Salt Lake City — 14 breweries in 7 days!

There are two things about the SLC beer scene that were a little surprising to me. First, to sell beer on tap, the beer must be 5% ABV or less. For those beers above the limit, the bartender will pour the beer from bottles or cans. Second, someone will scan your ID upon entry to the brewery. Despite that, craft breweries are flourishing in the area.

During our weeklong stay in the SLC area in June 2021, we visited fourteen breweries. It was Kasie’s birthday that week, but the truth is that we just really enjoy craft beer. I thought I would share my take on each of them. Those with asterisks are featured in our videos, and there are time codes in the video descriptions in case you just want to watch the information on the brewery.

Unita Brewery — 3:31; Fisher Brewing - 12:17; Templin Family Brewing - 13:52

6:29 - Kiitos Brewing; 21:37 - Shades Brewing

(1)   2 Row Brewing. Out stop here was a quick one. At the time of our visit, there was no taproom. We purchased a some of their signature IPAs in bottles.

(2)   Bewilder Brewing Co.  The last brewery we visited during our stay, I neglected to write down what we had there.  Maybe I was bewildered at the time.   Our reviews/thoughts on breweries get better.  I promise.

(3) Bohemian Brewery.  This place is one of the handful of breweries in the area that serve food, and we went there for lunch on a mid-day week.  The place was pretty busy, and we had to sit at the bar (although we generally prefer sitting there so that was not a big deal).  “Knedlik” (my last name) means “dumping” in Czech.  Some of the meals come with bread dumplings, but we opted for a very tasty pierogy appetizer (topped with bacon!) instead.  Our beers were a traditional Bavarian wheat and Kolsh, and about what we expected for traditional Czech/German-inspired beers. 

(4) Epic Brewing.   Epic sits on a pretty busy street and had limited parking.   The taproom inside is also fairly small as well (certainly not “epic”).  We sat at the bar and had a Brainless Raspberries strong ale and the Intermountain wheat poured from bottles.

(5) Fisher Brewing Company (*)   We visited here on a hot Saturday, and enjoyed the Dawn of the New Haze and the Lemonade Stand blackberry lemon sour.  The beer selection was diverse, and we watched the bartender place rainbow labels on cans for a special beer to celebrate Gay Pride.  The brewery is very close to the TRAX light rail, which is also a plus.  There’s an excerpt from our visit in our SLC video.

(6) Hopkins Brewing Company.   Perhaps because the brewery is located in a very commercial rebuilt area of town, the beer/food here is a little pricey.   The beer selection was fairly limited, but included the Stonewall Saison.  One cool part about the brewery is the collection of customer-made doodle coasters on the wall.     

(7) Kiitos Brewing (*). This place won my heart the moment we walked in and saw cans of “Big Gay Ale” to celebrate Gay Pride.   Not only that, the beer had glitter in it!  We shared a flight which included the Salt N Pickle lager, Strawberry Milkshake, Raspberry wheat, Blackberry sour, and the Coconut stout.  All of the beers were exceptional, and we purchased some to take with us.  The place really needs to work on naming their beers though as the names are pretty descriptive and boring.  There’s an excerpt from our visit in our SLC video.

Big Gay Ale at Kiitos Brewing

(9) Red Rock Brewing.   Having been around for over 25 years and having three locations (SLC, Murray, and Park City), I was expecting a little more from this brewery.   The SLC location is more of a restaurant than a brewery, and we had to fight the throngs of volleyball teams who were playing in a tournament in the area.  I had the IPA Jr, and Kasie had the Czech Pilsner.  Both beers were fine, but not particularly memorable.   Our food was average and not particularly memorable either.  

(10) Salt Fire Brewing Co.   Someone added a “and have a beer” sticker below the “stop” sign next to this brewery.  So we did.   The place feels super hipster, but welcoming.  We had the Summer Camp Crush IPA, and the Charlotte Sometimes blonde.   As beer names go, the place has some good ones.  

Class C Broads at Shades Brewing in SLC

(11) Shades Brewing (*).  Known for sour beers, the place did not disappoint.  I had the Passion Fruit sour, but Kasie got adventurous and tried the Mango Apricot Slurry.  We purchased some of the beer to go, and also feature Shades in our video.  

(12) Strap Tank Brewery (Lehi UT).   We visited this brewery on our way back from our Provo bike ride primarily because it serves food and we were hungry.   The reviews online were mediocre, and we would concur.   Enough said.   

(13) Templin Family Brewing (*).   We walked here after our visit to Fisher Brewing.  Because of the temperatures, we were craving fruity sour beers, and TF delivered.   We had the Passion Fruit Berliner Weisse and the Pomberry sour.  The beers were pretty to look at, and so was the vibe.  There’s an excerpt from our visit in our video.

(14) Uinta Brewing (*)   Although last on our alphabetical list, this was the first brewery we visited.  We shared a flight of the Birthday Suit blackberry lemon tart ale, the Lime pilsner, Hazy Nosh IPA, Mango Golden Spike wheat ale.  The brewery distributes throughout the United States, including Missouri.  It was fun to visit this place because we had actually sampled some of their beers before.  The Nomad restaurant sits within the brewery, and we shared some darn good nachos.  There’s an excerpt from our visit in our video.

I’ve included time codes in the videos that pertain to these breweries.  There are just too many good breweries in the area publish videos on all of them.  If you are curious, our favorites were probably Shades and Kiitos.

Best RV Park in Salt Lake City - Location! Location! Location!

When: June 3 to June 10, 21 2001 (seven nights)
Where:  Salt Lake City KOA
Cost: $66.47/night for full hook-ups (includes taxes, fees, and a 10% KOA discount)
Biking:  Jordan River Parkway
Bucket Lists:  International Peace Garden

Salt Lake City KOA – Location, Location, Location!

I’ve never been a huge fan of KOA campgrounds.   The nationwide corporatization of campgrounds just inherently rubs me the wrong way.  Plus, KOAs usually contain lots of amenities (like a pool, playground, etc) that we don’t use.   Lastly, the KOA RV parks also tend to be somewhat pricey. 

Our experience with KOA in Salt Lake made me re-think my stance a little.   Of the amenities, we used the laundry and the fenced dog park.   The laundry facility may not necessarily be a part of the KOA corporate machine, but regardless, it was convenient, and also contained numerous commercial washers/dryers that made doing laundry very quick and easy.   The dog park included a dog wash station, which I had never seen at an RV park before.  Although we didn’t use the dog wash, we spent several evenings and mornings on the artificial plastic-like turf in the dog park.  The dog park was well used by us and several others, and I was baffled as to why it didn’t smell bad since the turf didn’t look like it could absorb much.  I’m curious to know how a dog park like this is cleaned, as well as how often.   If you know, please leave a comment or shoot me an email.

The KOA’s sites were fairly cramped, but they still accommodated some very big motorhomes.   We saw several Super Cs, as well as several Newmars and Tiffins.  Our section of the park was interesting because our RV was oriented so that our door/awning side directly faced the door/awning side of our neighbor’s RV.   For camping with friends, that is a great layout, and I wish that other campgrounds had that sort of orientation as an option. 

The best part about the Salt Lake KOA is the location.   The KOA is right next to the Jordan River Parkway, a 45-mile, multiple use trail that traverses the city from north to south.   That was our main motivation in choosing to stay at the KOA.   We loved being able to hop on our bikes and easily get on the trail about a ½ block away.   The KOA is also right across from the Power Station, which is served by the Green Line of the Utah Transit Authority TRAX (light rail) system.  We bought a $5/person day pass on the days that we wanted to explore Temple Square and downtown Salt Lake.   The light rail was also nice on days when we knew we were going to multiple breweries and didn’t want to drive. 

The main downside to the KOA location was that the general area contained a large homeless population.  Given that I had just experienced a pretty bad bike wreck in Colorado Springs the week before because a homeless person had blocked the trail, that made me a little nervous that something similar might happen.   We saw a few encampments along the Jordan River Parkway, as well as dozens of tents and makeshift shelters in a few abandoned parking lots within just a few blocks from the KOA.   We also observed what we presumed were several folks riding the train simply to cool off.   If you aren’t comfortable with that sort of thing, then the Salt Lake KOA probably isn’t for you.      

Kiitos Brewing Glitter Beer for Pride in 2021

International Peace Gardens – Diversity in Salt Lake City

During our bike ride on the Jordan River Parkway, we exited the trail to visit the International Peace Gardens.  Local groups having ties to various countries are allotted plots to create a garden typical of the homeland.  It is a true testament to the diversity of the area.  The countries represented have changed over the park’s lifetime (which was dedicated in 1952), and the website indicates that there are 26 countries currently represented.     I didn’t capture videos/photos of all of the countries, but hopefully you’ll get the idea if you watch the video.  I absolutely fell in love with this park, and would put it near the top of my list of the things we did while in Salt Lake.  

The area’s emphasis on diversity was one thing that was completely unexpected to me about Salt Lake.   Before my visit, I thought that the Mormon religion dominated the culture and politics of the region such that it would be quite homogeneously conservative.   Yet, while there is a Mormon influence, different views and cultures seem to be encouraged.   Another example of this was the prevalence of rainbow flags throughout much of the city during our stay.   June is LGBT Pride month, and the we saw dozens of stores, restaurants, coffee shops, breweries, and other venues celebrating.   A few of the breweries had even concocted special LGBT beers.  Some had rainbow-themed labels; another beer was brewed with some sort of glitter.  It was nice to see such a thriving gay community in the middle of Utah!    

Donut Falls — Yummmm!

Donut Falls (near Salt Lake City)

Who doesn’t like donuts?   We were immediately interested in hiking to Donut Falls simply because of its name.  

There are two things you should know about Donut Falls when planning your visit: (1) parking is very limited at the trailhead and (2) the place is busy.   So, the answer to the question “Who Doesn’t Like Donuts?” is apparently “no one” because everyone in the area seems to like this place. 

We made the mistake of trying to go to the falls on a Saturday morning.   We went early, but there were already cars lining the 0.8 miles of road between Big Cottonwood Canyon Road (Highway 190) and the trailhead.  There are around 20 parking spots at the trailhead, and we were one of the few lucky folks to snag one.  Many people parked at the larger parking on Big Cottonwood Canyon Road (adding roughly another 1.6 miles the overall hike), but it was also filling up by the time we left.

The hike to the waterfall is about 1.5 miles round-trip.  It’s a fairly easy, well-marked hike, and we saw lots of families and people of all ages doing the hike.  It was so busy that it was quite difficult to take any photos or video without people.

The donut itself did not disappoint because it is such an unusual waterfall.  Many people go down on some slippery rocks to get a view of the waterfall from below, and some braver ones continue to climb the wet rocks so that they are much closer to the falls. We were not so brave, and only did the former.  Neither one of us were wearing the right kind of shoes to be doing much more than that.  After exiting the slick rocks, we found a dry path that keeps going upward that is not very well traveled or marked.  We took that and were able to view and hear the waterfall from above, which was my favorite part.  

I completely understand why Donut Falls is so popular.  I think I’d like to go back and hike it on an early weekday morning.