Beerhive Pub Review
September 19th, 2009
Uinta Brewing Company and Bayou founder Del Vance opens the Beerhive on Main Street bringing exotic beers to the masses.
by Richard Markosian
Del Vance has made his living following his passion for beer: cofounding Uinta Brewery in 1993 then cofounding Bayou in 2002. Both businesses have become Utah institutions. Vance sold his interests after both businesses became succesful. After selling his portion of Bayou, Vance authored an excellent book entitled "Brewing in the Beehive." Which is why his new bar is appropriately named: The Beerhive Pub.
Since opening about a month ago The Beerhive, he has revitalized the North-end of Main Street. Friday night Beerhive was packed and people were walking around Main Street. During the two hours I was there, Main Street took on a completely different charater than it's normal ghost-town appearance and resembeled a real Main Street.
According to Vance the Beerhive required two years and an enormous amount of work and perserverience. "Its easier to open a nuclear waste dump in Utah than a bar on Main Street," Vance said during in the process. The Beerhive now has the distiction of being the closest bar to Temple Square and it's likely for this reason, authorities did everything they could to make Vance's permitting very difficult.
and Brian Kubaryez from the University of Utah
The Beerhive is indeed a very special place. Its very inviting, and it represents Vance's passion for both beer and Utah history. Adorning the walls are historic photographs of Salt Lake City dating back to the late 1800s: bars from eons ago are printed on canvas and framed in dark ash.
In the photographs we see faces of men who made their dreams of bar ownership come true. Bars that display all sorts of characters and fashions: dive bars or saloons with spatoons, giant adorning fancy bars--likely from when SLC became cash rich from mining claims; and underground "speakeasys" from The Great Depression.
Bars and bar ownership have been unfairly deamonized by Utah lawmakers. This is a shame because those who never have the opportunity to visit a fine bar are truly missing out.
When a bar is done right, the spirit and comfort are closely akin to fellowship found in a church sanctuary--meeting neighboors to enjoy the comradderie of those who share our city. The Beerhive is the epitomy of this ideal. On two visits I met Joannn who is a beer enthusiast and rides Trax to and from work daily. Joanne said, "The Beerhive reminds me of bars I've been to in Europe." On my second visit I met Rick Vazquez who said, "[The Beerhive Pub] feels just like the type of bars you find in Grennich Village or Downtown Boston. It's a great addition to Salt Lake City."
I sat down and perused the world of beer in their menu. Beerhive has a huge selection. A couple of my favorites on their menu were Duvel, which is a wonderful beer from Beligium, with a pillowy head and clove sent; and Hoegarden White Ale is another from a City by the same name in France that is ultra smooth with a citris aftertaste. Many regional beers are also on the menu including 20 local beers on tap from Squatters, Uinta and Wasatch. Beerhive also offers a wide selection of Sierra Nevada Beers and popular Rouge brand, which makes a chocolate beer I tried for the first time: it was surprisingly great.
Vance said that the most difficult part of operating Bayou was managing the kitchen. So Vance has partnered with the Vienna Bistro (next door) to provide food at the Beerhive. Any Beerhive patron can order Vienna Bistro's authentic Alpine European cuisine, for a great price.
Vienna Bistro Owner and Chef Froddy Volger makes all of his sausages from scratch, from fine bratwurst to weiswurst as well as many other cold smoked sausage varieties. Volger immigrated to Utah 30 years ago from Austria. Vienna Bistro restaurant is one of Main Street's best kept secrets.
The spirit of Beerhive is that of an unpretentious bar that offers a glimpse into something that is commonly found in many big cities around the world but has been lacking in Utah: A window into viewing who we were and what we are as Saltlakers. The addition of the Beerhive to Main Street demonstrates that Salt Lake City's Main Street has potential to make a great comeback, which would ad a much needed element to the city.
The Beerhive will hopefully serve as an example that if the powers that have attempted to supress culture and fellowship that occurs outside of church walls, losen their grip--Salt Lake City can become much more welcoming to the world--inviting everyone from any religion, creed or race to enjoy our fine city within the walls of more local establishments like the Beerhive Pub.
Get directions and ratings about the Beerhive Pub at Urban Spoon here:
Read about the Beerhive Pub in the SLTribune
Reader Comments
Mia Alvarez
Just the name is attractive, let alone the menu. It's a beautiful thing when I can walk into a restaraunt and know that I won't encounter any drunk obnoxious people. It's nice to sit down and ENJOY an aesthetically pleasing and delicious meal. BRILLIANT!
