Home to many alcohol-abstaining Mormons, Utah has some of the most restrictive alcohol laws in the country. Beer sold at grocery stores, convenience stores and bars without special licenses cannot have an alcohol content higher than 3.2 percent by weight (4 percent ABV).
Anything with a higher gravity is classified as liquor and needs to be sold at state-owned liquor stores or state-contracted package agencies. State law mandates that all alcoholic beverages be prepared or poured behind a 7-foot-2-inch high barrier — a so-called “Zion curtain” — out of sight from customers. Also, alcohol cannot be brought into Utah; only the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control can lawfully import liquor and beer products.
Despite all the wacky restrictions, though, some good beer is being brewed in the Beehive State. (I bet you did not know that was Utah’s nickname.) Squatters Full Suspension Pale Ale, brewed by the Utah Brewers Cooperative, is one of them.
Serving type: 12-ounce can.
Enjoy By: “08/22/2014” is written on the bottom of the can.
Appearance: Pour into a pint glass. The color is hazy, medium amber. Two fingers of dense, eggshell-colored head dissipates slowly and evenly, leaving lacing stuck to the glass. It eventually settles to a spotted skim and a frothy ring around the edge.
Smell: After pouring, I caught of whiff of intense pine, citrus and catty funk from an arm’s length away. Up close, the beer offers a big dose of grapefruit, orange, tangerine, floral hops, a little cattiness and pine.
Taste: Overall it is citrusy and refreshing, albeit with an astringent bitterness. It is very floral and grassy, which I was not expecting. The bitterness is sharp and long-lasting; it lingers on the tongue and tonsils after each sip. Grapefruit and tangerine are present, but a big dose of lemon, reminiscent of a seed-filled slice that comes with a glass of water, reminds me of a radler, beer mixed with citrus fruit juice or soda. Tropical fruits such as kiwi, mango and pineapple are also present, as well as a little cattiness at first.
