Set in, what could be considered the middle of nowhere, about five hours South East of Salt Lake City, in the Grand County, Utah near spectacular Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, is the small town of Moab, where Moab Brewery is located. It probably safe to say there is not another brewery in sight for a few hundred miles, and for mountain biking enthusiast and 4-wheel adventurers, Moab Brewery is the perfect oasis.
This was my first time visiting Moab Brewmaster, Jeff Van Horn, at the Brewery. Jeff is extremely laid back and passionate about brewing, like most brewers are. He is an avid downhill mountain biker, which has inspires many of his brews like Rocket Bike American Lager, Squeaky Bike Nut Brown Ale, Derailleur Ale, and Over the Top Hefeweizen. His passion for mountain biking as also played a major role in the development and expansion of many of the mountain biking trails in the Moab Area including the notorious Amasa Back Area and the Klondike Bluff Area.
While the brewery may seem like it is in a desolated area, Moab cranks out close to 10,000 barrels of beer. Roughly 1,200 barrels is consumed in their tasting room/restaurant and three other locations in town. It gets pretty hot in the desert so many folks must try to “stay hydrated” with tasty Moab beer! Starting with only four 15-barrel fermenters, Moab now has 18 fermenters with two large 120-barrel fermenters. They also have push out quite a few bottles and cans through their distribution center, making their beer selection available in select markets across nine states, from northern California in the West to Washington D.C. and surrounding states in the East, with full coverage in neighboring Colorado.
