Chappell Brewing opens with new beers 

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• Mike Riedel

Because of your insatiable need for craft suds, local beer nerd Tim Chappell has decided to share his love of beer with us all, and officially opened Chappell Brewing in South Salt Lake City.

Chappell's new brewery is a block east of Saltfire at 2285 S. Main Street. The space has a broad design, and it's all windows on the west-side of the tavern. Chappell as of this writing has two beers—an American Blonde (also served on nitro) and an American Pale Ale. These two beers will be the first of many joining Salt Lake's craft-beer stronghold, which is quickly becoming a "beer-cation" hotspot. Welcome to the family, Chappell Brewing.

Chappell - Brawndo: This American-style Blonde ale has Vienna malt for its base, and pours a medium golden color with an orange hue, and a mild-to-medium crispy white head. The nose has bread dough, bread malt, Vienna malt, honey and faint lemon citrus, along with some floral notes and a little honey as well.

The initial flavor starts with bready malts and toast crackers, with a wheat-like and yeasty malt backbone. It finishes mildly sweet, as a little black tea flavor rounds it out. The body is medium/light with that unfiltered mouthfeel. It's not too heavy, though; it leans malty, but appropriate for the style.

Verdict: Pretty spot-on for an American Blonde ale. Its smooth character and toasted components with hints of honey-like sweetness take this ale into lager territory.

Chappell - Playground: This pale ale is described as a hazy pale made with Idaho 7 Cryo, along with Citra hop hash, and it looks the part. I find the nose to be somewhat sweet and mellow, with hints of orange peel, as well as some underlying maltiness.

The taste is as I expected—nice upfront, yeasty, malt flavor with some caramelized sugar notes along with a very mild hint of herbal hop spice. A medium amount of hop flavor allows the malt to shine through.

Verdict: The taste is well suited to the American palate. Most of the flavor is light and subtle. The mouth feel is you'd expect from a 5.0 percent hazy. Light to medium on the palate, not a heavy body at all. This ale is smooth and refreshing—enjoyable enough that I would consider buying it again.

Epic - Peach Cream Ale: A dark ball of sunset orange at the top of the glass gently drifts into a pale, milky yellow glow, with a fluffy head jam-packed with foamy bubbles and lacing for days. Gentle fruitiness appears up front, with some mango and fruit salad. Then the peach hits, and boy does it hit hard. It's like peach candy, with depth that far surpasses any peach I've smelled in other Epic beers. The vanilla pulls it down into a sweet, savory mess, but the best kind of mess.

Wow, this isn't even beer, but more like liquified peaches amplified by vanilla cream. It's amazing how the bean both complements and enhances the peach flavor, slowly changing it into something darker, sweeter and more decadent than I ever thought possible, like sailing over a waterfall of candied peaches and cream. At the bottom is a stunning blast of even more flavor, with some ripe mango and creamsicle entering the fray. Reminiscent of peach nectar, it's certainly creamy; the lactose addition is light, adding a silkiness without being overbearing. The result is heavy and velvety, which works nicely with this flavor.

Verdict: The vanilla complements the peach so, so well. Like yin and yang, each balances the other. This is shamefully delicious, like a liquid creamsicle.

Epic's Peach Cream Ale just hit the brewery last week in 12-oz. cans. That's your best bet, but soon it will be in grocery and convenience stores everywhere. Chappell beers will only be available at the source in SSL. You can get them to-go in their house containers—not quite growler/crowler, you'll see. As always, cheers!