Wasatch Brewery (Salt Lake City, UT) - 16 DEC 2014

Located just a short walk (a few art galleries, hair salon, and Mellow Mushroom) from the Annex by Epic Brewing, the Wasatch Brewery is newly opened in the revived Sugar House block.  The location is ideal in an area made for parking the car and wondering about by foot.  

We stopped in for a quick one to check it out.  The focus here is obviously on the restaurant and not so much the the bar - it was very short, suitable for just a few people, though there were also a number of couches that probably best serve folks waiting for a table.  The bar staff was knowledgeable and friendly (going out of her way to get me some bottle caps).  

I tried the Outer Darkness Russian Imperial Stout by Sqautter's.  (I don't have a good feel for the difference between Wasatch Brewery and Squatter's.  My best guess is that Wasatch makes the draft beer and Squatter's the bottled beer).  Besides the really cool name, Outer Darkness was a perfect example of a Russian Imperial Stout (RIS as the beer geeks like to say).  It had a boozy alcohol feel with lots of complex flavors like molasses and licorice typical of the style.  It also came in a really cute 7oz bottle.  Probably a good thing, the 22oz option would have left me melted to the to the bar stool.

Delicious Russian Imperial Stout.

Wasatch Test Lab.

View of brewery from the street.

Located right inside the Brewpub is a very small brewing operation, equipped with a homebrew size brew kettle and a couple of fermenters.  All because of Utah laws, which I didn't fully understand.  As the name on the wall implies, this is a test lab and the main brewing is done at a different location.