Shades Brewing Bonneville Burgundy and Solar Squeeze 

• Mike Riedel

Shades Brewing Company's new brewery and bar location opened its doors last week in SLC's Ballpark Neighborhood (1388 S. 300 West). To celebrate, Shades has released new brews in honor of the new space. Here are a couple of examples I thought worth mentioning as the third incarnation of Shades Brewing gets underway.

Shades - Bonneville Burgundy: This is an interpretation of a Flemish-style Red Ale, which is known for its distinctive sharp, fruity, sour and tart flavors created by special yeast strains. Very complex beers, they are produced under the age-old tradition of long-term cask-aging in oak, and the blending of young and old beers. This beer is an attempt to mimic the classic Flander Red, but with much faster lactobacillus yeast.

It has a standard dark cherry appearance with an average off-white head that holds on okay before dropping out completely. The nose offers cherry, lemon and caramelized malts, but little more.

The cherry flavor kicks off as the aroma did, with a natural taste—no cough-drop artificiality here. Malty sweetness threads through from there, with sharp and/or sweet flavors of oak. It comes across as a red ale with some drizzled cherry flavor added in, and that's not a bad thing; in fact, I thought there'd be more "Belgian" influences. The cherry is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here, and although I certainly didn't expect any hops, there was a pleasant dose of bitterness to keep the cherry in check. Some grassy/citrusy suggestions hover in the back, but that's it—which is probably as it should be.

Verdict: Let's move forward from the negative: It doesn't taste like a classic Flemish Red. The cherry flavors should come naturally from the yeast and malt, in an almost Balsamic tanginess. On the positive side, you've got drinkability. This beer, on its own, was fairly enjoyable at 6.5 percent ABV—a nice fruited tart ale with just enough complexity to keep you engaged with it.

Shades - Solar Squeeze: The pour is just gorgeous, yielding a light orange-copper beer crowned with a towering head of pure-white foam that sinks down to a solid finger after a few minutes. The body has a little bit of haze to it, and the lace is really attractive and consistent. The nose is initially pretty charming, to be honest, with orange essence surrounded by grapefruit hops, vanilla, fresh-cut grass and lemongrass-like florals. A bit of cracker-ish pale malt pops out after a few minutes in my glass. This isn't mind-blowing at all, but seems pretty solid for what it's worth.

The flavor starts malty, with crackers and biscuit sweetness, though it very quickly changes gears with some nice orange oil, light honey and floral notes with a slight bitterness towards the finish that's a bit herbal. Nothing complex, nothing crazy or over-the-top, just a solid pale ale base with some interesting citrusy flavors. As is the case with many others here, I appreciate that they didn't take this too far. There's something to be said for restraint in modern brewing, especially when keeping up with trends, and this is successful in that regard. Mouthfeel is slick and oily for sure, with a light-medium body and solid carbonation.

Verdict: The 5.0 percent malt backbone and overall balance here is on point, and I like the inclusion of hop elements that help out with the orange flavor instead of trying to do too much. This really does nail the essence of orange flavor in a compact, easy-drinking beer. I enjoy it, and would be glad to have more.

Shades has envisioned a new and modern adult-only brew pub with a beer nerd-focused main room and a cocktail bar across the room in its own spacious part of the building. With 60 tap handles, ciders, cocktails, wine and food, you're sure to find your groove.

As always, cheers!