Upland Winter Warmer

Brewed by Upland Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Bloomington, Indiana USA

Serve in Snifter

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Draft to taster at Upland. Looks good; a transparent orangish-brown with foamy off-white head. Smells and tastes solid; sweet and malty with caramel, toffee, and a bit of hops. Nice and smooth on the palate. Solid beer.

Bottle shared at GTMW line, thanks rayl101 for sending! Pours a dark brown almost red with a really thin head, the aroma has a ton of booze on it with dark fruit and caramel, the flavor is really sweet as well with some dark fruit and plum in the finish, abv is tasted through out the beer, not terrible, just not something I’d really seek out again.

Bottle this beer was tasty, the best thing about this beer is the malty but hoppy mix created, with a good finish.

Sample of 2009-2012 vintages at the Blarney Wine tasting on 03/16/2013: Reviewing the 2011 which was my favorite of the bunch. Pours a brownish-amber color with a medium foamy off-white head that recedes slowly. Small patches of lacing. Aroma of malt, caramel and ripe fruit. Medium to full body with flavors of caramel malt, dark fruit and grassy hops. The finish is malty up front with a fruity and grainy aftertaste. Decent overall.

10oz tulip at Cock and Bull. Clear red / orange color. Good thin off-white head. Good lace. Not much nose. Very spicy flavor. More winter warmer than barley wine. Strong hop flavor too, even for a barley wine. Medium / bigger body. Dry texture. Smooth, lighter carbonation. Alcohol not very noticeable, but there is kind of a spicy bite in the finish. OK winter warmer. Kind of unbalanced, I think. Big, strong hop... Could use a more interesting malt profile

Aroma of marzipan, pumpernickel, orange peel and resin. Appearance is amber with tan head. Flavor matches the nose; but with a resiny finish. Palate is medium, creamy and very soft. Quite good.

$5.49 bomber pours a slightly hazy copper brown color with small off-white head and alcohol leg lacing. Smells like dish soap. Aroma is much better: includes grapefruit, lemon, caramel and toffee. Taste is mostly bitter with some alcohol in the finish.. Body is medium to full with average cabonation and a sticky mouthfeel. This is the hoppiest barleywine I’ve tried. A great value which definitely warmed up the coldest day of the winter so far.

Bomber - pours amber with orangish ivory head and good lacing. Nose is spicy caramel and maybe grapefruit. Flavor adds a definite grapefruit quality. Hoppy for a barley wine but it works for me. Boozy finish. Medium to full body. Fairly sweet but overpowered by the bitterness. Between this and the Komodo, I will start to look for more from Upland.

Dark golden to brown pour w/ a nice small bubbled off-white head and some decent lacing. Smells like "fucking dishsoap" yep that’s what I said when I smelled this glass.... if I get beyond that (and it’s damn hard to do) there’s a touch of citrus peel hints of grass and alochol. Palate is pretty well coated lively carbonation. Flavor is better than the aroma. An assertive grassy hops with aggressive bitterness and hints of lemon zest unfortunately that soapy taste is back in the finish. It’s not as bad to drink as the last upland beer I opened, but after my small pour I’m going to pour out the rest of the bottle.

22 ounce bottle bottled in November 2011. Served in a snifter, the beer pours a ruby red/copper color with about an inch light tan head that sticks around for a while. There’s also a good amount of lacing. It smells like dark fruit, caramel malt, toffee, and some oranges. It tastes like caramel malt, dark fruit (raisins, cherries), oranges, berries, and toffee, along with some pine and herbal hops. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it’s a bit creamy and slick with moderate carbonation. I thought it was a decent enough brew. And for just $5.49 a bomber, I’d buy this again in the future. It’s certainly worth trying, especially at that price.