ST. GEORGE — Southern Utah is catching up with the rest of the state in the number of craft brewery destinations. What better way toast a new year than with locally sourced craft beer?
From Springdale to St. George
“Five percent is the sweet spot for beer,” Grant Matthews of Zion Brewery said. It is no coincidence when the state’s alcohol laws changed at the end of 2019, the door was opened for creativity and variety producing artisan brews. The new 5% alcohol volume in the state is the limit for draft beer; if it is higher, it must be packaged.
Zion Brewery has been operating in Springdale since 2006. The Station II Bar opened its doors in January 2019 to bring Zion Brewery drafts a little closer to St. George residents. They are now producing roughly two rotating seasonal recipes a quarter. Simon Allen, apprentice brewer at Zion Brewery, said their Juicy IPA, with “a hint of tropical awesomeness,” is their most popular.
The latest rotations offered in Springdale and Station II include Guardian Angel, which is a dark lager with a dried fruit aroma and subtle tastes of molasses. Their other seasonal available for tasting is the Stonefield IPA, which has characteristics of a classic pale ale with hints of stone fruit and citrus.
Matthews said that while the Stonefield IPA is not a winter beer, “we were excited to brew it because of hops.”
The increase of national park tourism with the pandemic’s impact on travel led to a big demand on beer, Matthews said.
“Everyone was coming to Zion National Park, and people are thirsty after their hikes.”
The demand for beer is high, but the beer industry also has its supply chain challenges. Procuring hops, let alone New Zealand Kohatu hops, makes the Stonefield IPA unique.
Zion Brewery patrons, both tourists and locals, can be on the lookout this spring for a new strawberry rhubarb gose (German wheat style) and Allen’s personal favorite, “100% is the Kolsch with an easy malt profile.”
Sometimes you gotta crack a few eggs
Silver Reef Brewing Company is off the beaten path nestled in St. George’s growing industrial area. It started production in 2019 and the pandemic did not slow it down. There is a constant stream of visitors to their tasting room that opened in 2021.
“We see a ton of tourists going between Zion, Bryce and Las Vegas or locals coming in after an afternoon RZR ride to pick up a six pack,” sales manager Chelan Hall said.
A year-round constant favorite is the Fresh and Juicy Session IPA. The biggest sellers over the holidays were the Color Country Red Ale and “hands down the holiday nog,” Hall said, adding that crafting the nog was a “labor of love.”
“We cracked over 20,000 eggs.”
New releases to look for this year are the Java Madre, an imperial milk stout, and Tropical Thunder IPA. However, new beers are not the only excitement for 2022 at Silver Reef. Plans are in place for a pub and beer garden to open late spring.
Both Zion Brewery and Silver Reef beers can be enjoyed on tap around St. George, including at George’s, the Hive and Café Sabor. For those wanting packaged-to-go, Station II offers growlers to fill, and Silver Reef sells their packaged products out of the brewery and stores locally.
Crown jewel in Cedar City
Policy Kings Brewery is a Cedar City gem that opened its doors in October 2018.
The Policy Kings were an all African American group who were not able to get in on the lucrative bootlegging enterprise during the U.S. prohibition era. Their profits were made from “the numbers game,” a three-number lottery rooted from Europe, which made them millionaires and financial contributors supporting African American businesses and communities.
“We figured we would pay homage to that since we are the only Black-owned brewery in Utah and states surrounding us,” said Sarah Ridgel, who is a Policy Kings co-owner and brewer with her husband, Dre.
Policy Kings Brewery has a three-barrel system and changes up their offerings weekly. One of their signature beers always available on draft is the Kings Kolsch. Love, a black IPA, Cascadian Ale, dark in color citrus notes, “is one of our most popular and most favorite beers.”
Their beers are often named after influencers of the Policy Kings era. The Hinky Dink is a German style hefeweizen named after a Policy King enforcer, coming out soon with a hint of strawberry. Next week they are releasing in cans a Mexican dark lager.
Policy Kings always has something going on including live music and trivia nights. The best way to stay on top of their regularly rotating beers and events is following their social media posts.
Almost Southern Utah
Located just outside the state line in Colorado City, Arizona, Edge of the World Brewery opened in 2018 after a decade of home brewing in a friend’s apartment. Part owner and brewer Ray Hammon speaks fondly of the partnership and brethren with the other Southern Utah brewers.
“We have become an adopted Utah Brewer,” Hammon said.
An advantage to brewing in Arizona it allows more flexibility in styles due to less restrictions on alcohol volume compared to Utah.
“Our flagship beer is our Porter,” Hammon said. “One of the things that contributes to our Porter being good consistently is our water.”
Colorado City has hard water due to the deep aquifer wells. While the hard water is ideal for the porters, most of their beers require soft water, and the area’s shallow springs are used for the Edge of the World’s water profile. The soft water is showcased in its second most popular beer: their amber ale.
On the schedule for production early this year will be a cranberry orange ale and a white IPA, and just hitting the taps and filling pint glasses now is an amber lager. Lagers are not so common for artisan breweries.
“It is challenging for small breweries to make lagers due to the process of aging in cold temperatures, called lagering,” Hammon said, adding that it’s easier for small brewing productions to make ales due to quicker turnaround times and desire to deliver bolder flavors.
Like the other Southern Utah breweries, patron traffic is heaviest during tourist months. Hammon said he would estimate that 60% is tourist traffic from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Lake Powell.
When it comes to the burgeoning business of craft beer in Southern Utah (and almost Utah), tourists and locals alike are invited to take advantage of the slower pace and sample the scene for themselves.
Cheers!
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