Upright Six (#6)

Brewed by Upright Brewing
Style: Specialty Grain
Portland, Oregon USA

Serve in Shaker, Tumbler

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If rye grew on trees this beer would smell like it’s mulch. Is deep amber color worthy of a resin that would contain dinosaur DNA. The rich peppery tartness is so dry and refreshing at the same time, Like a wave receding leaves you ready for another sip.

Surprisingly delicious beer. Doesn’t smack you in the face with flavor or intensity, but after a few sips it seems to get deeper and more complex in a curiously subtle way. Notes of multigrain bread, yeast esters, toffee, chocolate and earthy-herbal hops weave in and out of one another seamlessly. It’s the perfect blend of flavors and it’s perfectly balanced. I drank the entire bottle myself and never got bored with it. In fact, it just made me want more.

Are you kidding me? This beer is so beautiful! Wood, cherry, sour, musty. A lot of sour. Thin body. Don’t pass this one up.

Draft in the tasting room. Very dark brown color, brown head. Aroma of Sour prunes and plums on rye bread. Taste has raisins, dates, prunes. Amazing.

Upright est encore une de ces brasseries qui est souvent ignorée. Se spécialisant dans le style de saison, cette bière ’Six’ ne laisse pas indiffèrent. Bouteille de 75cl. De couleur brune foncée, mousse épaisse blanc-cassé. Au nez on y ressent bien ce nez caractéristique de levure française, donnant des allures de basse-cour. Le tout est suivit par une savoureuse dose de malt caramel, grains et qcq notes de chocolat. En bouche, le tout est similaire au nez, d’un côté on peut y ressentir l’aspect de style saison et le tout fini sur une très bonne note de malt caramel. Cela fond en bouche pour laisser une impression de chocolat au lait qui est complèté par un bouquet floral de houblon. Avec un niveau alcool assez bas, cette bière est facile à déguster et présente une expression enivrante du début à la fin. Un vrai régal.

This is a complex beer. Some sweetness in the aroma. Orange-brown. A bit fruity for a rye beer. Some strange grainiess from the rye. Good but odd.

A steady pour into my large Tripel Karmeliet tulip produces a four finger thick, glass filling, lightly browned, dark tan colored head that leaves a fair amount of lacing on the sides of my glass. The beer is a dark brown color that shows a viscous texture to it by the carbonation bubbles that struggle to swim through it. The aroma smells a little tart and somewhat fruity that is backed by a grainy / malty character. The beer has a brown cracker aromatic note to it as well as a husk-like, thrushed grain, or even straw like character to it towards the finish. There is a spiciness here that seems mostly contributed by the yeast character (peppery with a touch of ginger even), but the rye and dark grain character also subtly influences this as does a touch of spicy hop character. The fruitiness, especially as it warms, reminds me of a tart / floral plum and even with a touch of Macintosh apple like aromatics. The grain character and yeast definitely has a musty character and a brown toasted grain starts to come out as the beer warms up.

The viscous quality of this beer has held in the carbonation quite well and it effervesces quite a bit as it rolls across the tongue. There is a definite tartness to this beer, though it isn’t really big (i.e. this is not a sour beer by any means), and it accentuates the fruitiness that is in the flavor; the fruit character reminds me of plums (though not as complex as in the aroma) and perhaps a touch of tart raisin. As the beer warms up a bit more a a complex grain character starts to come out in the finish; it is a bit spicy, sort of reminds me of toasted hay, perhaps a hint of bitter cocoa, and it definitely reminds me of spicy, toasty, whole grain character (and even rye specifically). Despite have a fair amount of viscousness to it, this beer is still quite quaffable and light. There is an herbal character from the hops that, towards the finish, melts into the tartness somehow; it has a touch of pine like character to it, perhaps a hint of rosemary and a light, but firm bitterness as well. Flavors of tamarind are also found here.

This is a very nice beer; I really enjoy this interpretive Saison from upright, the rye and the darker malt character really takes this in a great direction. It may not be a unique direction, but it is certainly well executed and quite tasty in the glass. Even though I have liked this from the beginning, it is still growing on me more as it warms up and I work my way through this beer. This is definitely my favorite upright beer of the few I have tried so far.

Bottle courtesy of riversideAK. Pours ruby red with a tan head. Smells of sweet rye, some subtle fruity hints, sage, floral. Tastes of cherries, tart, light sourness, funk finish.

750mL bottle, no date from Best Damn Beer Shop, $10.99. Clear auburn brown with a one finger beige head, fading to a thick ring and sparse film before long. Tangy fruity red wine grape/cherry up front in the nose with some peppery yeast and rye, some roast and chocolate notes in the backend, but still pretty apparent. Tinge of caramel is in there as well, but only as it warmed. Flavor follows suit--quite fruity with plenty of rye and a fair amount of complementing chocolate malt and roast. Sweetness is quite restrained--sourness peaked at a 2 1/2, finish is dry. Bitterness peaked at a 3, earthy. Low carbonation with a medium body. Doesn’t have the typical white pepper and fruit notes of a more traditional saison, but very tasty nonetheless--I liked it quite a bit more as I worked my way through the bottle. Rate #100!

Thanks kiefdog for the share. Pours opaque dark brown with a fluffy tan head. Nose is vinegar, cocoa, spices, oak, red grapes, vinous quality, and tartness. Flavor is similar with tartness and cocoa, with red wine and oak with some background tart cherries. Medium in body and just a great sour saison.