One of the more humorous things of living out here is that you run across articles like this one, which looks at the alarming number of restaurants offering alcohol with food. Twenty-six in a town with a population of roughly 60k and nine private club liquor licenses.

Deseret limits the proof of alcohol, making the beer out here weaker than beer elsewhere. The exception is for private clubs, which require membership. The aforementioned Deseret town has a whopping nine clubs.

On the Shoshona side of the Deseret/Shoshona border, is Buchanan. By most accounts, Buke is the liquor capital of the country. Unsurprising since it’s the closest out-of-state location for a majority of the state. U of Deseret, Deseret A&M, and Beck State U, the biggest universities in the state totalling over 70k students, are all within a couple hours drive. As is Gazalem, the state’s capital and largest city.

Simon and I actually talked about Buchanan last night. Apparently his fiance Paige has a shirt that says “Buchanan, Shoshona. Whirl in, stumble out.”

Deseret, on the other hand, has its homegrown beer, Polygamy Porter (motto: “Why have just one?”).