what's the deal with upland?

I believe Raspberry is the most common and as a result is also the one no one seems to want. I'm normally not a huge Raspberry lambic fan but I think Uplands is fantastic. I'm sure people will disagree, but I enjoyed it more than Blackberry and I love blackberries. It seems as if Kiwi and Persimmon are the most sought after, both were very good the last time I had them which has been awhile.

 

oh yeah... and they are pretty awesome!

I used to think they were stupid expensive... but alas, they have stayed the same price and $20 seems to be an average/good price for a tough-to-get sour beer in 750 ml, so now i value them even more!

2 years ago a few flavors sat around for months. they will not sit on shelves (even in Bloomington) for more than a day now, i imagine. that being said, they are only sent to about 4 shelves to begin with

 

I think the scores struggle a bit because they're not quite as good as the Belgian ones people have come to know and love. (I've had all but the elusive kiwi) I'm sure there's a bit of "letdown" element to some of these reviews, particularly after some people had to trade quite a bit to get a bottle.

That said, they're still pretty good, excellent even, and it's not like the world is floating in fruited lambics. (Or even other types of sours with fruits like kiwi, persimmon, and peach)

So, small bottle count, interesting type of beer for the US, fun flavors... that all equals pretty high demand even if the reviews don't seem to fully justify it.

 

As far as the scores go, i think another part of it is that many of them were first produced several years ago, before the sour thing really started taking off. now that many breweries make sours (many of them not great), people are more familiar with what to look for and what is quality, i think they would fare better now. I know i like them more now than i did 3 years ago when i first tried one.

I don't think they are the best in the country, but i do think they are a top-tier contender (i'm biased of course). do the beat (pun intended) Cantillon or Russian River's best? well no... but do they compete with some RR, Bruery sours, New Belgium, and the like? Absolutely.

And, they make a persimmon one... and it's real good

 

I think they all suck. Move along people. Trust me, you don't want any of them.

 

I thought Kiwi compared favorably to anything RR puts out. The Persimmon was very good. The Strawberry I had was a massive gusher (lost about half the bottle) and wasn't all that great. The Raspberry and Blackberry were good not great. I think I've had most of them at various ages and I certainly think they are better than their scores reflect for my palate anyway.

 

I would agree with everything there (haven't had a strawberry in a long time.... $20 was way too much for half a bottle haha), only got to have the kiwi 3-4 times, but was great. Can't waat for this next round!
Cheers!

 

Ohhh... good point..

They used to be easy-peasy to get before all these Indy people thought upland was "their" brewery and gobbled them all up.

 

Just another Midwest Shelf Turd

 

Hater.

 

and all those douchey BA's in Indy proxy for them!

Us down here in B-town keep it real. I try to keep all of this for myself, last time i only proxied for like 11 people.... and only one of them was from Indy (looking at you, rempo!)

 

Lazy. Rempo may live closer to the brewery than I do to the Indy Tasting Room.

 

I'm from Tampa, so no homerism going on here, but I've been known to like my Uplands. I know what you're talking about with the reviews and I also don't get it. I don't care for the Raspberry all that much, but the rest are pretty damn great IMO.

 

I totally agree they're at least as good as most any other good American wild brewer. I think Russian River and Allagash are the only two US breweries that are a clear cut above the pack on sours. (Ok, maybe Lost Abbey too when they are on point) After that, any of Upland, Cisco, Bruery, et al are doing a fantastic job.

 

Durian lambic fwiw

 

not sure, i doubt kiwi will be ready yet (pics of them pealing kiwis not too long ago, right?)

maybe SR#3? maybe some peach? c'mon blueberry!

 

Malefactor (formerly Gilgamesh) and Sour Reserve #3

http://beeradvocate.com/community/t...our-release-lottery.86280/page-2#post-1365989