Think you know Utah? These beer-chugging fans might have you rethinking old stereotypes.

When the jumbotron flashes to the crowd during Utah Mammoth games at the Delta Center you can see a lot of things — broccoli heads, babies in noise-canceling headphones, a dancing man in a sequined jacket.

One of the most common occurrences, though? Fans chugging beer. Forget the size of the cup or the limited time a person may have on camera, that beer is getting finished with an audience cheering on the drinker.

Despite the outside narratives of what Utah — and professional sports in Salt Lake City — are like, the NHL has brought out a different side of the state.

“I was surprised to see the drinking culture in the stadium. All those people chugging beers on the screen was pretty funny,” said Gus Erickson, who is a marketing specialist at Epic Brewing. “It’s definitely not the same stereotypical Utah crowd going to those games.”

He’s right. The Utah Mammoth fans set a record in beer sales at Delta Center during the inaugural year; they purchased twice the amount of beer compared to Jazz games, Smith Entertainment Group said. The Mammoth’s first regular season game on Oct. 8 did $120,000 in beer sales alone, which is more than any NBA event ever hosted at the arena.

Next season, fans have suggested a large Mammoth tusk mug to slurp their beers out of. New name, new traditions.

Erickson grew up playing hockey all across Utah and, naturally, was “pretty stoked” when the NHL’s move to his home state was announced. Some of his coworkers at Epic Brewing are hockey fans, too, so they decided to commemorate the Mammoth’s first season with a special lager. It is called Hip Check Ice and was released on Oct. 4 — it’s been in liquor stores since.

“The brewery decided that a lager would be a good addition to our lineup and a good style for hockey fans,” Erickson said. “Just because it’s light, it’s easy drinking, it’s usually what people go to but especially the hockey players at the brewery. They say that’s what they’re reaching for after the game — not an imperial stout or a triple IPA or something.”

The lager was one piece of a pre-existing hockey culture that was in Utah before the NHL. Now, it’s just getting its shine.

UTOG Brewery, which is in Ogden, has been rooted in hockey since its opening in 2019. Owner Carson Foss started skating when he was 10 years old; he still plays at least two times a week in men’s leagues now that he is 40. Carson’s kids are part of the Ogden Mustangs youth program, where he began coaching, too.

When the Mammoth arrived in Utah, Foss knew what to expect on the beer-consumption side of things.

“Before the season started, we reached out to all the food and beverage directors at the Delta Center and said, ‘Hockey people are going to drink beer. You need more.’ That is exactly what happened in game one,” Foss said. “In Ogden, we definitely have more of a turnout if I post something NHL versus NBA. We will have a larger crowd show up. Hockey fans love beer and they love craft beer. So I think it has helped.”

The Delta Center’s sporting event schedule doubled last season — from having just 41 home games for the Utah Jazz to having a combined 82 with the Utah Mammoth added. The impact, as Foss said, was felt in Ogden, and even more so in downtown Salt Lake City.

The Break Bar is located on the corner across from the Delta Center and is open seven days a week. They had an up-close view of the growing NHL fandom and benefited from the extra dollars the new sport brought in.

“It was tremendous for business. There are times when we’re turning people away because it’s an hour wait to get a table,” said Ryan Oliver, who is the owner of The Break SLC. “Our numbers would be 20% higher on an NHL night than a Jazz night. …The NHL nights were quite a bit better. I do think the Jazz having a rough year had a little bit to do with that as well.”

As they were navigating the beginning of the Mammoth’s inaugural season and what the customer response would be, Oliver started by giving his current employees more shifts. It quickly became evident reinforcements would be needed with the NHL turnout — he brought in “six or eight” additional staff members to fill the gaps.

And it was not just Mammoth fans who were gathering at The Break for a beer and some wings before, during and after the games.

“We saw a huge number of road fans. A lot more road fans travel in the NHL than they do in the NBA. It was interesting to see that,” Oliver said. “Always bantering and having good conversations back and forth with the local fans. Buying drinks for one another, buying food for one another. It was a really good vibe.”

It was a similar scene inside the Delta Center. The only thing was, the local options were limited. Anheuser-Busch started its multi-year partnership with the NHL in 2019, which made Bud Light the official beer of the league in the United States; it is Budweiser in Canada. Michelob ULTRA — which is owned by Anheuser-Busch — is the prevailing selection at the Delta Center.

Breweries like UTOG and Epic want to change that one day, but they said it currently comes at too high a cost.

“When we got an NHL team ... I wanted to be part of having my beer in the Delta Center,” Foss said.

But Foss said he would have also had to agree to a sponsorship deal of around $200,000 to be included among the arena’s selections.

“Our [beer] costs the same amount as their beer and it sells as good or better,” he said. “All of us local breweries — I know there are a handful that love hockey — we just want to get in a seat.”

Erickson felt the same way, especially with the public demand he has seen for the Hip Check Ice lager since it came out. Part of Erickson’s job is to go out to liquor stores and make sure Epic’s beer is on the shelves. He said he is frequently told by store managers that people are looking for more of the Hip Check Ice, and restocks were requested.

The limitations to getting their product into the Delta Center are “really tough,” he said.

“There are a lot of sponsorships that go into it and we don’t have the money to do that sort of thing,” Erickson said.

Despite these struggles, breweries like UTOG and Epic will continue to be a core piece of Utah’s hockey culture. Partially because they already have been for years. Plus, they’re proud of the beers they provide to their respective communities.

Local businesses — whether in or outside of the Delta Center — are embracing the NHL norms alongside its fans and, in hand, reintroducing Utah to the rest of the country.

“It’s been fantastic. Getting jerseys and getting the memorabilia hung up and turning it into [an NHL bar] has been amazing. We’ve loved every second of it,” Oliver said.

“I think there’s a standard that people think about Utah and the culture that is here. But I invite them to just come down here and take a look at it. Go into any bar or restaurant and see the vibe here is no different than going somewhere else and watching a game. I think they just have to come in and experience it themselves to see exactly what we have to offer.”