Two Small Utah Nanobreweries Play an important Role in Their Communities

Just over 250 miles separate Offset Bier Co. in Park City, and Policy Kings Brewery in Cedar City. But the two nanobreweries — which produce about 100 gallons of beer per batch, and are among Utah’s smallest — each plays an important role in its respective community.

Tim Haran

March 9, 2022

Offset Bier Co.

“Our goal was to provide a place for people who live here to come out and enjoy a beer and have a conversation,” said Conor Brown, who founded Offset Bier Co. with Patrick Bourque in September 2021.

The 2,000-square-foot brewery and tasting room on Bonanza Drive in Park City is Utah’s newest. It’s a five-minute drive from the Wasatch Brewpub that sparked the state’s modern craft beer boom in the mid-1980s.

Brown arrived in Park City from Vermont about 15 years ago and “jumped into the deep end” of homebrewing a few years later. He connected with Bourque through homebrewing circles, while Bourque, a longtime professional brewer, was brewing for a Salt Lake-based brewery. The two spent years “nerding out” over beer and the brewing process until finally the pair opened their own space.

Offset’s beer lineup focuses squarely on hops. A series of three hop-forward IPAs (dubbed LiePAs since they carry a higher hopping load than their 5% ABV would indicate) leads the effort.

“When we make a hoppy beer, we want the hops to be at the forefront,” Bourque said. “We don’t want to play with a bunch of adjuncts.”

Offset’s small size makes it nimble and allows for experimentation in the brewhouse. The brewery’s offerings include up to nine beers on draft and an ever-rotating supply of high-point one-offs in 16-ounce cans available to-go from its beer fridge.

Policy Kings Brewery

Policy Kings Brewery, which opened its doors in late 2018, spent the last year laying the foundation for expansion. It currently brews on a similar-sized setup as Offset, but in April, Cedar City’s first and only brewery is expecting to bring in a new five-barrel system and additional fermenters to essentially double its capacity and allow for greater distribution outside of southern Utah.

“We can keep up with demand in our taproom right now,” said Sara Ridgel, who owns Policy Kings with her husband, Deandre. “Our goal this year is to be able to start having our canned beer in different spaces throughout the state of Utah.”

That’s a welcome thought for craft beer enthusiasts who have sampled key Policy Kings offerings such as its Love/Hate duo (a Hazy IPA and a Black IPA), as well as its Dark Hustle Coffee Stout, brewed with coffee from Perks!, a Cedar City staple.

Those making the trip to Cedar City will see firsthand the growth inside the Policy Kings taproom. Tap handles are expected to jump from nine to 12 and brewers are focused on increasing sour ale production.

“We want to work on some heavily fruited sours while still covering the traditional styles,” Ridgel said. “But adding in some fun styles, those are some trends that aren’t really hitting down in southern Utah yet, and we really focus on being the trendsetters.”

A new canning line is also helping to increase efficiency in Policy Kings’ beer packaging process. The outdoor space — which is a coveted spot to enjoy a pint — is getting an upgrade, with plans for an ax throwing area, additional cornhole boards and increased seating. “In the spring and summertime, that’s the place everyone wants to be,” Ridgel said.

Each summer, Policy Kings hosts the Southern Utah Beer Festival. This year’s event is scheduled to take place on July 16. Despite rain, seven breweries and a handful of food trucks and other local businesses participated in 2021, Ridgel said. U

Offset Bier Co.: 1755 Bonanza Dr. Unit C, Park City

Policy Kings Brewery: 223 N 100 W, Cedar City

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Tim Haran

Tim Haran is an experienced marketing and communications professional with expertise in social storytelling and digital brand-building strategy. In 2018 he founded Utah Beer News as a project of Tim Haran Digital LLC. The journalistic-style website and accompanying podcast are dedicated to delivering stories important to the Utah craft beer community. Prior to launching his consulting business, Tim spent nearly a decade at a billion-dollar nutritional supplements company. He directed the company’s expansive social media presence, which had grown to 90 web properties and more than 750,000 followers/subscribers globally. The company’s flagship What’s Up, USANA? blog was inducted into the PR News Platinum Hall of Fame in 2014. USANA social media either had won or been a finalist for more than 75 awards and Tim has been named PR News Blogger of the Year, as well as Digital Communicator of the Year and Social Media Professional of the Year. Tim earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley and spent several years as a newspaper and multimedia journalist before joining USANA Health Sciences in 2007. Tim lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, Amy, and his Wheaten Terrier mix, Wrigley. He is a longtime Chicago Cubs fan and an avid homebrewer. Follow Tim on social media at @timharan or @utahbeernews.

Go Local

Utah Craft Whiskey: How Barrels and Utah’s Climate Shape Flavor

Utah’s craft whiskey scene is shaped by more than grain, yeast, and time. The state’s dry climate plays an unusually powerful role in how spirits age, intensifying the relationship between whiskey and the barrels that hold it.

Low humidity accelerates evaporation during aging, often claiming 14–18 percent of a barrel’s contents as the “angel’s share.” Unlike more humid regions where alcohol evaporates faster, Utah barrels tend to lose more water, concentrating flavor and driving proof upward over time. That accelerated interaction pulls sugars, tannins, and spice from the wood more quickly, creating whiskeys that often taste older and more structured than their age statements suggest.

To understand how Utah distillers are deliberately harnessing climate, char, and finishing barrels to shape flavor, two producers at the forefront of that experimentation — Sugar House Distillery and Spirits of the Wasatch — shared how barrel choices influence everything from sweetness and spice to texture and proof.

*The remainder of this article is available to Utah Stories subscribers and includes in-depth reporting from Utah distillers on barrel selection, aging techniques, and experimental finishes.

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