In Search of (Real) Beer (Park City, Wendover: for sale, condo, home)

[Jackman]

So I visited SLC recently. Loved the city, mountains, lake, surrounding area, etc. Not at all concerned about the LDS/non-LDS thing. One thing that did put me off, and I never would have thought this would be that big a deal, is the beer. When one of the first places I had a meal at served me a mug of beer about the size of my head, I was thinking "this is my kind of town!" Then I drank it, and was sure I'd accidentally been slipped an O'Doul's or some other non-alcoholic brew. Turns out it was that 3% alcohol beer that only exists in Utah, as far as I know. How do they do that, is it specially brewed just for SLC and Park City? You definitely don't taste the 3%. At all. Which is the problem. So, I did some research, and I just want to make sure I have this right. To have a real beer in Utah, you must either:

1. Belong to a special private club and drink on premises.
2. Buy it from a state-owned store and bring it straight home. Absolutely no tailgating at the ballgame, even in moderation.

Anything else? Does a place like Squatter's (local microbrew) serve real beer, or the practical joke stuff? What about these state-owned stores? My guess is they don't have much of a selection, and that they jack up the prices (since they clearly don't want people to buy it anyway).

All I really want is a (real) beer with my pizza and a couple pints of Guinness while watching football on the weekends. These regulations seem unnecessarily intrusive to me, and what good does the silly 3% beer do stop the people who are dead-set on getting smashed? They just take in twice as many calories to get their 6%.

Not that this is the most important thing in my life or anything. I just enjoy sports & suds with my buds. Not interested in getting disorderly. Should I figure on being trapped at home with a flavorless mainstream domestic brew if I moved to SLC?

[RockyMtnr]

Originally Posted by Jackman

1. Belong to a special private club and drink on premises.
2. Buy it from a state-owned store and bring it straight home. Absolutely no tailgating at the ballgame, even in moderation.
Not that this is the most important thing in my life or anything. I just enjoy sports & suds with my buds. Not interested in getting disorderly. Should I figure on being trapped at home with a flavorless mainstream domestic brew if I moved to SLC?

The locals do a couple of things that help alleviate their similar situation:
Some drive over to Wendover, NV for a day or weekend at the casino. While there, they pick up some "real" beer and bring it home. Some others will take a drive up to WY just to get out of town for a while and do the same thing. It's kind of an ingrained thing as the drinking age used to differ (younger in WY) and so, to some, it's just part of the routine. It will also help you to simply drink beer a little less and pick up your beer for "special" days or evenings from the liquor-store and 3.2 your normal days - it does help to flush the kidneys. Maybe have a couple of light cocktails more regular and less beer. From my experience, UT is not a tailgate-state. There's only street-parking, so to speak, for the minor league baseball and Jazz games - that leaves the UofU (no) and BYU (oh heck no). A tip I learned while in UT is to concentrate more on enjoying what you're doing rather than continue the "normal" routine of doing it buzzed!

[coolcats]

Originally Posted by Jackman

Turns out it was that 3% alcohol beer that only exists in Utah, as far as I know. How do they do that, is it specially brewed just for SLC and Park City?

States with 3.2 beer (as of 2001 -- the latest I could find): Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Minnesota

Not to give the impression that I'm condoning drinking, being LDS, but in one of my classes up at the U we were talking about this issue. The consensus among beer drinkers was that the local breweries who have always had to deal with the law make a higher quality 3.2 beer than the national brands who tend to water it down.

[mariewendan]

Originally Posted by coolcats

States with 3.2 beer (as of 2001 -- the latest I could find): Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Minnesota

Not to give the impression that I'm condoning drinking, being LDS, but in one of my classes up at the U we were talking about this issue. The consensus among beer drinkers was that the local breweries who have always had to deal with the law make a higher quality 3.2 beer than the national brands who tend to water it down.

Nope, not in Colorado- they have real beer- not 3.2

[DP525]

Colorado has both. In the grocery stores one would find 3.2% beer. It is also for sale on Sunday. For "real" beer, one must visit a liquor store which are not open Sundays. However, the liquor stores there are privately owned and compete with each other; hence cheaper prices than Utah. The liquor stores in Utah have a relatively decent selection of microbrews and macrobrews but will run about 50% pricier than other states.

[coolcats]

Originally Posted by DP525

Colorado has both. In the grocery stores one would find 3.2% beer. It is also for sale on Sunday. For "real" beer, one must visit a liquor store which are not open Sundays. However, the liquor stores there are privately owned and compete with each other; hence cheaper prices than Utah. The liquor stores in Utah have a relatively decent selection of microbrews and macrobrews but will run about 50% pricier than other states.

And to clarify, I believe that beer sold in Utah's liquor stores also does not have to conform to the 3.2 limit. Is that correct?

[DP525]

Originally Posted by coolcats

And to clarify, I believe that beer sold in Utah's liquor stores also does not have to conform to the 3.2 limit. Is that correct?

Correct. It is referred to as "Heavy" beer..

[cas2006]

Methinks Jackman protests too much.....and has not seen a lot of our glorious country. He cites a "special" private club. All a private club is, is a bar with a one-time cover charge...and there are plenty of them...anyone can join. It's just a cash cow for the state. Admittedly the laws are goofy, but there are goofy laws all over the country. In Texas, (and other places) the laws vary from county to county and some are completely dry (or used to be). When I drink beer, I drink nothing but hi-octane Euro beers and have no trouble getting them. Yes, I am a long time non-LDS resident of Utah.

[Elder_Shawn]

My dad always purchased his beer at the Class Six on Hill AFB! All you need is a military ID and it's tax free!

[tbermudez]

Jackman- The liquor laws in Utah must be some of the most confusing, inconvenient and annoying IMO, but that's to say it's not impossible to get a real beer in Utah. Yes, you have to join a private club to get a real beer but even then, if I'm not mistaken, you have to order a bottled beer that has a sticker on it signifying that it's higher than 3.2. You will see this when you visit one of the state owned liquor stores. I also believe that anything on tap at bars and private clubs is 3.2, but I'm not 100% on that. The other bad thing about the liquor store is that the beer is stored at room temperature (that's right, no refrigeration). Apparently the state is worried that you'll want to crack a beer open as soon as you walk out. Another inconvenience is that all the liquor stores close at different times. Some close at 8pm and others at 10 pm. This means you have to plan your day accordingly so you don't have to travel across town 10 minutes to 10 pm to pick up warm beer. The mayor in Salt Lake is trying to push that the private club membership be eliminated but who knows if that will ever happen, but it's a happy thought