So I've never been to the brewery but was thinking of stopping by tomorrow if it was possible to get a bottle or two of some sours to take with. Is that possible at any of their locations or not so much? Draft only? If it is does one location have better selection than the others? Thanks!
All locations should have beers to go but sours are pretty hit or miss in terms of availability. It's been a while since they did a public release so you might not have the best luck. If you're in bloomington and specifically looking for sours I'd recommend stopping at their production facility on the westside. No food there but they have a bunch of beers on tap and the sours tend to last longer there than at the brewpub. You could probably also get a tour of the facility if you want. Good luck!
When I was in the area a few weeks ago for work I stopped at their Carmel Tap House and they had (3) sours available to buy for $25/each... Kiwi, Cherry and Blossom I believe. I picked up one of each... The kiwi is the only one I had so far and it was good, but worth $25? Nah... I wouldn't buy them again if I had the chance.
Thanks for your honest opinion. I've actually never had any of there sour stuff but loved the barrel chested barleywine from them. Original plan was to head out to Jackie O's today but alas the brew i wanted is sold out.
@CincyMon No problem. My girlfriend is a huge fan of sours and so I try quite a bit of them, but I am not a huge fan myself. I like them as a palette cleanse between my beers, though... haha She really liked the Kiwi, but she also said the Destihl stuff she buys for $10/4-pack or whatever it is she likes more for far cheaper... Which I agree with. Maybe the Cherry or Blossom will be more impressive? We will see.
Kiwi is probably the most tart/sour offering from upland. It is known. The other fruits are also quite tart but not nearly as much as kiwi. My experience is that sitting on them for a while helps to mellow them a bit. The orchid is probably more mild as well since it didn't referment with fruit
I'd suggest calling ahead to see if they are available. I haven't tried the new "flower sours" Upland is putting out, but the fruited ones are spot on. My issue is they kind of fall in the Cascade category of being very good, but overpriced. That said, this is a market short on sours, imo, compared to places like Chicago and CA, so people pony up the dough to Upland. Personally, of the fruited sours, I think Kiwi and Persimmon are their best. @invertalon's opinion is his own, though he adds he's not really a fan of sours...if you like your sours very sour, give Kiwi a shot. I haven't had Cherry in years but historically, it was considered at the bottom end of the fruited Uplands; maybe that's changed.
Their fruit lambics tend to polarize. Some love them, others find them too aggressive. I lean toward the latter opinion, appreciating a few of them but not liking most because, in my view, the acidity eclipses any nuances of fruit. I've heard good things about the flower sours.
Kiwi, Cherry and Orchid are currently available at the Bloomington brewpub. They're also going to be tapping their new white IPA today at some point.
