I would like to welcome Uinta Brewing Company of Salt Lake City to sunny Florida. They feature a lineup of highly rated, masterfully crafted beers. They strive to be environmentally friendly and are the first company in Utah to be 100% wind-powered. Uinta is named after the east-west mountain range that runs through Utah.

They offer an array of big, full-flavored, elevated alcohol bombers called the Crooked Line that includes Sea Legs Baltic Porter, Tinder Rauchbier, Labyrinth Black Ale and Tilted Smile Imperial Pilsner.  I sampled a can of Hop Nosh IPA. A curious story about Hop Nosh is that it was originally called Hop Notch but the fine folks of Notch Brewing of Ipswich, Massachusetts, politely asked Uinta to change it because some innocent beer drinkers were confusing the two breweries. Uinta kindly obliged and changed the name to Hop Nosh, which is Yiddish for "snack" and much more humorous in my opinion, because I can picture my sweet, old Jewish grandmother saying in her Midwestern accent, “Adam, you look a little thirsty, you want a little Hop Nosh?” 

I have found that IPAs taste fresher out of the can and did a little experiment a while back by comparing equal dated IPAs from one brewery side by side, one out of a can and one out of a bottle. My conclusion was the hops were more pronounced and a tad more bitter out of the can. Although Hop Nosh is available in both a can and a bottle, I am happy that it is readily accessible to me in a handy six-pack box of cans.

I poured it into my favorite specially designed IPA glass and watched a beautiful cascade of honey gold develope a cushy white, three finger head--nothing says a good IPA more than a healthy gold hue.

The aroma was equally pleasant to the old olfactory system. It displayed bright flowery notes with hints of citrus and pineapple. One thing I love is the smell of hops, any hops. I would burn essential oils to get my house smelling like tropical fruits and pine.

The taste was fantastic. There were layers of grapefruit, tea leave, pine and papaya all held together with a warm hug of decadent caramel malts. A truly refreshing IPA.

I was able to get a preview of Uinta when I attended the Great American Beer Festival last year and enjoyed their Baba Black Lager and Detour Double IPA with much enthusiasm. Cheers! 

Adam Shugan, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits Beer Consultant - Gainesville

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