"When I moved to Park City from Milwaukee, America's Beer Capital," explains Schirf, "I quickly concluded that Utah needed a brewery. It had been two decades since a brewery had been operating in Utah." Naming his beers after the breath taking mountains from which the pure, natural water for his beers originates, Schirf introduced the award-winning Wasatch beers in 1986. The Wasatch Brew Pub has housed the Schirf Brewing Company, perhaps one of Park City's most popular restaurants since 1989. It is located at the top of Main Street in Park City, Utah (250 Main Street, 435-649-0900, www.wasatchbeers.com).

At this restaurant, they brew the new Polygamy Porter (tag line: "Why have just one?"), the label containing a scantily clothed man surrounded by a six wives. There was even billboard advertising, perhaps challenging local sensibilities a bit further. Though irreverent, the result is a $5.8-million revenue per year microbrewery and brewpub. With slogans like "The Other Local Religion, Wasatch Beers. Baptize your taste buds" and radio commercials featuring a couple of missionaries on a door-to-door campaign seeking Wasatch converts, shall we conclude that they succeeded in getting the name out in the local Utah marketplace.

But the beer is tasty. "Our motto is that 'We Drink Our Share and Sell The Rest,' boasts Schirf. Wasatch beers are presently distributed in Utah, Idaho, Colorado and California. At the present rate of growth, other states will likely follow.

Though times were tough for expansion in the mid-90's, Schirf perhaps won Olympic gold in 1998. Anticipating the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games, he realized that Wasatch lacked the financial clout to achieve sponsorship status. Never at a loss for slogans, he began to banner the motto "The Unofficial Beer of the 2002 Winter Games." Cease-and-desist orders flew like slalom finalists from the U.S. Olympic Committee, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, and Anheuser-Busch, the beer sponsor of record for this Olympic event.

In the media, this played like David and Goliath with Wasatch brew the public sympathy winner. Then luck continued due to revelations of bribery with Olympic officials. T-shirts were quickly printed with the rally cry "Beer Not Bribes" and the case was closed.

In a story written by contributing editor Donna Fenn of Inc Magazine (www.inc.com), it was reported that "the Utah Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, which last October declared a ban on using religious themes in alcohol advertising...Earl Dorius, compliance manager at the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, says the ban's timing was coincidental. "[Schirf] didn't trigger it, even though he'd like to think he did," says Dorius. In fact, he says, the state commission rescinded its ban when it realized that it had inadvertently outlawed the advertising of kosher and sacramental wine and alcohol produced by monks.

Oy vay, Maria.

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Though known for wine, Darryl Beeson enjoys a good beer. His concern is the possibility of being hit by lightning while consuming such a brew. Says writer Roy Blount, Jr., "Wine is tough, but I know Darryl can do it."