City Weekly Utah Beer Festival 2010

With as fast as the Utah brewing scene has been growing it was only a matter of time before the Zion curtain would see a full, free-pouring beer fest (none of that token shit!).  So, with help from the fine folks of City Weekly along with a select group of sponsors the show was set.

When one o’clock rolled around there was already a decent line forming at the entrance. Once you had made it past the security check in and slapped with a wristband, you darted off, three ounce cup in hand, to the corralled group brewers that had set up tent in the corner of the City and County Building property line.

The who’s who of local breweries made it to the festival, including the new Shades of Pale, opening up in Park City, and the new SLC favorite Epic. If you had not gotten your fix from the regular Utah favorites, RedRock brought their new Elephant Double IPA, which was a highlight for the hop heads out there.

Hoppers surprised everyone with the newest release of their Stein Knocker Oktoberfest, a 6% German lager that is currently being sold out of their brewpub. It even looked like despite the four tap limit per brewery, Uintas side brands of Crooked Line and Four + made it out with their brews.

After an hour or two had set in, the lines got to the point where they were… humorous. So from there it was a brisk, yet sobering walk across the lawn to some food and entertainment. City Weekly had done the footwork and lined up a killer sampling of bands and some amazing local grub from Sage’s, The Pie and a handful more.

The turn out for this was higher  than anticipated—tickets were sold out and the lines were getting harsh enough that people were storming out and demanding their money back. But for those die-hard beer lovers who stuck it out, the final hour or so was the best.

It had finally turned into the kind of beer fest that we know exists. Granted, getting beer was a bit of a challenge, but it was a great social outing to meet up with some of your fellow craft beer drinkers and likeminded boozers. And while there are some things that need to be changed for next year, it was great to show those assholes running the show that there are beer drinkers in Utah, and we do come in numbers.