Uinta It's Not Buffett and Kiitos Salt 'n Pickle
Two new beers with unusual flavor influences.
By Mike Riedel @utahbeer
Uinta - It's Not Buffett: This is a piña colada-inspired beer made with the Philly Sour yeast strain. It pours a foggy golden color, first sporting a half-inch of loose, frothy white head that lasts for little more than 60 seconds. A foamy collar is its only remnant, with no cap or lace to speak of. As for the aroma, I'm mostly getting a lot of coconut, as well as notes of lemon, crackery malts and some sugary sweetness. The result kind of reminds me of a coconut and lemon meringue pie, actually, and while there's not too much coconut, this smells enjoyable and enticing.
The taste is a mish-mash of flavors that works, for the most part. The coconut continues to figure strongly, with lemony acidity and pineapple flesh also joining in by mid-sip. The coconut provides a background sweetness that nicely complements the base Philly Sour and pineapple, but it all transitions sharply into a lemony sourness that spikes right at the finish. Hints of coconut, pineapple and acidity linger into the aftertaste, but only transiently—the coconut lasts the longest, but even that fades within a second or two. It's medium-light in body, with moderately low carbonation levels that provide a gentle bite, frothing up ever so slightly in the mouth, and the overall texture is soft and smooth.
Verdict: This sour ale is pretty tasty. It's not as sweet as expected, and I don't know if the sourness totally works here, but that being said, if it weren't for that sour element, maybe the whole thing would wind up being a sweet mess. I think it turned out well enough, though. If you're at all curious, and have an appreciation for the cocktail upon which it is based, don't hesitate to take this Uinta beer for a spin.
Kiitos - Salt 'n Pickle: This a beer made with pickle brine—and believe it or not, it's damn refreshing. You have the option of having it straight or dosed with pepper sauce; I opted for a few drops of "Slap Ya Mama." It pours with solid head production, but then runs flat. The body has some chill haze, but even past that, it isn't perfectly clear, although there's no particulate out of solution—a slight red slick lingers on top from the hot sauce. There's not a ton going on with the nose, but I love what I get—it's clearly a dill pickle beer. There isn't much else there, maybe a touch of citrus and pepper. The inimitable presence of dill is definitely center stage, but by no means unpleasantly so.
It delivers that same experience to the palate—fairly salty, much more like pickle brine than a sour beer by style. Beyond the pickle flavor, there are very bare hints of lime, white bread and crackers, just enough perhaps to know you're drinking a beer rather than pickle brine from the jar. The 4.8 percent body is perfect for what is clearly designed to be a crushable summer beer.
Verdict: Look, I love dill pickles—hate the sweet varieties—and I love this beer. It executes the premise, and past that, it's legitimately enjoyable to drink. The option to add pepper sauce just accentuated the enjoyment for me. If you don't like dill pickles, then this beer should be an obvious no-go for you.
Salt 'n Pickle does have enough mass appeal for Kiitos to put it into cans, it has also been on draft regularly for quite some time, so at the very least, snag a sample. It's Not Buffett is a limited small-batch series, and is available in 16-ounce cans only due to its 6.4 percent ABV.
As always, cheers!
About The Author
Mike Riedel
Local boy and pilot of City Weekly’s best gig, The Beer Nerd column since 2017. Current photojournalist at KSTU TV (Fox 13) and host of the Utah Beer Blog and Beer Nerd Radio on KUAA 99.9 FM radio.
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