Upstream Double IPA

Brewed by Upstream Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Omaha, Nebraska USA

dark golden huge frothy well laced off white head. Odd fruity aroma light fruits and sweet sugars w/ a blend of floral and citrus hop. Oily full palate not as creamy as the regular ipa though. A bitter grass tastes ome citrus notes and a faint sweetness. An underimpressive double.. give me the regular IPA instead.

GABF 2005: Slightly hazy gold hue with a small head. The nose has notes of piney and grapefruity hops, marshmellow, and floral esters. The taste with bitter and citric with some buttery diacetyl character. The feel was pretty good really, lively and crisp with a prickley bite. A solid offering from a brewery that does not often produce such things.

(RBSG06, growler) White head atop golden body. Aroma is medium sweet, pine, some grapefruit. Taste is medium sweet, grapefruit/pine. Medium body with some resin. Lighter than your typical IIPA. (6/3/7/3/13)

(GABF05) Lightly hazed apple juice body with off-white head. Aroma is medium sweet, pine, grapefruit. Taste is moderately sweet, pine, grapefruit, some caramel, light buttery. Medium body, light resin. A decent IPA, but a bit weak as a Double IPA. (6/3/7/3/13)

Had the cask-conditioned version of this tonight. Served at a nice near-room temperature. Smooth palate drinks easily and has a mild body. Nice hop aroma, but certainly not IPA category hop contents. Way better beer off the engine than previous CO2 pushed versions.

Pretty good taste to this beer, albeit a little overpowering. This one was what the beer leaving the UK for India must have tasted like--very strong and supercharged hops character. Tough to stomach more than one.

On tap at the Legacy location. Solid "burnt umber" color, just like the crayon, with a firm head. Solid hop aroma and a full earthy hop character. Decent IPA; choose this or their ESB.

On tap @ Legacy brewpub, 4/8/05. Great clarity, white fluff/foam head, orange red in the glass. Dense sticky lacing, active but sparce sub-surface "racing." Medium to full body was nice, with good hops character, a nice blend of citrus fruity and bitter with a slight predominance to the bitter. The fruit flavors were a bit flat and didn’t seem as big or fresh as something like AleSmith IPA or Great Divide IPAs. Nice level of carbonation. It would be nice to have more aromatic hops, or perhaps more dry-hopping, because the aroma was lacking. As I’ve noticed that most Upstream beers have some latent acidity and citrus twang, I’m surprised this one (which is supposed to be that way) was actually drier and flatter than I expected. That doesn’t prevent it from being a quality drink, though.

Draught at the Brewery: This beer pours a clear, dark golden color, with a twinge of orange also. It had a minimal white head with a fair amount of lacing. The aroma is not as strong as one would expect from a Double IPA. there is somewhat of a citrus nose with some grassiness. The taste is dry and bitter with a hint of citrus. It is really in between a regular and double IPA.