SPRINGVILLE, Utah -- Rick Salisbury is bringing the beer history of Utah to life in Utah County. Salisbury plans to open a brewery on June 11.
The new brewery is designed after an early Harley Davidson factory and is even named after one of Harley's first motorcycles, the Strap Tank.
"The building is built like it would have been in 1870," brewer Mike Demowski said. 1870 also being about the time Utah County last saw a brewery.
FOX 13 found that there was at least one brewery operating in Utah County long before prohibition. The last brewery in Utah County was opened in 1875 and closing in 1884 owned by John Dallin and claiming the title of Springville's original brewery.
Creating that brewery flavor in a county where 80 percent of the population is made up of LDS families seems like it would be a challenge. However, Demowski says he hasn't experienced any hostility or adversity.
Beer historian, Del Vance says that few people realize that there is a beer history in Utah County. "I don't think they want people to know that there might have been some sort of brewing history there," Vance said. "It might be a little embarrassing. They make it difficult to find any information on breweries down in Happy Valley."
