When Brigham Young first led the Mormon pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, thoughts of frothy brews and fresh-baked pies were likely far from his mind. These days, Utah’s commemoration of the stalwart settlers who laid the groundwork for our fair state is also a reminder to indulge in a bit of counterculture frivolity. While you’d think that the official state holiday Pioneer Day and its Jack Mormon cousin Pie and Beer Day would be at odds with one another, the truth is much more lighthearted.
Pie and Beer Day may resonate more with Utahns who don’t share ties to the LDS Church, but both holidays area way for everyone to celebrate Utah’s pioneer spirit in whatever way they see fit. Now more than ever, an excuse not to take ourselves too seriously is a rare gift, and July 24 is an opportunity to do just that.
Embracing the pie and beer spirit
While informal Pie and Beer Day celebrations have been happening in Utah since the 1980s, it was local community radio DJ ‘Bad’ Brad Wheeler who brought the idea into the mainstream. Partnering with local gastropub Beer Bar, Wheeler organized the first official Pie and Beer Day gathering in 2014 with several local bakeries and breweries participating.
“So many people showed up that first time at Beer Bar,” Wheeler said. “It was just nuts; the line went out the door and around the corner. But somehow everybody got pie and we got through it.”
Wheeler created Pie and Beer Day because he felt excluded during Pioneer Day celebrations. He remembers being a transplant to Utah when he was younger and feeling like a bit of an outsider since he and his family weren’t LDS. A kind couple named Les and Sharon Moore in his neighborhood saw this discomfort, and started inviting Wheeler’s family over to celebrate Pioneer Day in their own way. “Now that I say it out loud, that’s probably where that whole idea of what Pie and Beer Day came from,” Wheeler said. “That’s what Les and Sharon did for us when we moved to Utah.”
Pie and Beer Day has also built upon Pioneer Day’s celebration of Utah’s pioneer spirit. Utah breweries are some of the state’s more contemporary pioneers—the words “Utah” and “beer” don’t often hang out in the same circles. All the same, the Beehive State is home to some true beer pioneers. According to the Cicerone Certification Program’s state directory, Utah is home to 11 certified cicerones—and three of them are women. Much like a sommelier is a certified wine expert, a cicerone is a certified beer expert. Seek them out wherever you can find them.
Utah’s local breweries are no strangers to national acclaim either. In 2025, the Great American Beer Festival awarded medals to Salt Lake City’s Uinta Brewing Co., Park City’s Offset Bier Co., St. George’s Silver Reef Brewing Co., and even Helper Beer from the small town of Helper.
The nation’s largest assemblage of pie and beer
The New York Times covered the inaugural event in 2014, and the observance of this holiday has only grown over the years. Dozens of local bars, breweries, and restaurants curate special Pie and Beer Day menus, and gatherings dedicated to the pie and beer spirit pop up all over the state. Wheeler’s official event is backed by the Ballpark Action Team, a nonprofit organization that works with Salt Lake City’s urban communities.
Given the event’s popularity, Wheeler and the Ballpark Action Team have begun hosting Pie and Beer Day at the Smith’s Ballpark in Downtown Salt Lake. “To see the stadium get activated is powerful for me,” Wheeler said. “I didn’t realize how much that is the heart of their neighborhood and how its activation means so much to that whole community.” Along with locally produced pie and beer, live music, and an amateur baking contest, this year’s Pie and Beer Day will feature a communal table to recognize America250.
Whether you’re visiting the official Pie and Beer Day celebration at Smith’s Ballpark or having a gathering of your own, Wheeler just hopes you welcome everyone to the table.
“It has to be inclusive,” he said. “If that doesn’t happen, I would say it’s not a real Pie and Beer Day Party–it has to be for the people that feel left out.”
Related: The top 8 speakeasies in Utah (and how to find them)
