What's On Tap, Salt Lake City - The Bayou

by Mike Pomranz, Posted Feb 4th 2010 @ 4:00PM

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars across the country.

Where's the best place to grab a beer in Salt Lake City, Utah? Despite its unexpected name, many would suggest a bar known as the Bayou.

"The whole idea of the Bayou, people gathering together and the mix of different cultures -- that's what we had in mind with the name," says Mark Alston, who owns the bar with his wife. Speaking with him, his philosophy seems to boil down to one word: "different."

To create a great beer bar in Utah, owners have to be different. Law prohibits the Bayou from carrying any draft beers over 4% alcohol. Bottles, on the other hand, can have any ABV, a rule that Alston finds ironic. "Yesterday we sold a bottle of [Sam Adam's] Utopia to a table of four guys," he uses as an example. Utopia can clock in at upwards of 27% alcohol by volume -- ridiculously high by beer standards, and fine in Utah since it's served in the bottle -- but when it comes to draft beer, that would never fly.

This odd discrepancy in the rules partly explains why the Bayou has focused so much on bottled beer, not draft, since opening in 2002. "That's why our bottled beer selection has 230 beers," Alston explains. "We can sell whatever we want."

Read more about the Bayou and check out its recent draft list after the jump.

But the 4% rule has some great side effects for local brewers: Since most breweries outside the state serve bigger beers, the Bayou has to look locally to fill their 30 draft lines. "Our draft beer is as close to strictly local as we can keep it," Alston said -- which isn't bad in his book: "If you look at the beer competitions, Utah brewers usually do incredibly well."

For all those reasons, Alston insists that Utah's beer scene gets a bad rap. The Bayou certainly proves the state doesn't deserve that reputation.

The Bayou's recent draft list: