(Portland, OR) – Upright Brewing Co. shared a bunch of new release updates in this week’s email newsletter. More below…
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Upcoming Releases!
Lemongrass Saison
The brewery has been busy working on several batches with botanical elements. First up will be our Cheers to Belgian Beers festival entry, a Lemongrass Saison. The heavily aromatic brew was fermented with three different yeast strains and will be a featured draft at Luc Lac in downtown Portland. Make sure to try it there with some of their excellent Vietnamese dishes!
Saison Vert
Following the Lemongrass Saison in early June is another one-off draft only release, Saison Vert. The beer formulated for early summer is made with black limes for both a citric and earthy character. The lightly spicy yeast notes and dry finish contrast a creamy wheat base, making it a nuanced yet quaffable brew. Expect to see Saison Vert locally and out east as much of the batch will be sent out of state!
Flora Rustica
The annual Flora Rustica saison is motion! The beer waits for the first yarrow flowers of spring which opened just this week, so after fermentation and bottle conditioning is complete we’ll set a release date, likely to be toward the end of June. That beer is also tied to a barrel aged version simply titled Flora. Using the same recipe of fresh yarrow and calendula flowers but matured a year in lactobacillus laden casks, the batch that has been resting in the back of the brewery will be ready for blending and bottling soon. We’re anticipating an early/mid July release!
Marble Tulip Juicy Gruit
The botanical brews don’t stop there. We’re doing two gruits this year! Several times now we’ve made the Reggae Junkie Gruit for the North American Organic Brewers Festival, but we decided to switch it up and produce something new, although we’re keeping the Ween theme and naming it Marble Tulip Juicy Gruit. Expect a slightly darker base while maintaining the light body of the RJG, but infused with galangal, white willow bark, calendula, and wild lettuce.
Special Herbs
The RJG was the root of our gin and wine barrel aged version, the Special Herbs that made its debut in 2014 as the first of annual releases. Batch two is in the works and should be ready late July/early August. The beer is one of our favorites for its wild aromatic profile and unique flavors that showcase the gin botanicals. Stay tuned to the brewery facebook page for an exact date!
Exciting News!
Upright has had lots of fun producing the Fantasia, our sour peach barrel fermented brew, and we had the joy of working with beautiful muscat grapes to make a similar beer to the Jeux d’eau that was released earlier this year. Between the good feedback we’ve received on those two plus creating connections with thoughtful and talented growers, the brewery is happy to announce that more beers in that mode of processing (fresh fruit, barrel fermentation and maturation, lactic acid bacteria + brettanomyces, etc) are being planned. Barring any unforeseen hiccups, plans for 2014 include two different cherry brews, two different wine grape brews, and of course the annual Fantasia. Expect to see those new fruit beers next year!