Mike Riedel

Salt Lake City

Columnist at Salt Lake City Weekly

Advocating for the beer, beer lovers and the breweries of Utah. Also Beer Nerd columnists for @cityweekly

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Articles

Ogden Beer/Spirits of Coffee and 2 Row Dank Engine

1 week ago | cityweekly.net | Mike Riedel

Ogden Beer/Spirits of Coffee - Spirits of Ogden: This beer is a collaboration between Ogden Beer Company and Spirits of Coffee. If you're not familiar with Spirits of Coffee, they are a unique Utah-based coffee company that barrel-ages all of their coffee in used whiskey barrels, rum barrels, wine barrels, etc. You know, "spirits." Using whiskey-aged beans, a Vienna base was selected. This variety of lager offers a subtle maltiness for the coffee to complement.
Wasatch/Squatters Tropically Uncommon and RoHa Above the Clouds

2 weeks ago | cityweekly.net | Mike Riedel

Wasatch/Squatters - Tropically Un-Common: This is a bittersweet review, as this beer is likely the last new offering to come out of the Wasatch and Squatters brewery in Salt Lake City. Monster Beverages—owners of Wasatch Squatters—announced earlier this April that, as of May 23, 2025, all operations in SLC will cease (including the pub), as owners they opted to not renew their lease on the long-standing brewery.
Beer reviews: Templin Family West Coast Style Pilsner and Red Rock Everybody Wins

3 weeks ago | cityweekly.net | Mike Riedel

This week, we're going to get into two local examples of West Coast Pilsners. First off, what is a West Coast Pils? They're typically made the same way as your traditional pilsner: They're lagered, and for the most part are brewed with 100 percent pilsner malt, though some brewers can use a blend of malts. Hops are generally American Northwest varieties like Citra, Mosaic, and Centennial. Now you're probably thinking, "Sounds like an IPA to me." And you may be right.
Shades Brewing Bonneville Burgundy and Solar Squeeze

4 weeks ago | cityweekly.net | Mike Riedel

Shades Brewing Company's new brewery and bar location opened its doors last week in SLC's Ballpark Neighborhood (1388 S. 300 West). To celebrate, Shades has released new brews in honor of the new space. Here are a couple of examples I thought worth mentioning as the third incarnation of Shades Brewing gets underway.
Beer reviews: UTOG Anniversary Ale VI and Ogden Beer Shadow Empress

1 month ago | cityweekly.net | Mike Riedel

UTOG - Anniversary Ale VI: Happy 6th anniversary to UTOG! This week's first Ogden-made beer is a barrel-aged version of their Redeye Imperial Red Ale. I was pleasantly surprised to have this 10.3 percent ABV beer come in a 12 ounce can; I've long been an advocate of "big alcohol" beers in smaller packaging. It pours an unfiltered dark amber color with a foamy, relatively sticky one-finger tan head, with average retention that leaves some nice sheets of lace.
Beer reviews: 2 Row Coastal Collision and Saltfire Big in Japan

1 month ago | cityweekly.net | Mike Riedel

West Coast or New England IPAs: You're probably in one camp or the other. If you're in neither, here's a quick guide to two local examples. If you're firmly entrenched, one of these will likely make you very happy. 2 Row - Coastal Collision: You don't see a lot of Triple IPAs out there in the market, and even fewer tend to be made locally. It's a tough style; when you think about big ales like this, people often think of barleywines and Belgian tripels. But let there be no doubt, these are all IPA.
Beer reviews: Uinta Good Luck Babe and RoHa Dragon Fruit IPA

1 month ago | cityweekly.net | Mike Riedel

The Pink Boots Society aims to assist, inspire and encourage women and non-binary individuals in the fermented/alcoholic beverage industry to advance their careers through education. More importantly, Pink Boots teaches industry-knowledge seminar programs, and advances both front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house careers by raising money for educational scholarships. Every year, members get together to create a new blend of hops to support the cause.
Beer reviews: Templin Family The Pasture and Kiitos Tropical Haze IPA

1 month ago | cityweekly.net | Mike Riedel

Templin Family - The Pasture: This beer began its journey back in 2020 when owner/head brewer Kevin Templin and his team took their Koelschip (a large stainless-steel tub) out to his brother Chris Templin's pasture, and set up what would be the brewery's first ever batch of Spon beer—a type of spontaneously-fermented beer that uses the natural yeast in the air instead of cultured yeast. It takes a long time—five years in this case—maturing in oak barrels.
Beer reviews: Grid City Inner Darkness and Salt Lake Brewing Coconut Porter

2 months ago | cityweekly.net | Mike Riedel

Grid City - Inner Darkness: This Czech lager is traditionally known as "Tmavé Lezak" or Pivo, which translates as "dark lager." The style is similar to the more familiar German Schwarzbier that is also a dark lager. Tmavés are generally sweeter, with more chocolate characters than their German cousin. It looks nice—a deep, dark brown color with ruby notes and good clarity. A creamy two-finger light brown head eventually dissipated to a thin layer.
Beer reviews: Fisher Hoptology and RoHa "We Love L.A."

2 months ago | cityweekly.net | Mike Riedel

Fisher - Hoptology: Can you believe it's been eight years since Fisher Brewing reincarnated to its location on 800 South and 300 West? For their 8th Anniversary IPA, the Fisher brew team decided to go with a New England-style IPA with a hop bill of Zumo, Krush, Citra and Mosaic. Happy anniversary and cheers to a true Utah success story. This IPA has a nice peach hue to it, providing a head that holds its own along with a nice web of lacing left behind on the glass.