Archive for the 'Squatters' category
Squatters “Provo Girl” Pilsner
I’ve had a bit of a “Pilsner appreciation” resurgence lately. I never used to enjoy the bitter green taste of a Pilsner – in fact, I shied away from them, chalking them up to a bad variety and a lay-persons beer. However, lately, I’ve come to find that some of the intricacies of a good Pilsner can be quite rewarding. I think it took a few good Imperial Pilsners to really highlight the details of the variety, and now I can hardly pass up an opportunity to try a new one.
This particular Pilsner is quite pleasing while being quite generic. The pour is a well-filtered clear golden. The aroma here is nearly nil. In fact, it feels like I’m smelling the glass more than the beer itself, which is an interesting phenomenon. The flavor of the beer surprises, though, and offers much more than the aroma portends. The flavor is typical Pilsner – there is a hoppy burn on the tip of the tongue that gives way to very little malt. Through the mouth, you continue to taste the fresh veggie hops, making this a fairly bitter and very green beer. Altogether a decent Pilsner, although not a standout in any respect.
Squatters American Hefeweizen
As I sit here in the Squatters brewpub in the Salt Lake City airport, there is a gang of 4 especially ‘alternative’ looking mid-20′s folks wearing all manner of piercings, tattoos, hair alterations, and RockStar Energy drink paraphenalia. Apparently they are the street team for this alternative energy drink phenomenon. Gees. I wonder why they’re not hassling me to try RockStar energy drink – am I not alternative enough? I have a beard. My jeans have a hole in them. Maybe I need a tattoo of some popluar revolutionary figure on my neck…
This hefeweizen, as I was warned, is an American hefeweizen. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a patriot, but I find that the Americans never can quite get the genre right – the Germans blazed the trail, and I’m of the camp that we should stay true to the original. This one pours a cloudy dark golden, and the smell is currently overtaken by the hunk of lemon that was served with it (I prefer orange). In the mouth, there is a great deal of wheat lightness in the beer, along with a light malt sweetness and plenty of citrus. The difference here, as often with the American wheats, is that there is a dusty metallic flavor that sits on the tongue. I find that, in German varietals, this flavor is forsaken for a crisper sweetness that I find both more pleasing to the palate and more refreshing. The essence of the hefeweizen, for me, is a light, sweet beverage to be enjoyed whilst sitting in the sun and listening to a German oompah band. This one wouldn’t fit the bill. That being said, it isn’t bad for an American wheat.
Squatters Brewery “Full Suspension” Pale Ale
If there’s one thing I hate, it’s finding out that my connecting flight has been delayed by FOUR HOURS. I mean, c’mon folks – that’s the difference of getting home at midnight tonight and four tomorrow morning. It’s a good thing I don’t work a real job, or I’d be really aggravated. The up-side of the story is that I have the opportunity to try a couple of brews from the Squatters Brewery which, if my waitress, Wynter, is to be believed, is an actual brewery in Salt Lake City and not just some outsourcing airport brew-pub. This particular brew, the Pale Ale, is quite pleasant. The pour on this one is a pale unfiltered orange – A nice hue, although perhaps a bit more colorful than I usually expect from an American Pale. The aroma on this one is full of English hops. I still don’t know enough to name the specific hop for you. But, if you’ve had enough beers, then you’ll know the musty bitterness that is characteristic of an English hop. In the mouth, you taste a bit more of this English hop coupled with a more predominant flavor of a characteristically American hop. It seems that they use the Northwestern hops for the flavoring phase of the brew and then kick in some English hops during the aromatic phase. Overall, it’s a nice melange of what the two continents have to offer. I can’t say that this is a terribly complex brew – it is basically a medium hop and maybe just a HINT of citrus to round it out. However, this is extremely drinkable and would make a good session beer. It might do just that if my flight gets delayed any longer.
