“You never forget your first.” The tagline Wasatch Brewery came up with to recognize its thirty-fifth anniversary has many meanings. Sure, when founder Greg Schirf started the business thirty-seven years ago in 1986, it was the first-ever microbrewery in Utah. But even after three-plus decades, Wasatch continues to find ways to innovate, staying top of mind in the Beehive state and beyond.

Classics like Polygamy Porter, 1st Amendment Lager, and Evolution Ambler Ale (now Evo Amber Ale) perhaps cheekily played on Utah’s religious history. While most recently, others have sparked creativity, stretching the breadth of Wasatch’s portfolio.

And for the last six years, one person in particular touched every off-the-rails beer coming out of Wasatch and its partner brewery, Squatters (which together form the Utah Brewers Cooperative).

Utah Brewers Cooperative Brewmaster Nils Imboden has been the brainchild behind beers such as Last One Down, 147 West Broadway Cold Hazy IPA, and, most recently, Salt Lime Cerveza, a Mexican-style lager with salt and lime ringing all the right bells.

“I have the most fun job in the company because I get to come up with new beers and see what the world thinks of them,” says Imboden, who jumped at the idea of doing a Mexican lager after watching the category grow over the last few years.

Is it a first for Wasatch? Sure. But this brewery is no stranger to firsts. In fact, taking a Mexican-style lager and putting a craft spin on it falls right into Wasatch’s wheelhouse.

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