Here’s where to enjoy Pie & Beer Day, Utah’s ‘party for the rest of us’

For a lot of Utahns, July 24 is Pioneer Day, with parades, fireworks and rodeos celebrating the day Brigham Young and the first group of Latter-day Saint settlers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.

But for other Utahns, July 24 has become a tongue-in-cheek holiday called Pie & Beer Day, and its celebration has only gotten bigger since organizer “Bad” Brad Wheeler started holding his “official” Pie & Beer Day event in 2014.

Wheeler — a blues musician, former KRCL host/producer, Zen Buddhist monk and community leader — describes Pie & Beer Day as a “party for the rest of us,” where people can celebrate their Utah heritage as well as “the other set of values that make us great.”

He’s calling this year’s Pie & Beer Day event the 12th annual, even though for a couple of years — during COVID, and in 2024 — “it was in your heart,” he said.

Pie & Beer Day has only grown since that first event at Beer Bar, where the line went down 200 South to 200 East, wrapped around the corner, then went north to 100 South, where it also wrapped around that corner. “It was nuts,” Wheeler said.

So this year, Pie & Beer Day — scheduled for Thursday, July 24, from 2 to 9 p.m. — is moving to Smith’s Ballpark, at 77 W. 1300 South in Salt Lake City’s Ballpark neighborhood. Ticket sales will benefit the Ballpark Action Team, a grassroots organization formed after minor league baseball’s Salt Lake Bees announced in early 2023 it would depart its stadium.

“We were created to help really bring new opportunities to the neighborhood,” said Fraser Nelson, a member of the Ballpark Action Team.

She said the organization would use the money raised by the Pie & Beer Day event to fund free community events in the empty ballpark, a portion of which is set to be preserved as part of the Ballpark NEXT vision.

Pie & Beer Day will “bring people to the ballpark and they’ll see what an incredible neighborhood it is,” Nelson said. “... It’ll really help people get their head around the possibilities of what’s to come in our neighborhood.”

‘Something that is crazy contagious’

This year’s Pie & Beer Day will feature, as has become tradition, “the world’s largest assemblage of pie and beer,” according to the poster, with about 20 restaurants and 20 breweries all donating food and beverages to the event.

All of the business owners have been paired up to create curated combinations of pie and beer, based on what flavors work together. As for exactly what they’re all bringing, those details were still being hashed out as of Friday, but Wheeler said attendees can expect some sweet pies and some savory pies — and the definition of “pie” is open to interpretation.

“We’ve had all shades of pie in the past,” Wheeler said. “I mean, I’ve had ice cream pie, I’ve had Frito pie. I’ve had ham pies, savory pies, sweet pies.”

Wheeler said he is expecting about 8,000 sample-size slices of pie at Pie & Beer Day this year. And he said chefs typically rise to the occasion of making pie with creativity and enthusiasm. “People really bring their A-game,” he said.

Among the many bars, breweries, restaurants and cideries slated to join in the fun are Epic Brewing Co., Fisher Brewing Co., Helper Beer, Beer Bar, Hopkins Brewing Co., Level Crossing Brewing Co., Moab Brewery, Mountain West Hard Cider, Ogden Beer Co., HK Brewing, Pago, Thieves Guild Cidery, Fillings & Emulsions, Bar X, Stein Eriksen Lodge, Sugar House Station, Goat Head, Scion Cider, Lucky 13, Fiddler’s, Leavity Bread and more.

For $30, attendees get a “pie ballot,” which is a punch card with six punches in it, each good for a set pairing of 4 ounces of beer in a 5-ounce cup, and about 1/16 of a regular slice of pie.

The idea is not to get totally stuffed or drunk on what has been the hottest day of the year in past years, but to sample what the chefs and breweries have contributed.

“We’re really trying to make it an elevated food tasting event,” Wheeler said. “So, not out of reach, but the best of the community.”

After all, “we’re not doing it at La Caille, we’re doing it in the ballpark,” he said.

All of the pie and beer stands will be set up on the ballpark’s concourse, in the shade.

There will be root beer and pizza for the kids at the event, as well as food trucks.

For entertainment, Wheeler is planning on holding a couple of exhibition kickball games on the field.

If you’d like to come to Pie & Beer Day just to watch the games and enjoy being a Utahn with your community on July 24, admission is $5.

“There’s something that is crazy contagious about being at the event that goes beyond pie and beer that I can’t even put into words,” Wheeler said. “It’s a powerful feeling to be with your people that you might not have ever known about if we didn’t have an excuse like pie and beer to come out and meet each other.”

More Pie & Beer Day celebrations

2 Row Brewing • 73 W. 7200 South, Midvale, 801-987-8663, 2RowBrewing.com • 2 Row is celebrating Pie & Beer Day with $9 savory hand pies, $7 sweet mini round pies, $4 select draft pours, $6 shots, and $10 cocktails, including Porter’s Orchard (with Porter’s Fire cinnamon-vanilla whiskey) and a key lime cocktail. Trivia starts at 7 p.m.

Chappell Brewing • 2285 S. Main St., South Salt Lake, 801-455-3478, Chappell.beer • Chappell Brewing is throwing a free all-ages Pie & Beer Day celebration Thursday in its parking lot, featuring a “mess of pies” (smoked pumpkin, strawberry rhubarb, apple pie with cheddar and more), pizza from the Dang Brother Pizza, smoked meats from Grandma Swan’s BBQ (which is also making sweet potato pies and peach pies), live music, beer and yard games, according to an Instagram post.

Emigration Cafe • 1709 E. 1300 South, Salt Lake City, 801-906-8101, EmigrationCafe.com • Emigration Cafe is going to be offering four housemade pie specials Thursday, made with seasonal fruit and produce, and paired with local beer. The specials are cherry pie paired with UTOG Brewing kolsch for $12; apricot pie paired with Proper Brewing Co. Yacht Rock Juice Box IPA for $11; torta rustica (with greens, tomato, ricotta and squash) paired with Red Rock Marvella Tripel for $20; and torta di carne (with bolognese, tomato and ricotta) paired with Salt Flats Brewing Co. Kilted Harley Scottish ale for $21. All of the “pies” and beers are also sold separately.

Fisher Brewing • 320 W. 800 South, Salt Lake City, 801-487-2337, FisherBeer.com • Fisher Brewing is going to be selling slices of pie from Central 9th Market to go with pints of its beer on Thursday, including mixed berry, banana pudding & cream, orange cream, and peach with brown sugar streusel, according to an Instagram post. Bella Food Truck will be selling pizza slices, too.

Forty Three Bakery • 733 Genesee Ave., Salt Lake City, 435-962-1628, FortyThreeBakery.com • Forty Three Bakery is collaborating with Level Crossing Brewing for Pie & Beer Day, and making a Utah peach pie that features the brewery’s White Salamander Fruited Hazy Double IPA. The bakery is also making a salted pretzel chocolate cream pie and a berry crumble pie; all three pies are $30 each and are available for preorder at FortyThreeBakery.com.

Hopkins Brewing Company • 1048 E. 2100 South, Salt Lake City, 385-528-3275, HopkinsBrewingCompany.com • Stop by Hopkins Brewing Company on Thursday for pie slices from Pies the Limit for $10 each. Blueberry sour cream, mango key lime, and Dubai chocolate pies will be available; get a pint of Hopkins beer to go with your slice.

Kiitos Brewing • 608 W. 700 South, Salt Lake City, 801-215-9165, KiitosBrewing.com • The podcast Small Lake City is putting on a free Pie & Beer Day event at Kiitos that will feature sweet and savory pies, craft beers, raffles, games and more, according to an Instagram post.

Quarters Arcade Bar • 5 E. 400 South, Salt Lake City, 801-477-7047; 1045 E. 2100 South, Salt Lake City, QuartersSLC.com • For another year, Quarters Arcade Bar is putting on its Pioneer Trail event, a pioneer-themed Pie & Beer Day pub crawl where participants travel to different “supply stops” around the city via TRAX and spin to determine their fate at each stop. Along the way, they will receive stamps in their passport to be entered into a raffle for prizes at the final stop at Quarters Downtown. Pioneer attire is encouraged. This event sold out last year, so get those tickets now at 24Tix.com.

The Salt Republic • Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City, 170 S. West Temple, Salt Lake City, 801-596-1234, Hyatt.com, This year for Pie & Beer Day, the Salt Republic is featuring a pairing of bourbon pecan pie served with Wasatch Brewery’s Polygamy Porter. Get the pairing for $14, or just the pie for $8. This special will also be available at Contribution cocktail bar off the lobby.

Snowmobar • 877 S. 200 West, Salt Lake City, 801-317-8877, Snowmobar.com • Snowmobar is celebrating Pie & Beer Day on Thursday with $2 cheese slices and $2 Montucky Cold Snacks to wash down the pizza, with hot tub karaoke later that night.

Sugar House Station • 2155 S. Highland Drive, Salt Lake City, 801-441-2199, SugarHouseStation.com • Sugar House Station and the new Pizza Bar will be supporting the “official” Pie & Beer Day celebration at the ballpark, as well as offering the same pizza special at Sugar House Station and pairing it with a local beer. For $12, you can get a “grandma slice,” aka pizza al taglio, with house porchetta, cherry jam and arugula, paired with Proper Brewing’s Blizzard Wizard IPA. The pizza is $10 on its own, and the beer is $6 on its own.

Under Current Bar • 270 S. 300 East, Salt Lake City, 801-574-2556, UnderCurrentBar.com • Under Current Bar is celebrating July 24 with pie and beer from 5 p.m. until close, with more details to come.