Upstream Batch 1000 Barley Wine

Brewed by Upstream Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Omaha, Nebraska USA

75 cL bottle, courtesy of Papsoe. Pours hazy deep orange to brown with a dense creamy and off-white head. Dry and spiced hoppy aroma. Solid bitter yet also smooth roasted caramel malty flavoured. Light roasted malty and towards a solid dry bitter finish. Smoothend by the alchol malty finish.

Bottle. [Tasting session @ Papsoe, 31-10-2008] large creamy beige head that mostly lasting. Light cloudy golden color. Aroma of mild bread, grain, caramel, hint of floral. Over the palate came strong floral and solid vinous malty notes. Full bodied with an average carbonation. Heavy sweet flavor and good counter bitterness. Lingering and warming alcoholic malty finish.

(750ml bottle) Pours a lightly hazy amber body with a small off-white head. Aroma of cherry, raisins, caramel, and toasted bread. Flavor of caramel malt, hops (floral, herbal, grassy), some pepper, and light cherry.

Bottle. Pours clear amber with an average, fizzy, white head, somewhat lasting with fair lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (cookie, caramel), average hops (perfume, pine), average yeast (dough) with notes of alcohol, apple, and pear. Medium bodied, slick texture, average carbonation, and a bitter finish. Average duration, moderate sweetness, acidity, and bitterness.

tap. Nice caramelization in the aroma. Thick small bubble head. Sweet. Zing on the tongue from the alcohol.

Forest fire in the fall in color, with a thin head that fades into a ring. Malt accented nose with lots of dark fruits along with caramel and toffee. Flavor has nice balance and well aged malts. Toffee, caramel, dark chocolate with other flavors of dried fruits. Its a barley wine of great potential, but it needs work.

Appearance: Pours a clear, mahogany body supporting a small ring of white bubbles. Smell: Vague, somewhat mild aroma of caramel sauce, booze, and the juice from a half-eaten tray of diced fruit. Taste: Ah, the sweet taste of caramel malt blended with an apricot fruitiness and taste of oily citrus peel. Peppery booziness. I will say the hop bitterness present is altogether harsh, scattering the maltiness and leaving you with an expected bitter finish. Hm. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: I’ll tilt my head, shrug my shoulders, and say it’s just "so-so". A bit on the coarse side, but, then again, aren’t we all?

My first Nebraska beer! Anyways a dark orange to copper color on this beer. The aroma contains some dark fruits, citrus, vanilla, and alcohol. The flavor is rather one dimensional and bends itself more toward the IPA side of things but I get some caramel, big dose of citrus, raisins, and alcohol. Not really a bad beer but it needs direction kind of like Amy Winehouse.