However, Monster’s purchase did not include the physical taprooms in Park City, Sugarhouse, downtown Salt Lake City, and the airport.
Wasatch Brew Pub marketing manager Rick Seven said a local group got together to purchase the restaurants following the deal with Monster.
“They bought back Park City Roadhouse Grill, they bought back Wasatch Brew Pub at the top of Main, Squatters down in Salt Lake,” Seven said. “We didn’t own the breweries next to the brew pubs, but we bought them back in this past year, and so that’s kind of why we're here today. Basically, Nov. 1 is when Wasatch Brewery is going to become the ‘Top of Main Brewery’ because Monster still owns the name Wasatch. I know it’s very confusing.”
Brewmaster Nils Imboden said the deal means the beers will have to get a rebrand too. That means Pologamy Porter and Apricot Hefeweizen will no longer be brewed there.
“But this is really an excellent opportunity for me to sort of flex my creative muscle and be able to put out some new products and some new recipes and new designs with some similar styles,” Imboden said.
He added they plan to release a German-style lager, a nitro stout IPA, and an American blonde ale soon.
Imboden said Utah is strategically positioned for acquiring the necessary ingredients for beer production.
“Most of the barley comes from the Dakotas, malted in Idaho, hops come from the Yakima Valley in Oregon and Washington, good old Park City-filtered water. Our water is really tailored for dark styles of beers in terms of the mineral content, so I have to use some reverse osmosis to filter out some of that hardness essentially in our water. And then yeast from a yeast bank located in San Diego.”
Greg Schirf, who owns the brew pub location on Main Street, said things may have a new look, but the mission remains the same.
“I want locals to know that it’s kind of a re-do, and they should give it a good thorough look” Schirf said. “The beers, I can guarantee they’re going to be the best we’ve ever offered on Main Street. The restaurant team has really got their act together, and there’s new management. We had a tough time during the pandemic, we couldn’t staff, we lost a lot of people, but now we’re back.”
Along with a new sign outdoors, Seven said they plan to renovate the interior, although he said it will maintain the elements of Wasatch Brewery, which was Utah’s first-ever microbrewery.
