SALT LAKE CITY — For those who don’t know, beer and hockey, especially in Canada, go hand-in-glove. Molson Brewery family owns the Montréal Canadiens while Labatt’s Brewing has a distribution partnership with the NHL. So before puck-drop tonight at the Delta Center, Epic Brewing in Salt Lake City, is dropping their latest beer, which they call Hip Check.
Gus Erickson works in sales and marketing for Epic and is a huge hockey fan. He says it’s still hard to believe Utah has an NHL team. “It’s crazy, surreal for sure! Thinking back to January when all the rumors were coming out I didn’t think it would happen.”
Born and raised in Bountiful, Gus is a major puck-head who started playing hockey when he was just seven years old. “When I first heard the news, I was driving down the road and I let out a scream, just like a yes!”
Gus still plays in a Beer League. And working for a brewery, guess what one of his first thoughts was after hearing the news about the Utah Hockey Club? Making a special beer to commemorate the event.
“Something that would pair well after a hockey game or while watching a hockey game. So a lager was the immediate, gut reaction. And yeah, we went with Hip Check because it ties in well with hockey,” Gus explained.
Epic head brewer Clay Turnbow then went about the task of creating the new brew. He stated, “We decided to go with something more, closer themed to hockey and felt like a nice lager, an imperial light lager, which kind of matches the theme of hockey a little bit, but it happened really fast.”
It’s a one-timer, slapshot power play, and game-winner according Gus Erickson “Making a beer that celebrates the team has been a ton of fun. But really, just everybody being so excited about Utah getting a hockey team.“
Clay Turnbow agrees. “Anytime we can try and tap into the zeitgeist of what’s happening in Salt Lake City. We feel like it just helps us try to market a beer and contribute to excitement for downtown Salt Lake City!”
The only bummer for beer-loving NHL fans…you can’t get Hip Check at the Delta Center during the game because it’s considered a “strong” beer, 7.5 percent ABV. But it debuted this past weekend at state liquor stores and you can always get it at Epic Brewing on State Street in Salt Lake City.
