Upstream Batch 1000 Barley Wine

Formerly brewed at Upstream Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Omaha, Nebraska USA

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

A deep brown copper colored brew with a large light khaki head. The aroma has lots of sweet caramel and peaches. There are also some leathery hints. The taste is very sweet with some leather and alcohol. There is also some white peach character. This is lightly spiced with black pepper and wood in the finish. Decent, but seems a little sloppy.

Crushed with Jakebra and Dadbra. Very sweet, caramelly nose. Mouthfeel is nice, but the balance is off. It’s a little too sweet, but still pretty good for a small Nebraska brewery.

750ml $10 Upstream Brewpub 10.2% Batch 1000 pours a surprisingly clear glowing ruby with streams of carbonation rising from spots with other spots being dead. A fingers worth of ecru head formed on the pour and fell to a slim cap with a decent ring. The carbonation bubbles seem to keep the ring alive. Leaves patchy lacing here and there on its way down. You can tell the alcohol pulls away the majority of the head on this beer. Smell is big on the sugary sweet caramel which is basically the steals the show. There is a good amount of fruitiness involved which really adds complexity. Golden raisins, peaches, a bit of pear, and even less apricot. There’s a touch of cinnamon in there although I’m not sure where it’s coming from. Spicy booziness adds to the layers and ends up creating a very interesting, unique barleywine. The more I smell the more I like this big bold barleywine. The flavor seems to follow the aroma fairly closely. The golden raisin, pears, and apricot are all caramel drizzled and delicious. The alcohol is big but never gets in the way; instead it adds spiciness and seems to bring out all the rich caramel fruitiness. There isn’t much hoppiness in the flavor, more big candy like maltiness, but the bitterness grows as I drink. A thick heavy body feels right at home with the sweet booziness of this barleywine. It’s dense but moves very well over the tongue. The bitterness continues to grow until (halfway through the bottle for me) the tongue is stomped on. This is a sipper without a doubt and one to enjoy over long periods but that being said it’s a beer I could sip for quite a while. Warming, smooth, and delicious! I would recommend letting this beer warm up to 60 degrees or so. The booziness dies down and the true flavor really pops. This barleywine grew on me as the temperature rose and ended up being an excellent sipper. If you have the chance, pick this up. 6/7/08

Date: 10/10/2008 2008 GABF Dark fruits and sweet malty aroma. Caramel malts with some dark fruits with low hop flavor and bitterness. Medium body and mouthfeel. Moderatelt sweet finish.

<i>Tasting at Papsoe, corked bottle</i>
Hazy red-amber color. The aroma is light, it has a strong caramel flavor, some residual sweetness, strong nutty character, strong bitterness; strong but not interesting for me, not even a Barley Wine IMO.

Bottle courtesy of tpd975. Pours a clear amber with a one finger off-white head that leaves good lacing. Aroma of caramel, sweer malt, and floral hops. Taste is the same as aroma. Medium full mouthfeel with a moderate amount of bitterness and smooth alcohol. Very good.

Bottle courtesy of tpd975. Pours an amber orange color with a thin white head. Aroma is sweet malt, caramel, phenol, some licorice and dark ripe fruit. Flavor is malty and sweet, notes of caramel and toffee, floral hops, dark ripe fruits. Generally medium body with a malty and hoppy finish.

courtesy of Tampa finest, none other than tpd975. Pours orange with some nice golden/ light yellow lacing. Aroma is loaded with grains and caramel malts. Taste, more on the hop side while the malts remain at the forefront. A really amazing barleywine, over 10.1% so yeah, we have a real treat.

Huge thanks to tbd975 again. Greg you are amazing bringing this triple threat beer to the tasting, new state, barleywine tick and big beer tick. YES. Pours clear copper with gold edges and near tan thin ring of foam. The aroma has light amounts of crystal malts to go along with raisins, prunes and a bit of chemical alcohol heat. The taste has some thick maltiness moving into moderate dark fruity esters. Midway and to the finish caramel goodness and bits of vague hop bitterness rise up to be heard. There is just a mild sense of the big ABV. Nice. Will certainly shine with some more age.

Bottled. A hazy amber beer with a thin white head. The aroma is sweet malty with spicy notes, and so is the flavor. Thanks Papsoe for sharing.