Review: Upland Sour Wild Funk Fest

So I couldn't make it to the this summer's Upland Sour Fest, but thankfully a good friend of mine could. Katie Gilmore is a local beer enthusiast and home brewer for the Evanston Avenue Brewery with her husband. 

My husband and I recently went to the first Upland Sour Wild Funk Fest at Developer Town in SoBro. We live nearby, so we rode our bikes to the event. This turned out to be a wise move since there was plenty of beer to go around.

The premise of the event was to offer samples of sour beers along with food pairings. The idea of food pairings drew me to this event, since previously, I preferred my sours as part of a 3 ounce tasting flight at Twenty Tap. I liked to sample the different varieties, but sours didn’t strike me as something to sip on while catching up with friends.

Upland’s executive chef, Seth Elgar, put together the food pairings for the Sour Fest. The event was set up so that the program listed the sours available for tasting, and next to each sour, it listed the suggested food pairing. This was very helpful as we made our way through the event.

The food was set up buffet style (with a hilarious sign that read, “This isn’t Golden Corral”). It was easy to grab a little bit of each item to try with the beers as we visited each tasting booth. I waited about an hour to get any food because the room was very warm. But after we had a few samples, it was time to eat.

As for the pairings, I think the heat had a lot to do with my interpretation of whether or not I liked a pairing. (This is obvious when you see that I basically liked the fruit pairings and not the meat or heavy cheese, which I typically enjoy.) For example, the Petrus Dubbel Bruin with capocolla seemed too heavy for me to appreciate. But the Bell’s Oarsman with cantaloupe was excellent. Since we’re headed into summer, it’s probably just as well that I know what works for me in the heat. Some of my favorite pairings were:

• ·       Bell’s Oarsman with cantaloupe (contrast)
• ·       Goose Island Juliet with brie (complement)
• ·       Goose Island Lolita with honeydew (contrast)
• ·       Barley Island Old Helen II with mini chocolate cheesecake (body)
• ·       Upland Blackberry Lambic with blackberries (complement)
• ·       New Belgium La Folie with white grapes (complement)

Not to detract from the other great beers that I sampled, here’s a list of the other sours I enjoyed as a stand-alone:

• ·       Sun King Sour Princess
• ·       Brugge Pooka
• ·       New Belgium Biere de Mars
• ·       Mad Anthony Ruby Raspberry Tart
• ·       Upland Gilgamesh Imperial Flanders-Style Red Ale

I would recommend this event to anyone who, like me, has appreciated a small serving of a sour here and there, but maybe hasn’t had the chance to really get to know all of the varieties that are available. I also appreciated the way that Upland approached this event. Tickets were limited, and they did a good job on the logistics of the space relative to the crowd size. We were at the event from 2 p.m. until 5-ish, and I don’t think we waited more than 2-3 minutes for a tasting at any of the booths.

I hope you’ve found this to be helpful!

Upland Brewing Co. - Schwarz Black Lager

Schwarz Black Lager

ABV: 5.3%
IBU: 25.3
SRM / coloring: 28.3, pretty much black go figure right

Winter is dwindling fast so I gotta get my dark beer fix in before everyone transitions into the lighter varieties.

Schwarzbier, literally meaning black beer, is a german variety lager that typically is characterized by those malty flavors and additives of other ales.  The only difference is the body is much lighter and it comes off smooth and crisp at the end.

Upland's Schwarz is the epitome of this style of beer.  It looks pretty scary with it's jet black color and large head, but when you dive into it it tastes about as clean as any other lighter beer option.  The smell is very strong with hints of chocolate and coffee, but take a sip and it's much more subtle, actually tasting like a classic lager.  Coming off clean makes a fantastic beer for malt enthusiasts and people just looking to try something new.  This is a good one.

Upland Brewing Co. - Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh Flanders Red Ale

ABV: 10.5
IBU: 21
SRM / coloring: bright red almost to orange

Beer is a funny thing.  Initially after trying it for the first time, most people think to themselves why would anyone consistently drink this stuff?  Then, as time progresses and you're around beer more often, you get used to it and it grows on you.  The grainy flavor and different variations become intriguing and you have to explore more options and different styles.  I'm the perfect example for this, starting off hating beer to now being in love with it I'm on a personal quest to explore every nook and cranny of the beer world and to find something truly unique and out there.  Ladies and gentlemen, it comes in a champagne like bottle from Upland Brewing Company.

Disclaimer, most people would be very opposed to this beer and to be honest, I'm not quite sure if I like it yet either.  The flavor of beer comes as an acquired taste, and to then find a beer that is so far from tasting like beer that it borders on something else entirely is a little bit shocking.  Still, sometimes you just have to roll the dice and try something crazy.

A little background first, flanders style red ales are sour beers, which do in fact taste sour.  In order to make a sour beer the brewers allow in bacteria and other yeast strands into the brew which alters the flavor, something that traditional (or should I say typical) brewers tend to avoid.  By doing so the beer comes off with a yeasty kick and does truly taste unique.  Other ways to achieve this is to add fruits into the mix to add another fermentation cycle.  As a result you get a sweet, yeasty flavored taste that borders more on sparkling grape juice or alcoholic cider than your average beer.

This is a medium bodied beer that looks like an amber, smells like a strawberry daiquiri, and tastes like a yeasty variation of the fruitiest beer that you've probably ever heard of.  Even just smelling this beer you get an overwhelming kick of fruit and yeast, but then take a drink and it seriously attacks your senses.  It has been bourbon barrel aged which kind of mellows out the flavor at the end, bringing it down a notch, but this is a super sweet beer bordering on too sweet.

Personally, I'm a dark beer malty man and I like to stay away from fruit flavored variations, so this ain't exactly my thing.  I do know one thing though, that this is one of the strongest beers I've ever had, in taste, alcohol, and just overall feel.  Too many of these and your head will probably explode the next morning.

Upland Brewery - Winter Warmer Barley Wine

Upland Brewery - Winter Warmer Barley Wine

ABV: 8.5%

IBU: 46.7

SRM / Coloring: 18.5, medium brown to red

Helios pale ale and some Floribbean Flair was awesome, excellent combination, add some sun on my back and sand between my toes and it would be damn near perfect. After that though I wanted to try one of the seasonal's that Upland had going on, so I went up to chat with the lovely young woman standing behind the counter.

"Good tidings fair vendor of beers and enjoyment," I sexily proclaimed. "I would like to inquire about your most recent addition to the list of artisian alcoholic beverages."

"Indeed gov'nor," the handsome woman replied. She was a vibrant breath of alternative style and feminine allure that draws in the usual customer with smiles and quirky acts of intrigue and childhood sweetness. She wore a mottled green satin gentleman's jacket with a ruffled collar, over black knickerbockers complimented with a worn top hat.

"What'd my lord be interested in this evening?" She was also a street urchin character actor circa sixteenth century England.

"I've recently tried your Helios Pale Ale, to my utter enjoyment, but I must confess that currently my mood has changed. I'm looking for a drink much darker to warm my spirits on this windy Autumn's night."

"Too right you are suh, might I be reccomendin the Winter Warmer barley wine? It'll put you in a good spot it would, even when you'd be out on the cobblestones makin your way back to the mrs. you'd be feelin top notch you would yes suh."

"Pour me a tankard then," I proclaimed as I threw her a sixpence. Naturally she bit it to see if it was real, since she's a sixteenth century street urchin.

A beer couldn't have been named better. The winter warmer is a barley wine variation, thicker than most other beers and stronger to boot, but also has a greater emphasis on the grains and spices added into the mix. As a result is has more of an earthy flavor to it, and you can really taste the malts and grains mixing around in it. It's got a full body and maxed out flavor and aromas. Where as the Helios lager is more prone to cool you off on a hot summer day, this baby will bring out the color in your cheeks and your face as well, heating you up from your head all the way down.

Floribbean Flair Island Food

So I don't typically do food reviews (I like to stick with I know best ya feel me?), but I've been noticing that all of these awesome food trucks have been parking around Broad Ripple and downtown, specifically around breweries and places where you can get craft beer. I've seen the Scratch Truck and West Coast tacos everywhere in Broad Ripple, Byrnes, grilled pizza, downtown a lot, and most recently the Floribbean Flair Island Food truck. Most of these vendors have amazing food and I've been blown away by every single one, so I decided to jump in head first on this one. And, I got to talking with the guys who ran the truck, both owners and head chefs, and they sold me on the product.

I gotta say, I made fun of the Florribbean Flair truck at first. Most other food trucks look pretty professional; fancy paint jobs or full body wraps, colorful menus, QR codes and information, reviews, the works like any other restaurant. This is a small little guy that looks like it could be pulled around by a Prius; the size of a small Uhaul with a dry erase board menu with four items, and a tiki light hanging out front. If there wasn't someone sitting inside of it, you'd think that people were moving kitchen supplies to another location. My dad and I were examining the truck from inside Upland, trying to figure out what the hell it was, when one of the guys standing beside it came in to see what was up.

As it turns out, the man was actually the head Chef of the company, as well as the Italian restaurant Iozzo's downtown, and they had just started their food truck business several months ago. With renowned crab cakes and fish tacos that are shipped all over the country, we all decided that we had to bag our previous dinner plans and try this shit out.

Damn, Floribbean Flair follows suit with it's food truck brethren and makes some damn good caribbean food. It's very hard to make a niche for yourself in the food industry, especially one centered around street food and catering to either walking or drunk, but Floribbean Flari does this effortlessly making seafood classics as well as others that are both portable, accessible, and scrumtrulescent. The crab cakes were fabulous and had a nice mixture of meat and vegetables mixed in. Fish tacos were great and made with Basa, a light white fish similar to grouper but firmer and less "fishy," which is typically a big problem for my mom. They also had an Island burger that old man Neff went for, complete with a slice of pineapple on a Hawaiian bun, and a cuban sandwich which was quite the treat. Throw in some horseradish dipping sauce, some sriracha, and some coleslaw and you got a dope dinner to accompany some dope beer. Their truck is small, their menu is small, but in this case they take what they make and really warp it into a piece of culinary art.

Upland Brewery - Helios Pale Ale

Helios Pale Ale

ABV: 4.9%

IBU: 21.7

SRM / Coloring: 6.2, light gold as you can see

It's Thanksgiving Weekend, my sister is back in town and my parents are looking to spend some time together. My first thought, let's go have a few drinks and really unbutton the collar a little bit, eh? Ol pops totally agrees and we head out to grab some cocktails, but I'm thinking about getting some good beer in the process, so I grab the reins and navigate the family mini van over to the Upland Tasting Room to see whats going on.

It's starting to cool off a little outside, naturally being November in Indiana, but any of you who live in them Midwest or more specifically Indiana will know that the weather here has a better turn radius than my car; this weekend alone has gone from mid 30's and rainy to mid 60's a gorgeous. Typically I'd go for a darker beer to warm me up on the inside, something spicy and full bodied, but I was feeling a bit saucy and wanted to go for a lighter drink, refreshing and all, so I bit on the Helios Pale Ale.

When I think of lagers and pale ale's I typically think of your standard American beers, Budweiser, Coors and the like, clean tasting but with a heavy emphasis on the grains in the beer. The Helios is quite a different story. Though your typical grainy, hoppy flavors are still present, it is nicely complimented but a citrus aroma and flavor giving it an extra edge / leg up over those other run of the mill variations. Perfect for a hot day or a thirst quencher, and for those trying to find something beyond the king / banquet / triple hops brewed. This beer is served year round, so need to sprint out your door, but a great place to grab it in a growler, especially with Upland's unique carbonating growler filling machines. Tubular.

Upland Brewery - Komodo Dragonfly Black IPA

Komodo Dragon Black IPA

ABV: 6.5%

IBU: 65.5

SRM / Coloring: 49.6, jet black

Here we go baby. Having worked in a brewery before I've gotten to try a black double IPA which was fantastic, so seeing this on the chalkboard at the Upland tasting room I had to see what was up.

As a black IPA, or also referred to as an Imperial IPA, it has the initial properties of an IPA, but then is infused with the malts to add more flavor. This can draw away from the hoppiness of the beer, but at the same time it makes it more bitter.

The Komodo black IPA is pretty good, but I wonder if it would be better if they simply focused on one major aspect of the beer; the malt or the hops. Whether that is an issue with Upland's take on the beer or just the nature of the beer itself, who knows. You can definitely notice both aspects, but they're subdued due to one another's presence. I will say it is much smoother than most imperial stouts I've had, but the malt simply overpowers the normal kick of hops that a standard IPA is known for. At any rate, it's a unique and complicated beer with subtle flavorings that push the boundaries of how beers are made a classified.

Upland Brewery Tasting Room

When people think Broad Ripple they think of it in the classic sense; Broad Ripple Avenue lined with bars, restaurants and boutique shops. Head south on College though past the flashing lights of the Vogue and you'll encounter a much different place, one that's even more engrained with the neighborhood feel of Borad Ripple, which has aptly been named SoBro. With local, like immediate vicinity local bars, unique restaurants like Yats and the Jazz Kitchen, and some other unique record shops and places of interest, SoBro is booming as fast, if not faster than Broad Ripple itself. Down in the heart of South Broad Ripple is the Upland Brewery Tasting Room, at the corner of 49th and College.

Upland Brewery hails from Bloomington Indiana, and has brewing beers since 1998. With Upland Wheat as their flagship beer, the brewery has begun to expand into newer territories, the closest one to me being just south of where I live, and they honestly could not have picked a better spot.

Inside the walls are lined with chiq-y trinkets and new bohemian style art to go along with furniture and the Phish jamming in the background; seriously a good neighborhood place to bro out, drink a beer, and play star wars monopoly. Yes, you can just sit down and enjoy this cozy little spot to drink your Upland Wheat or any other variety of beers on tap.

One of the coolest things about the tasting room though is the way in which they fill your growlers. Instead of simply taking beer from the tap, they fill it through a pressurized system that makes the carbonation last longer and seem fresher from your container; dope. Top it all off with a food truck parked outside and you have quite the winning combination. Official status; turbo chill.