From Sept 2008

I got this bottle in a trade with Wasatch. Thanks John!

This pours a hazy yellow gold with another fine 2 finger head of foam.

The smell is malty with some fruitiness and just a touch of hop bitterness. Nice nose and good for the style.

The taste has good caramel maltiness and some light grain, a little fruit, and just a wee bit of citrus hop bitterness just to keep the sweetness in check. Nice taster here and very easy to drink.

Light mouthfeel and lightish carbonation, it finishes with a slight bitterness. Good stuff.

Btw, the foam does a very good job of sticking around and the lacing is pretty good.

Bottom line: Another good brew from Zion. What more can I say? ;^)

From Sept 2008

I got this bottle in a trade with Wasatch. Thanks John!

It pours a light yellow gold with a 2 finger plus head of foam.

The smell has notes of citrus hops and a light touch of bready malt and some caramel.

The taste starts off with some citrus that is bitter but not overly so. It's followed by some graininess, caramel sweetness and some bread that cut into some of the light bitterness. Right near the finish, I notice some light grassy notes that lasts through the finish. In there somewhere, I get a touch of fruitiness. If that were more obvious, I'd like this one even more. As is, very tasty.

This has close to a medium mouthfeel and the carbonation, though it looks spritzy in the glass, is more on the light side.

To follow up on appearance, this has *great* head retention..look at that billowy head! Lacing is good as well.

Bottom line: This is a very good ESB that could be helped by a bigger fruity presence but I'm not complaining much..

From Sept 2008

I got this bottle in a trade with Wasatch. Thanks John!

It pours a very dark brown with some reddish hues. The head is about 1 finger and is more white than tan.

The smell has some roasted malt goodness with some slight bitterness. A pretty good nose overall.

The taste is packed with roasted malt, a touch of coffee, some dark chocolate bitterness....yep, this is another tasty 4%abv brew from Zion. They must have some skilled brewers there...

The mouthfeel *just* sneaks over into medium territory, the carbonation is lightish, and it finishes with some nice roasted malt bitterness. Drinkability is pretty top notch though...the foam quickly disappeared and no lacing is to be found. Oh well, it's the taste that counts the most and I think Zion has done a great job with that here.

Bottom line: My second sample from this brewery and tastewise, it's pretty darned satisifying. The appearance is the only thing that holds me back from scoring it higher. A good American Stout.

From Sept 2008

I got this bottle in a trade with Wasatch. Thanks John!

It's a twist off cap but I had to resort to a bottle opener...

This pours a slightly hazy gold colour with a good 1 finger head of foam.

The smell has notes of earthy malt and light notes of citrus and some pine.

The taste is on the light side but pretty substantial for a 4.0%abv brew. Good hoppinesss with nice tasty grapefruit and piney hops, good earthy and caramel malt flavours that bring some balance. Hmmm. there's more going on here than I figured there would be. In fact, this is lick ass for a brew this low in alcohol. Hell, even if it wasn't this low in alcohol, I'd say this is a damn good drop. Hell of a session brew, me thinks.

It's light bodied, the carbonation is light, and it finishes with a nice pleasing bitter bite. Dang, I can't remember when I finished a glass of IPA quicker than this one. Well done!! And..the head retention was quite good as was the lacing.

Bottom line: Don't let the abv scare you away from this one as it is packed with flavour. I'm always impressed with how flavourful, despite the cap limits the state is strapped down with, the brews of Utah *can* be if done right. This one is an excellent example.

On tap at Zion Brewing. Pours brown with medium beige head. Malty, caramel, some chocolate, nuts, sweet with some bitterness in finish. Light to medium bodied. Bit thin.

On tap at Zion Brewing. Pours cloudy golden with small white head. Hoppy, fruity, citrus, grapefruit. Easy drinkable, light bodied. Good one.

On tap at Zion Brewing. Pours clear golden, no head. Fruity, blueberries in aroma, moderate sourness, sweet, low carbonation. Light+ bodied. Pretty simple brew, but refreshing. Just what I’ve needed after climb to Angel’s Landing.

On tap in a flight at the brewpub. Muddy brown appearance, with a small, bubbly, beige head. The aroma is mild coffee, chocolate pudding, burnt toast, charcoal, and resin. Sweet and overly roasty, with a mild bitterness. Medium body, sticky, harsh, and hard. This is very aggressive beer, but not in a good way. Harsh and hard on the palate, and yet somehow still thin and weak.

On tap in a flight at the brewpub. Pours a hazy, orange color, with a small, gray head and thick lacing. The aroma is toffee, dank earthy hops, black pepper, and ash. Sweet and malty, with an acrid bitterness. Light to medium body, oily, and clingy. This is a nicely aromatic and malt-forward amber ale, but the flavor is not quite right, and the mouthfeel is awful.