Mormon culture gets a lot of credit in these parts. Where would we be without green JELL-O, funeral potatoes and Kurt Bestor’s Christmas concerts?
But, I say to you, what about our counter-culture? What about those of us who don’t have ancestors who pulled handcarts across the plains to escape religious persecution? Or even those of us who do? Well, perhaps our most significant contributions to Utah culture is tattoos, baring our shoulders in public and this: Pie and Beer Day—aka, the greatest made-up holiday ever known to man.
It’s a Utah tradition and a well-known riff on Pioneer Day—the only-in-Utah holiday celebrating the declaration of “This Is the Place,” by Brigham Young. The 24th of July is a holiday bigger than the 4th of July in most Utah homes. There’s parades! There’s cook-outs! There’s wholesome family activities! But, worst of all, there’s trademark Mormon sobriety.
Not on KRCL’s watch. No, sir. From the People who bring you Bad Brad Wheeler, Sunday Sagebrush Serenade and Women Who Rock—it’s a celebration of Utah’s not-so-silent minority. The brainchild of Wheeler, the event—a fundraiser for KRCL—pairs local beer with local pies at Beer Bar on Sunday night from 5-9. A pie pass will run you 25 bucks, and the event is first come first serve.
Pie and beer. What could be more American than that?
Brewers and food vendors include:
Squatters & Carluccis
Wasatch & Copper Onion
2Row & Eva
Uinta & HSL
Proper Brewing & Finca
Desert Edge & Dodo
EPIC & The Bayou
Red Rock Brewing & Cafe Trio
Bohemian & Pat’s BBQ
Hoppers & Dottie’s Biscuit Barn
Roosters & Slack Water Pizza
Bonneville Brewery & 3 Cups
Park City Brewery & Stein Erickson Lodge
Moab Brewery & Garage on Beck/Stone Ground
Vernal Brewing Co. & Tulie Bakery
Mountain West Cider & Vertical Diner
Beer Bar: 161 East 200 South, Salt Lake City
