My wife, daughter, and I drove to Springdale, Utah yesterday. We arrived in the early evening. After checking in at our hotel, we drove up the street to the Zion Canyon Brewpub.
I sampled six Zion Canyon Brewing beers – Jamaican-style lager; Springdale Amber Ale; German Amber; 360 Degrees Ale; Virgin Stout; and Hop Valley IPA. Short descriptions (on-the-road descriptions) follow:
Jamaican-style Lager: Clear light gold color with white foam. Malt/citrus aroma. Crisp with malt flavor and mild hop presence. Okay, but didn’t make me go “Ja man!”
Springdale Amber: Clear amber color with white foam. Malt biscuit aroma. Medium bodied. Flavors of malt, biscuit, sweet caramel, and mild hop bitterness. Okay for eating a hamburger, but not exciting.
German Amber: Clear amber color with white foam. Caramel malt aroma. Light bodied. Sweet malt flavor but watery/thin. The Germans may sue!
360 Degrees Ale: Hazy copper color. Detergent aroma!!! Off flavors. As my daughter stated: ” They should have named this 180 Ale, because one sip and you’ll turn around and leave.”
Virgin Stout: Dark black but thin looking. Dark roasted malt aroma with espresso coffee. Thin bodied. Flavors of roasted malt and espresso but thin bodied with a wet finish. The Irish may join the Germans and start a class-action suit.
Hop Valley IPA: Clear dark gold color with nice white foam. Malt biscuit aroma with citrus notes. Light bodied. Flavors of malt with very mild hops bitterness. Thin and wet finish. IPAs around the world are ashamed.
Save your time. Go elsewwhere in Springdale (like Oscar’s) and order a Wasatch Brewing Polygamy Porter.
I heard that in Utah the alcohol content is limited for beers served on draft. Could explain all the watery brews.
Yes, in Utah the micobreweries are limited to 4% ABV. That certainly was a factor. However, the depth of flavors from the malt and hops just weren’t there either. Wasatch Polygamy Porter is 4% ABV and it manages to pack the flavors.