Beer and mountains are in no shortage in Utah, so creating a casual summer event at the high-altitude Stein Eriksen Lodge was a logical pairing.
And beer pairing was the plan for what became their annual Hops on the Hill series, a chance for the culinary team to feature local beer vendors and incorporate their beverages with sweet and savory bites.
On Tuesday evenings through the summer, Executive Chef Zane Holmquist and his team set up food and beer stations on the hotel’s Flagstaff deck with the panoramic views of Deer Valley Resort as its lush backdrop.
Their first event of this summer was this week, and a small cluster of guests mingled in the mild summer air. Many had driven up from Salt Lake valley, where an outdoor dinner like this would have meant sweating in the 98 degree heat.
“Here at 8,200 feet, the views, the mountain air are just fantastic,” Holmquist said. “It’s kind of an after-work thing, for those guests that are visiting Park City, it’s something to add on to a vacation stay. We have a lot of locals that come up both from Salt Lake and the Wasatch Back.”
Squatters Craft Beer and Bohemian Brewery, both based in Salt Lake City, were the featured brewers for the night, and Nate Robinson played an acoustic live set through the evening. Each guest received a small tasting glass and a wristband — six beer pours per person. But the food was unlimited.
A mix of IPAs and light lagers comprised the drink selection, and savory bites ranged from mini bratwursts, a smoked-salmon and quinoa salad, a vegan carrot “sloppy joe” and grilled chicken with a dill yogurt and peach slaw.
When it comes to creating the menu to go along with the featured beers, Holmquist said the process is similar to pairing wines.
“What’s the style of beer? Where’s the beer coming from? What characteristics are in that beer? Does it have some tropical notes? Does it have some fruit notes? Does it have some caramel and malt notes? Is it a porter and a very dark, rich beer? So you take all those things into play,” he said.
Unlike wine, beer is more versatile, he said. It allows his team of chefs to “play with some of these far ends of the flavor spectrum.”
He said one favorite pairing from last year was a dessert from their Executive Pastry Chef Jeremy Garcia: a caramel made with a porter-style beer served with Utah apples and tarts and an ice cream made from hop-infused milk.
At this week’s event, sweet bites were paired with the Squatters Juicy IPA, like a peach-topped rice pudding. The Bohemian Kölsch pale lager was used to make a honey reduction to drizzle on fried corn fritters and was also made into a jasmine & kolsch savarin, topped with a ginger peach sorbet.
Each week they will highlight two local breweries, and each brings three different beers. Some well-known Utah beer makers include 2 Row Brewing and Bewilder Brewing Co on July 23, Fisher Brewing Company and Uinta Brewing Company on July 30, Wasatch Brewery and Epic Brewing Company on Aug. 6, Top of Main Brew Pub and Helper Beer on Aug. 13, and Level Crossing Brewing Co, Mountain West Cider along with Napa-based special guest Mad Fritz Beer on their final night, Aug. 20.
“Our closing event on the 20th, we grill some whole animals,” Holmquist said. “We got some local goats, sheep and pigs from Tooele, and we do whole, roasted animals on the grills and carve them in front of guests. It just has this fun, dramatic feel to it.”
Visit steinlodge.com/hops-on-the-hill for more information and to purchase tickets — $90 for a beer and food ticket, $45 for just a food ticket. The event is 21+ only.
“This is just a midweek, afternoon, chill event, not too complicated, not too crowded,” Holmquist said. “Come in after a hike, come in after a mountain bike, come up after some golf, and just relax.”