Thursday 23rd of September 2010 03:51:49 PM

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On a sweltering hot summer day in Utah (are there any other kind in Utah?), we pulled into Salt Lake City after a long drive from Idaho. We all three of us (wife, son and I) were literally dying for something cold in someplace air-conditioned.

We had the address of Desert Edge. We found Trolley Square. We were in a moving van so parking was difficult to find and so apparently is Desert Edge. I looked on the "you are here" map and they weren't! I asked a young, blonde hostess at one end of the mall and she replied:
"Umm...I just...I don't know...I only work here part-time and I...it's um...(giggle)...do you want to see a menu?"
No one seemed to know of this brewery!
After a 15 minute search of the lower & upper levels I finally found it at the other end from the restaurant.
("ummm....if you...could like...um...look when you like...come in...you like..ummm...CAN'T HELP BUT SEE IT!")

The beers were cold and refreshing on this hot day but I thought relatively non-descript...not very original. The menu was extensive, much more than one would expect from a brewpub with enough selections to satisfy the carnivore and the vegetarian.

For the time, it was a cool and satisfying haven from the heat.

Sunday 25th of April 2010 01:37:56 AM

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This brewery has open ceilings with wood tables and chairs, an "L" shaped bar with marble and two sides upscale decor with many flatscreen tv's. Happy Valley Hefe had no banana and clove aroma but a light sweet malt, fairly clear for this style and a somewhat dry malt flavor and light hops. A really light beer but quite drinkable. Next I had the Pub Pilsner which is a czech style with light gold color with moderate hop aroma and some initial sourness followed by bitter hop flavor. I think the sourness is from the hops. But anyway it had a medium light mouthfeel and some lingering hop astringency. Utah Pale ale was next and it had a nice moderate hop aroma and somewhat cloudy golden color, nice floral hop dominated IPA with some woody and slightly piney hop character but enough malt to balance. Much like a California Pale Ale. They had a seasonal which was an Amber, light copper in color and somewhat cloudy. It had an initial smell of detergent which was probably due to an unrinsed glass. But I could detect some crytal malt with medium hop flavor. To eat I had a chili verde buritto which came with rice and beans but they were skimpy portions but I did have a nice side salad. I ordered another Amber and yes, it was the glass as this one tasted much better. This is a good beer with medium mouthfeel and some crystal malt and well balanced. Later Days Stout has roasted malt aromas, coffee like flavors and a brown creamy tan head. Light roasted malt, creamy but light mouthfeel, kind of a cross between a sweet stout and a dry stout but misses both marks. Not much roasted flavor and not a very good beer so I ordered another pint of the Amber, ah yes, creamy mouthfeel with some moderate crystal malt and hop flavor. Also some slight toastiness from some munich type malts, a good beer! I was disappointed they sell no pint glasses for my collection, but I did pick up some nice coasters! Neatly located in Salt Lake City's Trolley Square. Worth the trip!

Sunday 23rd of August 2009 03:17:23 PM

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We stopped by for desert before heading back to our room after a long day’s drive. Located in the historic Trolley Square shopping area, we parked in the street level garage, rode the elevator up to the open mall, walked to the pub entry and then up a flight of stairs to the restaurant. There is a L-shaped bar and a variety of table seating areas. There is a long list of styles on a sign at the entry but only 4 brews on the chalkboard and a cask offering. We sat at the bar and had Chocolate Cheesecake. I enjoyed Roadrage Rye and Latter Days Stout on cask. Didn’t check out the dinner menu.

Wednesday 15th of April 2009 04:18:27 PM

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This person needs 3 or more reviews on the site for their scores to start counting.

Don't get confused by the signage. Desert Edge is also referred to as "The Pub". The beer is pretty good but the food is even better. They always have a good variety of lights and darks on tap and a number of their seasonals (especially their black beer) are worth going out of your way for. Their motto is "3.2% and proud" referring to Utah law that requires that beer made and sold on site be 3.2% abw and they do a decent job achieving beers that represent the intended style but remain legal. If they made anything above 3.2 they would have to buy it back from the state liquor stores thus increasing the price.

Good pub grub (especially nachos) and their roast beef sandwich is awesome. The atmosphere looses a little for being in a mall, but inside it's nice hardwood and big steel fermented, with a quaint outdoor patio. The service is a little strange because you don't have a designated server and this can cause mix-ups. All in all, I'm happy I live close.

Tuesday 9th of September 2008 02:11:52 PM

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A nice place to start my Great Utah Beer Run – Summer 2007
In trolley square the place was in a loft and had some nice food, the beers where at times so so. This was a typical college hangout as you can tell with some good beer prices they just need to brew better beer. The service was nice and the bartender had some beer knowledge and told me about the beer laws of which helps. 1 down 8 to go.