Takashi's spicy mussel shooters and Basque gin and tonic are an unlikely pairing in Lydia's latest food crush!
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Hotel bars have often been dismissed as mingling spaces for out-of-towners and peacocking opportunities for the new hire to impress their ancient CEO. But as Salt Lake becomes inundated with sleek new lodgments left and right, hotel bars join the ranks of our increasingly acclaimed nightlife scene. Between rooftop lounges and hidden alpine watering holes, these five hotel bars in Salt Lake are topping locals’ lists of places we’d like to spend a Saturday night.
Le Meridien. Photo courtesy of Van Ryder.
Van Ryder—Le Meridien
Located in a new mixed-use development called The West Quarter, Van Ryder is a rooftop bar inside Le Meridien hotel. Inside, moody decor and polished wood accents convey an air of maturity juxtaposed by furry loungers and modern LED rope lights. The covered patio is the real star, where you can take in mountain views gathered around afire pit. The modest menu offers casual fare with a sophisticated twist, with standouts including Pork Belly Bao and Short Rib Poutine. Van Ryder’s cocktail offerings are equally delicious, with favorites like The Butch Cassidy and Ride or Die.
131 S. 300 West, SLC, vanrdyersaltlake.com
The Grand America
European-inspired brasserie Laurel Brasserie & Bar offers a grand experience without the lavish price tag. The dual-sided bar overlooks the city and its bartenders whip up refreshing takes on classics using local spirits. Offered daily from 3-5 p.m., Laurel’s happy hour is a worthy mention with half-priced items like heirloom tomato tartlet, burrata, cheese platters and pigs in a blanket.
555 S. Main St., SCL, laurelslc.com
The Owl Bar—Sundance Resort
Drink like an outlaw at the same watering hole Butch Cassidy frequented in Wyoming. No need to head up North, the 1890s bar was moved from Thermopolis and restored in another notorious Utah man’s hideaway—Sundance Resort. The cabin-like bar is a perfect place to heal your bruised body and ego after an epic yard sale, and its spacious patio offers sweeping alpine views. Visit Owl Bar on a weekend for live music from national and local talent. Another tip: Get the Dirty Fries.
8841 N. Alpine Loop Rd., Sundance, sundanceresort.com
The St. Regis Bar—St. Regis
Two words: Mountain. Views. St. Regis’ flagship bar embraces Park City opulence in every sense. Leather seats pull up to a mahogany bar where a hand-painted mural depicts the mining town’s rich history. Stop in for an après-ski whiskey and a selection of raw bar items. Of course, any mention of St. Regis would be incomplete without a tip of the hat to the 7452 Bloody Mary. Combining the usual ingredients with green apple, celery juice and wasabi powder, it’s no wonder the resort churns out over 150,000 bloodies every year.
2300 Deer Valley Drive East, Park City, srdvdining.com
It’s All Fun and Games—And Booze
There’s no denying the fun in a good-old-fashioned drinking game. With a beer in your hand, even a four-hour game of Catan becomes bearable. So if you’re in the mood for some competition with cocktails, consider these bar games found at breweries, dive bars and pubs.
Trivia at Bewilder Brewing: Test your brainpower at Bewilder Brewing’s Trivia night hosted every Wednesday.
Breaking Bingo at Bar Named Sue: Try your luck at winning a bingo jackpot at Bar Named Sue. Their breaking bingo event occurs every Thursday and offers a cash prize of up to $3,000.
Board Game night at Level Crossing Brewery:Every Tuesday night, Ales and Allies brings in 120 board games free to use with your crew.
Mario Kart Tournament at Piper Down: Show off your Mario moves at a tournament hosted every
Monday at 7 p.m.
Beehive Distilling Bar Manager Caspiel Sjöström shows us a sustainable and delicious use for your holiday orange scraps. Combine peels with some sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon, and voilà, you have a warming spiced syrup that’s a perfect addition to any stiff drink. Inspired by his love for local products and nostalgia for holidays at home, Sjöström combines his orange syrup with Beehive’s Desolation Rye Whiskey and Waterpocket’s Notom Amaro. Once added to a cinnamon-smoked glass, the resulting concoction is an indulgent spin on a classic winter favorite.
The Hanukkah Orange
What’s Inside:
1.5 oz Waterpocket Notom Amaro
.75 oz Beehive Desolation Rye Whiskey
.25 Spiced orange syrup
2 Dashes ango bitters
2 Dashes orange bitters
Garnish with an orange peel and toasted cinnamon stick
DIY Spiced Orange Syrup
Combine equal parts sugar and water in a pot, add orange peels, vanilla extract and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a simmer, strain, chill and serve.
Stir all ingedients until well combined. Strain into a rocks glass and garnish with an orange slice and toasting cinnamon stick.
Go Behind the Scenes at Beehive Distilling
Beehive Distilling offers tours for just $5 a head on Thursdays and Saturdays. Learn about their distilling process, taste products, and maybe even get a peek of their live-in mouser, Gimlet. Visit beehivedistilling.com for more info.
A cocktail should be bracing. A glass of something you’ve never tasted in a way you’ve never tasted it. A cocktail ought to be the beginning of an adventure.
Every year, we ask Salt Lake’s libations experts to guide us in an adventure expertly crafted by their hands. The prompt is simple: take advantage of local ingredients, find inspiration in autumnal musings, and include Utah-made spirits. Whether they decide to whip up something stiff to warm our bellies through the incoming chill or transport us to a beachside oasis with a tropical creation, the choice is theirs.
This year, 20 bartenders from restaurants and bars across the valley (and even in Park City) showed us what a great cocktail could be. Our contest ran for an entire two months to allow our readers to visit their establishments and vote for their favorites. We also brought back our in-person Farm-to-Glass event, hosted in partnership with Market Street Grill in Cottonwood Heights, where guests had the chance to taste every entry and connect with our bartenders face-to-face. We laughed, we sipped, we savored the return of in-person events that celebrate our voracious cocktail community.
As with every year’s cocktail contest, we rely on our readers to judge their overall favorite. Our online voting system saw upwards of one thousand new votes per day in some cases, and our participating establishments put their imbibing fan bases to good use. But, we also introduced a new panel of judges this year and tasked them with determining the best overall judge’s choice cocktail. Our mixology Avengers include: Darby Doyle, Jennifer Burns, Stuart Melling, Lydia Martinez and Francis Fecteau (more on our judges below). Each judge took on the heavy burden of bellying up to 20 bars and ordering up some drinks—for research, of course. In late October, our judges and editorial team came together to discuss what we’ve tasted, the conversations we had with our bartenders, and the overall state of Utah’s mixology. Read on to see who took the grand prizes in this year’s contest, and a few extra honorable mentions.
We’d like to thank our sponsors for this year’s contest, without them we would not be able to bring our annual contest to fruition: Market Street Grill, Beehive Distilling, VineLore, Kings Peak Coffee Roasters, Sugarhouse Distillery and Libation.
Reader’s Choice: ‘Local Color’— Emma Roberts, Quarters Arcade Bar
Quarter’s Bartender Emma Roberts’ creation took the lead in our Reader’s Choice category, amassing a total of 2,754 votes! Featuring a refreshing blend of local peaches, honey and peppers, ‘Local Color’ paid homage to Emma’s childhood. The cocktail also featured three local spirits from Beehive, High West and Water Pocket to fully embody what it means to be Farm-to-Glass. Judge Darby Doyle appreciated the cocktail’s balance of refreshing and spirit-forward, “The Notom pulls through and hangs on, it is spirit-forward in all the right ways.” Lydia agrees, noting “The Notom and bitters rounded out the astringent complexity, bonus points for using all Utah local spirits.” Overall, this cocktail won the hearts of our readers and our judges for its ability to balance fruit-forward flavors and earthy tones.
Judge’s Choice: ‘The Summer Ends’ — Morgan Michel, Good Grammar
Morgan’s cocktail featured a beautiful blend of full-body flavors and gentle herbaceous aromas. Her seed-based orgeat combined sunflower, hemp and wildflower, and an infused Thai basil and sage olive oil rounded the whole thing out. Judge Francis Fecteau acknowledges Michel’s use of “clever ingredients,” while Stuart raves “This is something new to taste every time you go in for a sip, it’s very balanced and nuanced. I wish to drink many of these.” Judge Jennifer Burns names the cocktail a “creatively designed star where full body meets its match with unique ingredients such as infused olive oil.”
Innovator Award: ‘The Inside Scoop’ — JJ Barth, Water Witch
This year, we’re introducing a new award dubbed ‘The Innovator Award,’ to recognize those entries that surprised us with their unique take and execution. Darby expresses her delight on JJ’s use of both gin and mezcal, “You wouldn’t think gin and mezcal would marry well, but the barley-sorrel oleo syrup brings it together. It’s a lovely cocktail evoking end-of-summer flavors.” Lydia concurs, “The nose was citrus all the way which made it surprisingly refreshing for a mezcal cocktail.”
Honorable Mentions
Best Narrative: ‘No Kate! No!’ — Leo Parcell, Drift Lounge at Woodbine
Leo’s cocktail wasn’t just easy on the eyes, it also took the sipper on a nostalgic journey through childhood. “The nostalgia for our childhood summers, fall colors and holiday seasons inspired this drink,” Leo says of his cocktail. Featuring a whimsical candy garnish and a bright fuschia color, this cocktail invited us to have fun with it. Stirring the candy garnish inside brought a transformative quality to the drink. “The cranberry shrub made the cocktail vinegar forward, until I dropped in the candy garnish and the whole thing balanced out nicely,” says judge Lydia Martinez.
Best Spin on a Classic: ‘The Buttered Bees Knees’ — Timothy Burt, Copper Common
Timothy’s took inspiration from a classic Bee’s Knees and infused it with the rich flavors of Hot Buttered Rum. Using locally made butter from Ogden’s Mountain Born Creamery and local raw honey, his cocktail was a savory sippable delight. Jennifer Burns appreciated the drink’s unexpected balance, “Very rich, as expected, but smooth at the same time. It feels special to drink and definitely pulls out all the creativity cards.” Judge Lydia says it best: “Move over hot buttered rum, this cold buttered gin takes the cake!”
Best Presentation: ‘Turaco Swizzle’ — Jordan Strang, HSL
Jordan’s cocktail was a celebration of Utah produce, using Santa Claus Melon to reconfigure his take on a classic Jungle Bird. Here’s what Judge Darby had to say: “Tequila and melon? Sign me up. It’s in the crushable category for sure.” The cocktails’ citric flavors and tropical notes were on full display, and a bouquet of fresh mint ignited the senses. “I’m all in for this well-balanced ‘island feeling’ drink with tequila instead of rum,” says Judge Jennifer Burns. “Really brought the Farm-to-Glass creativity to a high level.”
Newcomer of the Year: ‘Pearadise Lost’ — Bijan Ghiai, Urban Hill
A newcomer to our cocktail contest, Bijan Ghiai is definitely not new to Utah’s mixology community. His “spicy margarita with character” brought heat to the table and our Judges were all for it. Lydia notes her appreciation for the lacto fermentation: “I love they took the time to do a lacto ferment on the honey for a nice funky aftertaste and more body to the cocktail, bonus points that the fresno chiles in the honey stood up to the mezcal.” Self-proclaimed spice-lover Jennifer Burns took particular interest in this entry: “This is a standout for me, appreciate them taking a spicer chance!”
Thank you to all our participants who continue to push the bar on what a Farm-to-Glass cocktail can be. We’ll see you next year!
Meet our 2023 Farm-to-Glass Judges
Lydia Martinez
Lydia is a freelance food, travel and culture writer. She has written for Salt Lake magazine, Suitcase Foodist and Utah Stories. She is a reluctantly stationary nomad who mostly travels to eat great food. She is a sucker for anything made with lots of butter and has been known to stay in bed until someone brings her coffee.
Jennifer Burns
Jennifer has always had a love of cooking and appreciating craftsmanship in culinary arts. She has hosted over 3,000 TV cooking segments featuring her recipes, as well as guest chefs. Jennifer has a published cookbook called Cooking Delight, which combines food, music and art. She has been a contributing food writer for The Salt Lake Tribune and other publications. Besides cooking and frequenting restaurants, she takes full advantage of the outdoor wonders that Utah offers.
Stuart Melling
Stuart is the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC; he’s also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for The Salt Lake Tribune. He has worked extensively with multiple local publications and helped consult for national TV shows. Stuart is an award-winning journalist who has covered the Utah dining scene for 15 years. He’s largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words he doesn’t understand.
Darby Doyle
Darby Doyle is a food, beverage, and outdoor writer who covers the culinary and natural wonders of the American West. She’s freelanced for a passel of print and digital publications, and her stories featuring Utah’s bar and restaurant scene have won multiple journalism awards. When not reminiscing about great meals shared with friends, you’ll find Darby camping, fly fishing or hunting with her family, or lounging in her overgrown garden with a good book and a Boulevardier.
The NFL season is upon us! If you’re anything like me and familial emotions are conferred almost entirely through the lens of how a group of millionaire strangers wearing a particular set of jerseys perform, it’s time to get serious about where to park it while waiting to find out whether the field goal that just doinked the upright is going to bring joy or despair. Fortunately, Park City is a town of transient sports fans who pack their allegiances along with their ski boots, so you’ll never feel like a lonely Patriots fan at an airport bar in Cincinnati. Here are our favorite spots to cheer with a beer this season.
The Après Arena: Drafts Burger Bar
Sometimes the snow is just too good to walk away from, even if your team’s finally playing well. On these powder-filled days head to Drafts Burger Bar. Drafts is located right at the base of the Red Pine Gondola in Canyons Village, so you don’t even need to take off your boots before catching kickoff. Drafts has more than 50 beers to choose from and enough large-screen televisions to provide ample evidence for you to loudly contest the referee’s interpretation of the catch rule. The gourmet burgers are excellent, but my favorite is the Tatchos, a tater-tot and nacho amalgamation that’s sure to stop your heart even if the action on the field doesn’t. 435-655-2240, 3000 Canyons Resort Dr., Park City
All-Star Slices: Maxwell’s
With hands-down the best pizza in Park City, Maxwell’s makes its way into our hall of fame. Available by the slice or by full pie, the thin-crust, east-coast-style pizza is pretty much the perfect food for watching a game. It’s tasty enough that the Honorable Guy Fieri and his frosted tips featured Maxwell’s on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in 2014. The huge L-shaped bar and cozy booths mean you can find just the right setting for your sports fandom, whether it’s publicly jubilant or privately shameful. Another all-season hot spot for locals and visitors, Maxwell’s has all the elements you need to make it through a stressful fourth-quarter challenge. 435-647-0304, 1456 Newpark Blvd., Park City
The Secret Gourmet: Boneyard Saloon and Wine Dive
Boneyard Saloon and Wine Dive is a bit of a hidden gem in Park City Sports Bars that punches way above its weight class. The bar area has a “classic” sports bar feel with screens everywhere you look and an impressive row of taps behind the bar, but what takes Boneyard up a notch is the elevated menu. Pork belly lettuce wraps, jambalaya and Waygu beef sliders with fig compote aren’t your standard bar fare, and the available Wine Dive menu has everything from an ahi poké tower to sriracha deviled eggs to wood-fired pizzas. There’s a reason the Boneyard is filled with locals year-round. Just beware of the vocal deluge of transplanted Patriots diehards who flock there to worship Belichick. 435-649-0911, 1251 Kearns Blvd., Park City
Honorable Mentions
Collie’s: An awesome location on Main Street just across from the ski bridge at Park City Mountain makes Collie’s a contender for the best quick-hit après spot. The beer list is expansive and the televisions plentiful, but the grub doesn’t hit quite the high notes of others on our list. 435-649-0888, 738 Main St., Park City
Silver Mine Tap Room at Whole Foods: A surprisingly decent place to catch a game, it’s more civilized than other joints on this list. The menu is superb, but the three-drink limit can be problematic during a four-plus-hour playoff game. 435-575-0200, 6598 N. Landmark Dr., Park City
Looking for a burger with your beer? We have a list of the best Park City patties here!
Ignore all the gaudy Christmas decor infesting retail shops and grocery stores, October still belongs to Halloween! You know it, I know it, and our local bartenders know it too. Get into the spooky spirit at these Salt Lake city haunts serving ghoulish refreshments alongside on-theme activities.
The ephemeral sugarhouse bar is going full force with Halloween spirit. Dubbed “Cabana Frights”, the bar’s interior is decked out with gourds and ghouls. The drink and food offerings are similarly spookified, featuring mixtures like the Poison Arrow—Bouron, Rosemary, Cynar, Orgeat and WerewolfClaw (?).
Every Wednesday in October Good Grammar is hosting a scary movie screening. Using their full-length projector screen, the double feature begins at 7 p.m. Enjoy seasonal cocktails while you watch, including their entry in our FTG cocktail contest!
Flanker’s Paranormal Tiki Parlor
Flanker Kitchen + Sporting Club transformed their tiki room into a spooky Halloween pop-up. The enchanted tropical speakeasy features a brand new collection of autumnal libations served in various on-theme vessels. If you’re only reason for the season is the ushering in of Basketball, Flanker is also launching their “Slam Dunk Menu” for Jazz fans on Oct. 25th. The fixed menu is available during home and away games and includes items like Pulled Pork Sliders, Chicken Wings, Burgers and Soft Pretzels.
Paranormal Tiki Parlor Oct. 18 – Nov. 1
Haunted Walkthrough at Quarters Sugarhouse
Quarters’ patio has been reimagined as a haunted walk through named “The Journey to the After Life”. Grab a cocktail inside and step through a spiderwebbed hallway to reach an array of spooky photo ops. Inside, catch a classic horror flick projected upstairs or sit and enjoy the creative Halloweend decor. Quarters is also hosting various spooky events like Zombie Prom and a Monster Bash leading up to Halloween, see the full schedule on their instagram.
The Ghost of Gibson at Grand America Hotel
Sip on a ghoulish libation while lounging in the Grand America’s classic Gibson Lounge. For the month of October, the space has been bewitched into a Halloween haunt. Featuring spooky decor and frightfully fun elixirs like the Creepy Colada and Vampire’s Kiss, the Gibson lounge is ready to host your next Halloween happy hour!
Spencer’s for Steaks and Chops new Rare Room
Inspired by the new trend in “dark room decor,” Spencer’s for Steaks and Chops unveils a new speakeasy-style room teeming with sultry red lights and moody decor. Enjoy a Bone in Ribeye or a Wagyu steak while you channel Prohibition-era debauchery. While you’re they’re, don’t forget to try the Sugar House Caramel Appletini, an entry in our 2023 Farm-to-Glass cocktail contest!
Downtown drag haven WhyKiki has adorned their space with eerie spider webs and witch hats, and is hosting a variety of horrifying acts through the end of October. Visit on select nights for drag shows featuring iconic Halloween characters and a costume contest. The full schedule is available on their Instagram.
Water Witch and Bar Nohm Halloween Party
Visit sister bars Water Witch and Bar Nohm on All Hallow’s Eve where the Island Time crew will be slinging tropical creations on the patio.
Don’t forget to cast your vote for out 2023 Farm-to-Glass cocktail contest running through Oct. 31st!
When Nohm shuttered its doors a few years back due to covid-related stressors, the whole city gave a collective “le sigh.” Chef David Chon, mastermind at Nohm, would go on to moonlight at kitchens throughout the city, treating our taste buds with his culinary flair, but it wasn’t really the same. So when grumblings about Nohm’s revival started to spread, we knew we were in for something good. Teaming up with his Water Witch neighbors, Chon’s Nohm has become Bar Nohm. It was worth the wait.
David Chon joined forces with Water Witch’s Sean Neves and Scott Gardner to transform Bar Nohm into a chic yet casual dining space with a snazzy semi-hidden feature—a door inside to permanently connect Bar Nohm with Water Witch (think Bar X and Beer Bar’s connecting walkway, but even more discreet). Sean Neves says the decision to jump in seemed second nature. “We already had a spiritual affinity with what David was doing in Nohm before,” he explains. “We just thought there was a tremendous amount of potential here.” Together, the crew brought Bar Nohm into a new (er) age, creating more of a gastropub than a sit-down restaurant, complete with a curiosity-driven cocktail menu and Asian fusion sharing plates. Think of it as Salt Lake’s first Izakaya restaurant, the Japanese word for an informal bar that literally translates to “stay-drink-place.”
With a portal now forever intertwining Waterwitch and Bar Nohm, another challenge arose: How do you get two totally different concepts to speak the same language? “That’s where our design comes in,” Neves points out. Inside Bar Nohm, tall wood partitions segment the dining room into intimate spaces that accommodate both large parties and solo diners. “It’s a really ‘vibey’ space,” says Neves. “We want people to come back multiple times and have a different experience in each zone.” You’ll also see a few subtle nods to Water Witch in Bar Nohm’s artwork, like the canvases overhead displaying some witchy familiars. On a technical level, Nohm’s kitchen was completely upgraded with added prep space and shiny new bells and whistles. Most notably, a binchotan charcoal grill was installed at the chef’s counter, which makes its presence known with the omnipresent scent of wood smoke throughout the dining room.
As an Izikaya concept, guests are encouraged to share three or four plates during their visit, but you’ll likely be tempted to order the whole menu. “I centered the menu around Chinese, Japanese and Korean food,” says Chef David Chon. “But I’m not limiting myself to Asian produce, I like to play with American and European dishes as well.” Chon’s cultural infusions are a treat to the senses, like the Kimchi Rice dish that puts a zesty spin on a cajun classic (kimchi, rice, shrimp, sausage and sesame). Chon puts his beloved charcoal grill to good use to offer a skewered a la carte menu and of course, plenty of raw bar items.
The cocktail offerings at Bar Nohm showcase similar adventurous techniques and surprising flavors found at Water Witch, but owner Scott Gardner and beverage director Clifton Reagle took care to create a menu that stood on its own. “We wanted a very unique program from Water Witch so guests can visit both spaces and get two unique experiences,” Gardner says. “A lot of our vision was based on David’s theology of food—clean, contemporary, but socially driven.” Like the experimental menu, drinks at Bar Nohm utilize elevated culinary techniques, like clarifications. Expect the cocktail menu to fluctuate with the seasons, at the time of this writing, drinks flaunted summertime flavors like strawberry, snap peas and mint (The Strawberry Sanders). The “Ghost Daq” was a particular delight, combining rum, clarified pineapple, clarified lime and Gomme syrup to riff on the classic daiquiri (for more daiquiri spins, walk over to the Witch where a daq is almost always on the menu).
Bar Nohm’s menu and ambiance are unmistakably the stars of the show here, but there’s definitely a certain thrill that comes with the ability to walk between businesses with a cocktail in hand. While it might seem silly to big city folk, that little door between Bar Nohm and Water Witch is a sign of perseverance in the face of often stifling liquor laws. It’s a symbol of a community that lifts each other up and celebrates collaboration. It’s an indication our salty city is growing up.
If You Go
165 W. 900 South, SLC
barnohm.com / @bar.nohm
Typically, a room-temperature beer that’s gone flat is the sign of a fallen soldier. It’s a tragic, careless act of waste that invokes nauseating memories cleaning up the morning after a rager. So, you can imagine my surprise when I learned of a traditional brewing practice with a specific goal to produce barely carbonated and highly flavorful beer. RoHa brewing is one of many craft Utah breweries embracing the art of firkin, their weekly firkin nights allow both consumers and brewers to venture into uncharted flavor territories.
A firkin is a specific size of cask equal to one-quarter of a barrel, or 72 pints. Originating in the Netherlands over a century ago, the British would use firkins to transport beer to the mainland without refrigeration. The process is simple; first, juvenile beer is added to the firkin with hops, sugars or other flavoring additives. Once sealed, the live yeast eats the sugars and produces natural carbonation. Beer from a firkin doesn’t undergo post-fermentation, pasteurization or filtering, and it doesn’t receive any additional artificial carbon dioxide that is typically used to create beer’s telltale fizziness. Instead, the light carbonation in firkins gives way to a smoother, more velvety mouthfeel.
While they don’t resemble the frothy pours we’re used to out of a tap, craft brewers like RoHa are using firkins to bring out nuanced and delicate flavors. Rob Phillips, who founded RoHa brewing back in 2017 with partners Chris Haas and Josh Stern, introduced the brewery’s firkin program four years ago. “We tap a new cask every Wednesday, it’s called ‘Firkin Hump Day’,” Phillips says. “We’ve probably done over 200 firkins by now.” RoHa’s brewing team uses a smaller five-gallon firkin called a pin, filling it with beer on hand that is either partially or fully fermented. “We can infuse it with anything we want, anything from graham crackers to gummy bears to normal hops and real fruit,” Phillips explains. The possibilities are endless, and tend to be seasonal. Autumn firkins have included candy corn, cinnamon bear and mexican hot chocolate, while warm-weather batches have consisted of lemon cake, chili lime mango, and cactus fruit.
The small-batched, experimental nature of firkin brews are an ideal playground for brewers like Karsen Moon, the head brewer at RoHa. “I get to mess with flavors through firkins that can end up becoming more staple beers.” RoHa’s recently-released fruited IPA ‘Hoomba Bus’ started out as a firkin, now the guava and pineapple IPA is a delightful canned brew enjoyed on summer hikes and strolls. You don’t have to be an expert like Moon to experiment with firkins, home brewers can also let their imagination run wild with the DIY casks. Phillips points out one slight disadvantage: “The biggest challenge is that once you tap it, you have to drink it all.” We recommend tapping your first home-brewed firkin with a group of beer lovers.
Beer hobbyists and skilled brewers alike are drawn to firkins, and so is the average consumer. Each wild new flavor combination is totally ephemeral—once it’s gone, it’s gone. Phillips believes that’s one of the main reasons beer lovers are so interested in firkins. “From a consumer standpoint, there’s always an interest for something that is different and changing,” he says. “Firkins are a unique experience, because they aren’t able to be exactly replicated.” The firkin crowd showing up to RoHa every Wednesday is certainly dedicated, and their loyalty isn’t hard to understand. When I visited, the firkin tapped was Pineapple Back Porch—a hoppy brew with intense pineapple notes. Using a wooden mallet to tap the pin, there’s a brief eruption of beer filling the room with the bright scent of summer fruit. The first pour is served ceremoniously, and it’s beautiful in its own way. The beginning of the end for this batch that will never exist again. Such is life, and we cheers to enjoying this delicious fleeting thing.
RoHa is encouraging breweries around the state to get in on the firkin funk. Their Spring Firkin Festival last April gathered ten breweries, and Phillips says there are plans to host another event this fall. “We invite all breweries to stretch their legs a little bit and make something crazy and unique.” Follow the brewery on their site and socials to stay up to date on beer events and festivals, and visit their taproom for a rotating selection of seasonal beers.
30 E Kensington Ave, SLC, @rohabrewing, rohabrewing.com
The resurgence of the tiki trend has hit Utah like a tsunami, leaving no shortage of places to catch a wave of island flavor. Here’s where to find tiki cocktails in Salt Lake City this summer.
Paradise Parlour at Flanker
Kitchen & Sporting Club
This Polynesian-themed pop-up is stowed away inside Flanker’s speakeasy, which has been reborn in the image of America’s most iconic tiki hideaway: Elvis Presley’s hangout in Graceland. The cocktail menu is likewise inspired. The Paradise Parlor is open Wednesday–Saturday evenings and reservations are recommended. flankerslc.com/paradiseparlor
Acme Bar Co.
The Acme Bar Co. pop-up brings craft island-themed cocktails to Sugar House, taking over the building left vacant by Campfire Lounge. The drink and food menus rotate seasonally, keeping the concept fresh and their patrons coming back to try the latest refreshing tropical creations. Open Wednesday–Monday evenings. acmebarcompany.com
Why Kiki
If you want a colorful bowl of your favorite tiki drink, Why Kiki can oblige. The bar hosts a Silent Disco every Friday and Saturday and a regular Sunday Drag Brunch—an entertaining main dish served up alongside phallic waffles and maximum-sized “max-mosas.” Open Wednesday–Sunday. whykikibar.com
Great beer and good food have Park City Brewing on the map as a local watering hole with a new team at the helm.
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