our state.  … read more

Why is The Bayou Firkin With My Beer?

Why is The Bayou Firkin With My Beer?
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The 20th Century, for the most part, wasn’t a very beer-friendly time in U.S. history. Prohibition, for example, all but destroyed centuries of beer-brewing knowledge in the United States. When we emerged from the beer dark ages, as a people, we were at the mercy of those beer companies that had managed to survive the 13 years in brewing exile. The beer wasn’t bad beer, but it was mass-produced with adjuncts (corn, rice, millet, etc.) and was limited to European-style lagers. Now, having the benefit of a decades-long craft beer boom, we enjoy damn near every style, type and method of the beer brewing process. … read more

Wild About Sour Beers

Wild About Sour Beers
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Malted barley, hops, water and yeast—if there’s one thing that beer has going for it in the world of fermented beverages, it’s the great diversity of flavors that a brewer can coax out of these four main and important ingredients. For many beer drinkers, when the word “beer” comes to mind, tastes of light-toasted grain and grassy/floral bitterness pops into mind. This is what mainstream beer has been for so many people over the last 120 years, but there is a style of beer that goes back centuries, which owes its existence to necessity and ungovernable factors: the wild ale. … read more

Dear Dickheads – June 2014

Dear Dickheads – June 2014
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Dear Dickheads,
When a group of kids came longboarding into my store and asked me how to remove an evil spirit from their Ouija board, I had to think about it for a minute. There are so many layers of fractal stupidity inherent to the question that it was impossible not to answer it sarcastically. It seemed incredible to me that a group of teenagers would possess within them the power to behold the forbidden knowledge of the Realm That Lies Beyond, but also tragically lack the necessary training to release a bonded spirit from their service. And why did they think some guy working the counter at a board game store would know about it? It’s not like I can afford to go to wizard college. This is why we can’t have nice things.
  … read more

Second Annual SLUG Cat Presented by Metro 05.24

Second Annual SLUG Cat Presented by Metro 05.24
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On Saturday, May 24th, SLUG held it’s second annual SLUG Cat alleycat race through the streets of Salt Lake City. Various spots spanning from downtown to Sugarhouse were used as checkpoints for riders on all different types of bikes.  … read more

Looking At September: Dan Far Talks Comic Con Planning

Looking At September: Dan Far Talks Comic Con Planning
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Last week, the fine folks of Salt Lake Comic Con popped into The Leonardo for an official press conference to announce plans for September. … read more

Food Truck Rally @ Whole Foods Market South Valley 05.21

Food Truck Rally @ Whole Foods Market South Valley 05.21
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Get your reusable grocery bags ready, Draper! Whole Foods Market South Valley is ready to open its doors. In celebration, a few folks were lucky enough to tour the beautiful new store and attend a party with the locals at a family-centric food truck rally.  … read more

Small Plates, Slow Food and Decadent Cocktails @ The Rest 05.15

Small Plates, Slow Food and Decadent Cocktails @ The Rest...
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“The Ark of Taste is just one of the programs that Slow Food has created in order to preserve traditions and culture throughout the world,” says Chantelle Bourdeoux, Slow Food Board Member. “It’s simple—if people don’t learn to cook, we risk losing some of the great food pleasures of the world.” … read more

Salt Fest 2014: Day Two

Salt Fest 2014: Day Two
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Let’s face it–Major League Gaming sucks. These tournament-style events make for a nice sideshow, but if I’ve learned anything from the last two days, nobody comes to a convention to watch somebody else play video games. … read more

Salt Fest 2014: Day One

Salt Fest 2014: Day One
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Up until SLUG announced the assignment, I hadn’t even heard of this con, didn’t even see a single flyer up at the U during spring semester. But with two twelve-hour days listed, I figured it was going to be worth it.
Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. … read more