For the second time ever, Deer Valley brought its two-day Mountain Beer Festival to Silver Lake Village on Sept. 16 and 17, almost doubling in size for its second run.
The sold-out event began with a panoramic ride up Silver Lake Express, a worthwhile experience on its own and almost justifying the lengthy line. Pops of autumn colors decorated the route up the mountain as attendees glided over the still-flowering Deer Valley terrain. Mountain bikers carved on trails below.
At the top, the lift dropped down to Silver Lake and the festivities below. Circling a vibrant green field, booths from 19 Utah breweries (plus the non-alcoholic Athletic Brewing Co., originally from Stratford, Connecticut) offered tastings of a handful of their fresh brews, a total of 101 beers.
Certain tickets included a refillable souvenir glass stein, engraved with the Deer Valley and Beer Fest logos. By trading tokens for 4 ounce pours, guests were able to sample different beers or down refills of their favorites.
Participating breweries included Park City Brewing, Heber Valley Brewing Co., UTOG Brewing Co., Chappell Brewing and Wasatch Brewery (see list below for the full list). Attendees were encouraged to vote for their favorite brew, the “Best of Fest” — this year’s winner was Moab Brewery’s Especial Lager.
The event ran from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., which meant the beer was flowing brighter and earlier than I’m used to. Having woken up only a short two hours before, I decided to start with Kiitos’ Coffee Cream Ale, my morning cup of caffeine, I told myself. But don’t be fooled, this brew is beer through and through, with only the slightest coffee notes. It was light, almost sweet and an easy start to a day-drinking festival.
My partner tried the Blackberry Sour, featured as Kiitos’ seasonal sour beer — this warhead-level sourness was a lot for my still-waking taste buds, but the blackberry was a fresh touch. My partner happily finished the rest and left me to my cream ale.
Hopping over (no pun intended) to T.F. Brewing’s booth, we sampled the seasonal Squirrel IPA and the Triple Fruited Imperial Mango Gose, another sour.
Switching gears to hard cider, we tried Mountain West Cider’s hyper-local Green Urban Lunch Box cider. This annual brew is created with apples harvested in the Salt Lake Valley that would otherwise have gone to waste, stemming from a partnership with The Green Urban Lunchbox, who will receive a portion of the proceeds toward their mission to prevent food waste and end urban food deserts.
Their other seasonal offering was a POG (Passion Orange Guava) cider named Tropical Crush. Both were flavorful and fruit-forward, one of the charms of a hard cider.
To tame the buzz, Silver Lake Lodge offered lunch services and a VIP BBQ served certain ticketed guests to a hearty meal.
A stage facilitated by Mountain Town Music presented live music by Gordon Greenwood Band and Jake & The Heist on Saturday, and Hectic Hobo and Swagger on Sunday, whose performances added energy to the sunny day, closing out the summer season.
2023 Deer Valley Mountain Beer Festival participating breweries:
- UTOG Brewing Co.
- Talisman Brewing Co.
- Moab Brewery
- Templin Family Brewing
- Squatters Craft Beers
- Wasatch Brewery
- Offset Bier
- Roosters Brewing Co.
- Mountain West Cider
- Salt Flats Brewing Co.
- Kiitos Brewing
- Bohemian Brewery
- Uinta Brewing Co.
- Proper Brewing Co.
- Park City Brewery
- Heber Valley Brewing Co.
- SaltFire Brewing Co.
- Red Rock Brewery
- Chappell Brewing
- Athletic Brewing Co.