Horse Feathers
Upstream Brewing Company - Old Market

A: Reddish bronze with a thin cream-colored head; lacing is quite good and intricate

S: So much ginger and some rye and some whiskey; sweet and boozy and delicious smelling

T: Lots of rye and whiskey; sweet but it works so well; there is some fruitiness beneath the obvious ginger and rye and whiskey--raisins and apple perhaps; this is a really solid mingling of flavors--the whiskey and rye and ginger play off of each other really well

F: A bit thin but it's sticky which makes up for the body and so the beer "stays" with you

O: Such a weird and delicious beer; like I said, the ginger and rye and whiskey work so well with each other; kudos, Mike and others at Upstream

 

 

Bottled in June 2011, brewed in February 2011. Bottle is numbered 200 of 480.

Appearance: Pours an amber-gold body, a bit muddled in appearance from a little yeast disturbed from the bottle. Small-sized, scant head.

Smell: Piquant, spicy rye, a little lump of sweet-scented malts, a quick squirt from a tube of Gourmet Garden prepared ginger, and dried fruits.

Taste: Sweet, toothsome malts fused with tangy candied ginger, a cheerful estery fruitiness (golden raisins, bit also a hint of apricot), and a tablespoon of packed brown sugar atop toast. Sweetness balancing spiciness from here and there, like the rye, the barrels, the ginger, the bitters, and even the booze, so not really any room for hop character or bitterness. Very, very low sourish hint wrapped into the sweet, fruity finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Smooth mouthfeel.

Overall: It's good. Sadly, you never really hear about this brewery here in Georgia.

Poured from a 750ml brewed in Feb 2011 and bottled in June 2011...

Appearance: Deep darkness in an amber/brown haze of a body underneath a 1 finger. Lacing is minimal as this beer clears quickly.

Smell: Nose of an interestingly complex with the templeton rye barrels leaving a strong impression amid a strong ginger essence and many minor qualities.

Taste: Rye barrel wood flavor and ginger is pronounced with the malt carrying strongly beside. Minor notes of spice and lemon zest.

Mouthfeel: Great carbonation with a creamy quality that leaves no flavor behind finishing dry.

Overall: If you can get your hands on it I'd recommend it.

Their beer is generally available only on tap or in growlers, but this is one of their special edition beers that they bottle from time to time (750 ml bottle with cork and cage). This 7.1% ABV beer was brewed in February 2011 and bottled in June after aging in Templeton Rye barrels. This is bottle 443 of 480.

The beer pours light to medium brown with ruby and orange tint. There is a tall half-inch of light brown head that dissipates fairly rapidly and leaves essentially no lacing.

The aroma is very gingery, with strong aromas of smooth rye whiskey. The lemon is also apparent, but is under the ginger and shows up as the sour note in the overall aroma of a delicious whiskey sour.

The taste is spicy, malty, rye, ginger, rye whiskey, lemon zest, and an astringent note of oaky wood from the barrel. It is like a malty and flavorful ginger whiskey sour.

There is ample carbonation on the end and it then finishes very dry, but with all its flavors in the aftertaste. This is a very interesting brew. I would definitely get it again, but due to its rarity, I probably won't see it.

This beer is based on the Horse Feathers cocktail that was popular in the Prohibition era. It was made with ginger ale, rye whiskey bitters and lemon zest. This is beer brewed with malted rye, lots of ginger and lemon zest, and then aged for several months in Templeton Rye barrels. Templeton Rye is a prohibition era recipe of rye distilled by the Templeton Rye company of Templeton, in Carroll County, Iowa. There is a tradition of bootleg rye being distilled in Templeton for a long time. It gained notoriety for its quality in the Prohibition era, and continued to be illicitly produced afterwards as well. It is available illegally to the present day, but several years ago a company was started to produce it legally using an old area recipe.