Upstream Batch 1000 Barley Wine

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

Not entirely a barley wine. A very sweet, caramel strong ale. Very young (June 07). But a nice surprise. Who knew they can do this in Nebraska?

Bottle at the RBSG grand tasting on 6/23/07: Pours a transparent golden bronze with a thin wispy-lacing white head. Aroma of sweet doughy pale malt with a touch of earthy bread and corn. Starts fairly full and caramely sugar sweet with some earthy piny bittering hop presence toward a peppery slightly alcoholic finish. An ok barleywine, but needs more balance.

GABF 2007: Poured a light copper color with an off-white head. Sweet fruity malt and a hoppy tail make up the aroma. Hint of alcohol. Light fruity flavor with thick sweet malt. Full bodied.

750mL, Bottled: Sept. ’06. My bottle claims 9.2% ABV. Clear orange with 1/2 finger yellowish white head that stuck around a minute before fading to a thick ring. Aroma of caramel malts and grain up front, with some raisins and a good amount of alcohol poking through. Flavor is quite sweet with the caramel and raisins (caramel is much more dominant), sweet grains and some Luckily the alcohol isn’t as present in the taste as it was in the nose. Other than a hint of spicy hops, I don’t really know where they are in this one. Semi-dry finish, low bitterness. Moderate smooth carbonation with a medium body. I see people are talking about mellowing this thing, but I don’t know what there is to mellow--it’s just a rather basic barleywine with not much going on--maybe they had the younger ’07? If so, you boys aren’t missing out on much. Pretty inoffensive.

Date: 06/24/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, RBSG 2007

Appearance: clear gold, wispy white head,
Aroma: hot sweet caramel malt aroma,
Flavor: sweet caramel malt flavor, light earthy bitterness
-------- /> Date: 05/24/2008
Mode: bottle
Score: 2.9 to 3.4
Words: cellar party

Aroma: sweet caramel aroma with a nice fruity character and a touch of heat,
Body: big body,
Flavor: big sweet caramel malt flavor, touch of fruity sweetness, light alcohol leaves a peppery character, light earthyness adds some balance but the hot sweet caramel stays dominant,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4

RBSG 07 A light brown pour. An aroma of raisins. The same flavor of dried fruit and a hint of alcohol. Palate was good with next to no carbonation which is a plus for me on the style. A bit rough around the edges but pretty decent.

Might not have been ready for drinking, but it was passable. For now, it seemed everything was raw and edgy and needed mellowing. Caramel malt, unripened fruit, citrus hops. Medium body. The flavor was unrefined and a bit out of balance but showed promise. Would like to get a few bottles to lay aside and see what happens.

RBSG 2007 Grand Tasting. Clear gold with a yellowish head. Fruity nose, caramel and floral hop. Fruit salad flavors, sweet, caramel and floral.