One of the best-kept secrets is how wonderful Park City is in the summer.  Many locals have shared with me how they came here to ski in the winter but once they spent a summer here, they became permanent residents.   This is only my second summer living here year-round and I’ve found there is so much to do, it’s difficult to decide how to spend a summer evening.

Last week my husband Jay and I attended, “Hops on the Hill” at Stein Eriksen Lodge and now have added the event to our list of  “favorites” for summer entertainment.

Here are five reasons why:

1. The Hill.  The setting on patio of Stein Eriksen Lodge is hard to beat. As you walk onto the patio, no matter how many times you’ve been there, you just say, “wow.”  The views of the aspens and evergreens on the mountain and the green grass on the ski runs are so pretty.  You just simply feel relaxed being there.
   
2. The Hops.  With the event admission price, you get a wristband with 5 mini-tickets so you can try five micro-brews.  The night we went, Wasatch Brewery was highlighting their Apricot Hefeweizen, White Label Belgian Style White Ale, Ghostrider IPA, Summerbrau Lager, and the Devastator Double Bock Amber Lager. My husband tried them all.

Since you could mix and match at your leisure, I loaded up on my favorite.  I immediately fell madly in love with White Label Belgian White Ale so I used up three tickets on one.  Then I had a tiny sip of my husband’s “Devastator” so I could taste it but held out the rest of my tickets for the Apricot Hefeweizen and the Summer Lager. Choices are nice.

3. The pairings.  I’d attended a wine and food pairing but never a micro-brew and food pairing with Chef Zane.  He put together a roast beef and horseradish sandwich with the Summertime Lager – perfect!  The Apricot Hefeweizen tasted great on its own but was really amazing with peach and apricot delicacies.  Veal meatballs and prosciutto wrapped shrimp skewers went well with the Ghostrider IPA.

4. The company.  Many of the attendees came with a group of friends and sat together at some of the round tables or around the fireplace.  The venue provided an opportunity to share an evening catching up with good friends. Jay and I moved from one of the tall standing tables to the next trying our new brews and meeting new people.  We got some tips on hiking trails from some locals and met people from as close as Draper, Utah to travelers from Palm Springs, Calif.

5. The music.  In the middle of the event, we heard music and realized Tuesday nights at 7 p.m., there is a free concert at Stein Eriksen Lodge lawn just below the patio.  After our fill of food, we finished our last beer tasting on the patio looking down over the concert.  We had a chance to listen to local band “Mister Sister” with the amazing harmonies that only sisters can have.

I love watching people dance almost as much as I love dancing myself. It’s fun to see how each dancer interprets the music once they have shaken off their initial shyness.  Concertgoers got up to dance on the grass to Mister Sister’s covers of oldies such as “Cecilia” by Simon and Garfunkel and more recent tunes such as “Black Horse in the Cherry Tree” by KT Tunstall.  Little girls did twirls and cartwheels. Ladies got up and danced together in small groupings.  Couples walked up hand-in-hand to enjoy a tender moment on a summer evening.

With those five reasons, can you see why Hops on the Hill at Stein Eriksen Lodge made our favorite’s list?

For more information on Hops on the Hills, click here.