The Quick View of the Salt Lake City Beer Scene – Part II

The beer scene of Salt Lake City really is something. While there on business in March of 2019, I took a quick bit of time to make sure I had some of the best beer the city had to offer. If you haven’t read Part 1, make sure you click here or scroll down to read it. It sets you up for what is to come! As always, make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss a post (literally, just to your right. All we need is your email address).

So, for Day 2/the final day, I had planned to get up early and maximize my time downtown. However, it occurred to me in the middle of the night that the bars probably wouldn’t open until a bit later. Knowing also that I wouldn’t be able to drink beer until 11:30, I opted to push that alarm time back and didn’t end up getting up until 9:30. Yes, as stated previously, I skipped working out and swimming…oh well, is what it is! Also, the weather forecast for the day wasn’t super great…a chance of rain that would increase as the day went on with the temperature topping out in the Mid-50s.

I quickly showered and packed up. I closed the door that served as my quarters for the night…bye bye Room 324. I headed down to the lobby and checked out. However, I would be back, so I left my luggage at the check-in counter and they put it into the storage area. I then caught the 10:30 AM shuttle to the airport.

Once at the airport, I headed down to the far side of the airport where the UTA (Utah Transit Authority) station is. Now, rail in Salt Lake City is relatively inexpensive. The Green Line runs between the airport and downtown at a round trip ticket cost of just $5.00. The train left promptly on-time and we were heading towards Downtown Salt Lake City.

The views heading into the city are simply stunning…between the mountains and skyline, I was just heavily impressed as we continued to roll into the city. Now, realistically, I could’ve gotten off at the Temple Square station (which is a tad bit closer to the brewery). In addition, it would’ve let me get a view of what Salt Lake City was built around; The Salt Lake Temple and The Tabernacle – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But, I decided to get off at the Arena stop for two reasons; One, this was the location of the iconic 2002 Winter Olympic Games countdown clock (in the shape of an arrowhead) stands (and right outside the station too). Two, it is named the Arena Station because it is right next to Vivint SmartHome Arena, home of the Utah Jazz. However, this was in the middle of March Madness, so I wanted to see if there was anything to check out. Alas, I arrived at the Arena stop just about 13 minutes after departing the airport station.

Seeing the Olympic Countdown clock was pretty cool. The time, of course, simply says 0 now…it had been just a little over 17 years since the Olympics were held there at the time of my visit. So, after seeing that, I crossed the street over by the arena where I was met with…crickets! It was dead. Not many souls in sight except for a few security people at the arena and some people setting up for activities outside. The arena was adorned with NCAA March Madness banners and signs. It was still cool to walk by this amazing arena while a huge sporting event was prepping to take place that night, but alas, I had to continue to my main goal of the day…..Red Rock Brewing Company.

It was about a half-mile walk to Red Rock, where I arrived shortly after they opened at 11. Of course, Utah Liquor Laws state that beer cannot be served until 11:30. But that’s ok, I took a seat at the bar and the friendly bartender gave me a water, as well as a food menu. He also gave me a beer menu so I could have decided what to drink and it would be ready when 11:30 AM hit.

Now Red Rock Brewing Co. is a really beautiful brewery, complete with a brick oven in the center of it for pizza. I absolutely loved the look and feel of the place and cannot wait to visit again. The value you get there is rather good (as you will see later on), the food and beer are both terrific and the staff is extremely friendly. If you’re ever in Salt Lake City, this is a must visit brewery. Don’t want to take my word for it? Will you take the Great American Beer Festival’s word for it? It won the award for Large Brewpub of the Year in 2007.

The brewpub has ten beers on tap at all times plus offers a variety of higher alcohol beers available in bottles. I, however, wanted to stick with the drafts today (all of which were 4% ABV by the way. Not just the ones I drank…but all of their draft beers are 4% ABV). What is nice about Red Rock is their beer menu is extremely descriptive, describing the following; aroma, flavor, body, and carbonation. In addition,it shows on a scale where the beer falls in color, intensity and IBUs. It even lists good food pairings.

I ended up having two beers plus lunch while I was there. I had only had coffee to drink all day and nothing to eat. So, I drank my water and ordered some onion rings along with my first beer. Now, I’ll review the food later, but I definitely got beer that went terrific with the food I ordered.

Amber Ale (Red Rock Brewing Co.) – The first beer I chose was the Amber Ale, which was just $4.75 a pint. As you can tell in the photo (and see the entire description of the beer), this beer has a perfect amber color and definite taste of caramel malt. However, this beer is also a bit more hoppy and dank compared to most ambers (which is fine, we even brewed one that was a bit more hoppy…more on that in a much later blog post. Have I mentioned to subscribe so you don’t miss anything?). This beer, as the description says, toes the line with a Northwest Pale Ale while maintaining its status as an Amber Ale. And can I tell you what, this beer is good! I absolutely loved it and gave it a 3.75 out of 5. The citrus and dank hoppy taste mixed well with the rich caramel and toasted notes. I do recommend giving this beer a shot if you are ever at a Red Rock or have the chance to get it any where (3.75/5.0).

West Coast Pale Ale (Red Rock Brewing Co.) – My second (and final) beer was Red Rock’s West Coast Pale Ale (I must have just had a taste for dank beers that day). I’ll tell you, this beer pretty much has everything going for it. First, I love a good West Coast Pale Ale, and this one is very close to being an IPA, but doesn’t quite cross the line. While not quite sitting at 50 IBUs, this beer has quite an aggressive light hop character along with a subtle (but very good) malt taste. Much like Sierra Nevada does with their Pale Ale (another amazing beer), this beer pushes the envelope. It has an amazing color that is middle of the road golden, it smells of a mixture of pineapple and peach with slight smell of lemongrass and dank hops. This beer has a wonderful hop taste which, along with the malt, gives it the taste that feels like a mix between an American Pale Ale & a Mimosa. Simply wonderful! This beer gets a 4.25 out 5 from me. Get it if you ever get the chance! (4.25/5.00)

Now, as you can see, I loved both the beers I had at this place. But, we need to discuss the food as well because the value was great and it was so delicious.

As I stated previously, I didn’t eat anything all day…so I was hungry and I still had a long day of traveling back to Michigan ahead of me. This was my belly fuel time! First things first, I had an order of onion rings. Wait, I should rephrase that, I got a half order of onion rings. As you can see, the half order is quite large…and it was only $4.00. The Beer Battered Onion Rings were terrific and they are served with an exquisite ketchup like sauce that makes it even better.

Now, for my main dish, I had to get the burger named after the joint…the Red Rock Burger. This burger is a terrific beef burger with swiss cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and aioli sauce…all served in a pita pocket. To describe this burger in simple terms would be impossible. It is seriously one of the best burgers I have ever had (even if you have to stuff the onions and lettuce in yourself to have it fit your taste). Everything goes together so great and the warm pita with the aioli pushes it into the threshold of terrific burgers. It’s different and it is delicious. And, once again, the value was great! $11.00 for the burger and it came with some delicious fries as well. And, you guessed it, guess what the burger was paired with? THE AMBER ALE. The pairings are what solidified my drink choices of the day. The food was so great and at such a great value that I mentioned it on my Untappd check-in (included at bottom of the post). Red Rock even responded to my check-in. This place is so friendly and awesome!

Unfortunately, it was just shy of 12:30 at this time. My flight back to Minneapolis was scheduled to leave at 3:18, so I had to get to getting. All in all, I absolutely loved Red Rock Brewing Co. I will definitely have to visit here again and I recommend it to everyone. Seriously, if you are ever in Salt Lake City, look them up. They also have brewpubs in Murray (south end of Fashion Place Mall) and Park City. Next time I visit, I will definitely try a more wide variety of brews and I’ll also have to try some of their pizza. It looked absolutely delicious and I love a good wood-fired pizza.

I started the walk back to the Arena Station, where I sat and waited for the train for a little bit, making sure I wouldn’t miss it. It didn’t get too busy, but a few friendly pigeons were hanging around.

By the time I got on the train, the rain had started to close in, and it had picked up quite a bit by the time I arrived at the airport. Once we pulled back into the airport, I quickly grabbed the shuttle to the hotel, where I grabbed my bags and rushed back to the airport, taking photos of the mountains as the fog and rain settled on them. Once I got to the airport, I was met with a hefty TSA line wait. But wait! I had previously signed up for CLEAR and was still on the free trial. Phew! I was able to skip the long standby line and get through security rather quickly. I made it to my gate just 15 minutes before boarding began. By this point, the rain had really picked up. Perfect time to boogie on out! With that, my plane lifted off from Salt Lake City, ending a terrific day and a half in a beautiful city that I cannot wait to visit again.

My next beer post will be soon, but next blog post we will switch to Amusement, where I discuss a few quick hours at Valleyfair, a Cedar Fair park located in Shakopee, Minnesota. Make sure you subscribe so you don’t miss out on any of the fun!

Until next time, bon voyage & cheers!

Adventure Brett