Oak-Aged Barleywine
Upstream Brewing Company - Old Market

Beer Geek Stats
From:
Upstream Brewing Company - Old Market
 
Nebraska, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
ABV:
12%
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
4.19 | pDev: 7.4%
Reviews:
4
Ratings:
4
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 03, 2008
Added:
Jul 03, 2006
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by Fugazme:
Photo of Fugazme
Reviewed by Fugazme from Nebraska

4.05/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
750ml bottle

First things first:

A little pricey... wax is hard to get off the cap.

Now...

Very audilbe "woosh" once opened... extremely bubbly and hard to contain the head in the glass on a slow pour... quite aromatic from even a foot away.

Light copper in color, very thick, large, mountainous head... rocky with staying power... again, it was hard to pour and took a few minutes for the whole thing to settle down.

Aroma is fruity and heavily malty. Some wheat overtones, with a touch of rubber and grape-like overtones. A bit of muted alcohol and honey.

Flavor: Alchol upfront... dried apricot and sweetness up the middle with a subtely silky mouthfeel. Nice.

Nice burn on the swallow... comforting... some honey in the flavor and a nice bitter finish.

Great beer... expensive... but worth it at least once!
Apr 26, 2007
More User Ratings:
Photo of ATLbeerDog
Reviewed by ATLbeerDog from Georgia

3.92/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Pours cloudy yellow/orange red with a small 1/16 inch head and above average lacing. Nicely carbonated with a super sweet hoppy citrus smell. The hops balance well with the malts and finishes with a lovely bitterness. This is not a disappointment. Recommended!
May 03, 2008
Photo of RedHaze
Reviewed by RedHaze from Nebraska

4.08/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
750ml bottle.

Pours a bright copper color, with a tight one finger head that settles slowly to a thin cap and ring. The resulting lace is thick, and sticks nicely to the sides of my glass.

Smell; hints of oak-barrel, with a significant presence of whiskey. There's some hints of fruits and grains, but everything seems to be a bit overrun by the oak barrel and whiskey aromas.

Taste; lots of fruit flavors with apples, raisins and plums, and maybe a little bit of figs as well. The middle has a nice sweet maltiness that fades into the oak-barrel and whiskey notes. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied, with a very smooth carbonation that leads to a very nice drinkability.

So far this is the best beer that I've had from Upstream. I think I may have to go back for a couple more bottles.
Oct 17, 2006
Photo of bditty187
Reviewed by bditty187 from Nebraska

4.71/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
On cask. Served in a pint glass; Coppery-amber in hue with a slight haze, beautiful shading. Sparkler induced frothy beige head; it reached my glass with about one finger of foam. The head retention was excellent as a small cap lasted the entire consumption. The subsequent lacing covered the glass, it was like paint. I see no imperfections in the appearance.

The nose jumps out of the glass, loud notes of whiskey with oak underlying. I am surprised at how loud the whiskey bouquet is! This was totally unexpected as I was thinking there might be some woody notes but nothing like this. I can’t detect much of the beer aromas however, which is an indication of how loud the whiskey aromas are. If I closed my eyes and smelled this beer I would swear I have a small glass of whiskey, on the rocks, slightly watered down. The nose has high potency but it is not very complex and it is one-dimensional. Granted I like what I smell but I’d like to be about to smell the barleywine. Nevertheless I can’t wait to take a sip.

The palate is simply amazing. No, it is fucking awesome. This might be the most stunning barleywine I’ve tasted in along time (and I have quaffed some tasty gems). I get plenty of rich fruitiness, dark and alluring with plums and dates mainly, raisins too. I find hints of apples and melons as well. It is appropriately malty with plenty of caramel. I love the seemingly random suggestion of cinnamon. Intertwined throughout it all is oak hints and a shot of whiskey. How wonderful! This beer is hot and aggressive but so brilliantly put together. Intensely fruity, intensely alcoholic, intensely “spiked” with whiskey… the malt is sturdy enough to hold it altogether but the malt is also slightly overwhelmed. At times the maltiness is drowned out but it doesn’t matter. The flavor profile rocks, it is so complex and delectable. I love the long, malty sweet aftertaste with lingering alcoholic heat. I need another sip…

Medium/medium-full in body, I like how the cask-conditioning has affected the mouthfeel; it is enhanced by the low, creamy carbonation. The whiskey notes kind of make the mouthfeel slick, or so it seems anyway. There is a tug-of-war. This is a sipping beer that I would think would kill with some rich chesses and fresh fruits. Sadly, Upstream offers neither of those so this beer flew solo.

Amazingly drinkable; this might be the best Nebraska-brewed beer I have ever tasted. Without question this is the best beer I’ve had at Upstream, by a great deal. If Upstream is capable of such great beers I fail to see why they release pedestrian seasonals. Maybe (hopefully) this is a sign of things to come. Even if this is as good as it ever gets, I will gland drink the memories. I hope every BA in Omaha gets to try this beer. Highly Recommended.
Jul 03, 2006
Oak-Aged Barleywine from Upstream Brewing Company - Old Market
Beer rating: 4.19 out of 5 with 4 ratings