When Red Rock Brewery opened its doors in 1994, you could count the number of craft breweries in Utah on one hand. Now, obviously, the state boasts quite a few more.
But the brewery that brought us the likes of Elephino Double IPA, Bobcat Nut Brown Ale, Marvella Belgian-Style Tripel, Grand Bavaria Weiss Bier, and many, many others remains as relevant and as important today as it was nearly 30 years ago.
The venerable brewery is the winner of more than 100 medals. And its downtown brewpub has earned Large Brewpub of the Year recognition by the Great American Beer Festival.
Based in Salt Lake City, the self-distributing Red Rock offers a variety of beers on draft and sells its packaged products primarily in 500-milliliter bottles. Representatives say the brewery is on track to brew 5,000 barrels in 2021 and it continues to blend tradition with innovation when it comes to satisfying public tastes.
I visited with Sales Manager Erika Palmer and Head Brewer Kevin Davis in early June 2021. We met at the Red Rock production brewery, which is attached to the popular Red Rock Beer Store at 443 North 400 West in Salt Lake City.
The Red Rock footprint also features three brewpubs—including the original Red Rock brewhouse and pub, which is headed up by longtime brewer Chris Harlin.
Our conversation dives into the history of Red Rock. Erika started as a bartender at the original brewpub before leaving and then returning to Red Rock two separate times to take on sales responsibilities.
Kevin, whose 20-plus-year brewing career includes stops at Brewery Ommegang, Keegan Ales, and New Belgium, joined the Red Rock team in 2018 following the departure of Kevin Templin, who ultimately opened Templin Family Brewing.
Erika and Kevin also discuss several beers woven into the Red Rock tapestry. They shed light on how a few fan favorites came to be and hint at what you might expect to see in the future.
Red Rock is an important player in Utah craft beer. I hope you'll find learning more about the past, present, and future of Red Rock as interesting as I did.
Thanks to Erika and Kevin for taking the time to visit with Utah Beer News. And thank you for listening. I hope you enjoy hearing more about Red Rock Brewery.
If you enjoy this type of storytelling, I'd really appreciate it if you could share this episode with your beer-loving friends, and then please leave a review on your podcast platform of choice.
And now, let's dive in to learn more about Red Rock Brewery.
For an accompanying article, please visit UtahBeerNews.com.
Enjoy the episode!
Episode 60 | June 28, 2021
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