Salt Flats Brewing Company - Flat Out

This hefeweizen from Salt Flats pours a hazed pale golden color, topped with a vigorous head of bright foam. The use of authentic Bavarian weissbier yeast is apparent in the aroma right away as we get very bold phenolic notes delivering lots of clove-like herbal character, which melds into a touch of spicy, herbal noble hops. In addition, look for secondary true-to-style banana notes, as well as an undertone of pale bread or cracker. That bready character becomes more prominent in the flavor as the tangy wheat expands to offer a sturdy backbone. Those big herbal-clove phenolic aroma notes burst forth on the palate as well, with the accompanying banana esters offering a fruity quality. Look for a touch of mild hop bitterness to merge with the spritely carbonation and that herbal edge to provide plenty of balancing bite to the beer’s wheaty center. For pairing options, we’d look to lobster rolls, schnitzel, fried chicken, crackers with an herbed cheese spread, and various salads. Cheers!

Salt Flats got its start back in 2016 when the Garage Grill in Draper, UT began brewing under the name RPM Brewery on a tiny 15-gallon system. Originally, the beer was produced just to serve the restaurant’s taps, but the dream soon expanded to the goal of building an actual regional brewery. In 2017, Scott Parker joined RPM as brewmaster after eight years with California’s Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Used to a 250-barrel brewhouse, Parker helped the RPM team scale up their operations from that original 1/2-barrel system to a new 10-barrel system. In March of 2018, the decision was made to rebrand the brewery to the new Salt Flats name, which better represented their region while retaining the motorsports theme.

Motorsports is everywhere at Salt Flats Brewing Company. Besides the brewery and beer names, the brewery itself is located within what used to be a professional race team building. Owner Steve Pruitt is the team principal of Corsa Motorsport and has a lifetime of experience in motor racing stretching all the way back to 1975 and his stockholder interest in the Long Beach Grand Prix. The Garage Grill locations in Draper and Herriman are equal parts restaurant and museum, featuring incredible arrays of racing memorabilia and actual exotic sports cars and NASCAR, IndyCar, and F1 racecars, among others. Want to have a brew at the bar next to a 2007 McLaren-Mercedes F1 car mounted to the wall, or dine directly underneath a Ferrari 360? You can do that. For racing fans visiting the Salt Lake area, it’s a must-try experience.

Currently, Salt Flats produces over a dozen beers, all with automotive or motorcycle themed names. They also produce an award-winning line of spirits including rum, whiskey, vodka, and gin, plus canned premixed cocktails. Additionally, in 2023, Salt Flats took home awards for Brewery of the Year and Beer of the Year, among others, at the USA Beer Ratings in San Francisco. For more info on their brewery and their restaurant locations, visit saltflatsbeer.com.