Airs Tuesday October 30th, 2012 at 8:30 pm on KUED HD Ch. 7.1
Beehive Spirits: KUED Airs New Documentary on the History of Alcohol in Utah
A Straight Up Shot of Utah's Liquor History



For a state chided as being one of the driest in the nation, Utah has a remarkable history of pouring a drink…and serving as home to some remarkable pioneers. KUED takes a look at drinking and the pioneering spirit in Utah as it offers up a serving of Beehive Spirits, airing Tuesday, October 30 at 8:30 p.m., a humor-filled documentary on one of Utah’s oldest controversies: alcohol.

The 30-minute piece is directed by filmmakers Tyler Measom and Jennilyn Merten, whose award-winning documentary Sons of Perdition captured the plight of FLDS exiles. In tackling the story of alcohol in Utah, the directors tried to avoid getting bogged down in politics. "We didn't want to get embroiled in the battle over individual laws or with changing public sentiment,” explains Measom. “We wanted to tell a timeless story about character and craft that is at the heart of Utah's history.”

Contrary to popular belief, Utah has been far from dry, historically. In the 1800s, the state was home to some of the biggest breweries in the nation, but Prohibition drained the state. Since the repeal of Prohibition – the deciding vote of which was cast by Utah – liquor has been tightly regulated in the Beehive State, but the last few decades have brought some change, with the help of three modern-day Utah pioneers.

In 1985, Greg Schirf was the first rebel in years to start a Utah brewery. He walked into the State Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control to get a license and they didn’t even have an application form – nobody had ever asked for it. Millie Pullman, with no brewing experience but a degree in engineering, agreed to be brewmaster, and hired her friends to work in the brewery, making an all-female staff.

“I was only good for lifting kegs,” laughs Schirf. His atypical crew created Utah’s Wasatch Beers, award-winning brews made famous by tongue-and-cheek marketing campaigns – Polygamy Porter, First Amendment Lager and a non-alcoholic root beer called Brigham’s Brew. By 1987, a lobbying campaign had won Schirf Brewing Co. the right to open a brewpub, which became a booming business in Park City.

After retiring from two successful businesses in Salt Lake City, businessman and cowboy Colin Fryer decided to move to Moab and try his hand at something new – wine making. Though few knew about it, there was a winery in Moab before Fryer got there – run by an older LDS couple who never tasted the wine they made.

“You think cowboys making wine's funny, but how ‘bout Mormons making wine?” Fryer jokes. He and his son Will took the place off their hands, and Castle Creek Winery was born. Fryer also had some trouble with liquor laws in Utah, but with the help of a lobbyist, he began to make “baby steps” towards a more reasonable legislative stance.

The most recent pioneer on Utah’s alcohol frontier has pushed the limits even further: from Schirf’s beer to Fryer’s wine, biochemist Dave Perkins has graduated to hard liquor. He founded High West Distillery & Saloon in 2007 in Park City, where he promotes his whiskey – and whiskey in general – with an almost religious fervor.

“The two predominant flavors in this glass are caramel and vanilla,” he proclaims, holding up a glass of the stuff in the documentary. “Name one person that doesn't like caramel and vanilla besides Satan.”

With a historical flavor, a surprising range of award-winning products and a creative menu, the first legal distillery since the 1870s has landed in Utah with a bang.

With music by Tom Maxwell, former frontman for the platinum-selling band Squirrel Nut Zippers, narration by Radio West's Doug Fabrizio, and explanations from local newsman/historian Rod Decker and author/tavern owner Del Vance, the KUED co-production is perfectly blended to create a well-aged story.

While these entrepreneurs feel they are making Utah a better place to live, they still face challenging liquor laws. Nonetheless, their popularity and success are good indicators that they will remain pioneering purveyors of Beehive spirits.

Beehive Spirits is another edition of KUED's award-winning Utah Now local documentary series, which is funded by the Larry S. and Allyson Smith Challenge Fund.



Tue. Oct. 30, 8:30PM

This episode of Beehive Spirits can also be viewed:
Wednesday, October 31st, 2012 @ 12:30 am on KUED HD Channel 7.1
Friday, November 2nd, 2012 @ 11:00 pm on KUED World Channel 7.2
Monday, November 5th, 2012 @ 12:30 am on KUED HD Channel 7.1
Monday, November 5th, 2012 @ 11:00 pm on KUED World Channel 7.2
Friday, November 9th, 2012 @ 9:30 pm on KUED HD Channel 7.1



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Word of Wisdom-Origin:
According to Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, the Word of Wisdom was received in 1833 as a revelation from God. After Smith's death, Brigham Young stated that the revelation was given in response to problems encountered while conducting meetings in the Smith family home:

"When they assembled together in this room after breakfast, the first they did was to light their pipes, and, while smoking, talk about the great things of the kingdom, and spit all over the room, and as soon as the pipe was out of their mouths a large chew of tobacco would then be taken. Often when the Prophet [Joseph Smith] entered the room to give the school instructions he would find himself in a cloud of tobacco smoke. This, and the complaints of his wife at having to clean so filthy a floor, made the Prophet think upon the matter, and he inquired of the Lord relating to the conduct of the Elders in using tobacco, and the revelation known as the Word of Wisdom was the result of his inquiry. ["Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol. 12, p. 158]

I was reading mormonthink's page on WoW and they mentioned something about the church owned resort called 'Saltair'. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltair,_Utah the pictures of the original resort are quite impressive).

Apparently, this was the place to go, before the lake receded and left it high and dry (the lake receded so far they had to build a railroad to take people to the water to go swimming).

The church served alcohol, tea and coffee at the resort, which was open on Sunday. morg royalty went to the resort to drink alcohol and coffee.

The history of Saltair, (the church sold it in 1906, but Saltair III still exists as a concert venue) is a fascinating one of the church selling out to make money off violations of the WoW, (which, in their defense, were considered 'recommendations' at the time). It, also, is an example of how the church is incredibly hypocritical...

This unrelated, but has anyone here actually gone swimming in the lake? What was it like?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/2012 05:42PM by John_Lyle.

Swimming in the Great Salt Lake is an annual tradition for our family. My sons and I go at least once every summer. The water is warm and often smelly. Sometimes there aren't any bugs but the vast majority of the time the brineflies are so thick you need to wear a net over your face to prevent you from inhaling them. The shorelines reek from rotting brineshrimp and brineflies.

My great grandparents often spoke of the resort atmosphere of the GSL and showed up pictures of the original Saltaire. My grandparents met at one of the popular dances out at Saltaire. Most of my great grandparents never did quit drinking. It isn't widely spoken about, but most Mormons did drink despite the WOW,

We usually end up on the North point of Antelope island but our favorite spot is Spiral Jetty. It is a religeous pilgramige to go. We usually bring a small pebble from somewhere we have traveled and walk the spiral in Tevas (the rocks are sharp) where we deposit the pebble in the center. It is breathtkingly beautiful there. When the brineshrimp "bloom" the water takes on an eerie pinkish/ orange hue. It is also a great place to skinny dip because so few people come by.

When you leave the water your swimsuit and your skin are covered with a fine crust of salt. It is pretty uncomfortable. Despite the grossness of it all, it is worth the experience and we look forward to it every summer.

I've been trying to get to Salton City in S. Cal. for a couple of years... It is, essentially, a man-made slack water reservoir...

Sounds very similar.

Are there any fish in the lake?

I know it really stinks when I drive by...

"Oh no no no no no no, the church has always been anti-alcohol blah blah blah..."

KUER's RADIO WEST will give a preview to the program today at 11 AM

Here: http://radiowest.kuer.org/post/beehive-spirits

What a hoot! Per the Radio West program the Deseret News will not run an ad for this documentary. Other news sources will.