Upright Brewing Releases Barrel-Aged Flora Rustica and Special Herbs
Portland, OR – Upright Brewing has just released two new barrel-aged sour/wild beers for limited distribution in bottles for the first time. Available primarily in Portland, Upright’s tasting room and in select bottleshops in Oregon these two new funky beers are based on regular seasonal releases Flora Rustica and Reggae Junkie Gruit. Both feature new original artwork inspired by rustic french farmhouse ales and MF Doom’s Special Herbs albums respectively.
Barrel-Aged Flora Rustica
The barrel aged Flora is a transformed version of our three flower saison. The fresh version has bright aromatics from yarrow, calendula, and hops, but after a year in lactobacillus inoculated casks, the profile becomes decidedly more dark and earthy. The tartness combined with an herbal bitterness gives the Flora a distinct edge that works well as aperitif. This beer is another take on historic saisons. Like the beers of the past, it can mature throughout the year and beyond.
Grains: pilsener, pale, caramel vienna, rolled wheat
Hops: hallertauer
Yeast: house saison
Brewed: May 17th and 18th 2012, bottled on June 4th 2013
Total yield: 87 cases, 5.5% abv
Special Herbs
Special Herbs began as an experiment a few years ago when we decided to age a bit of our Reggae Junkie Gruit in Old Tom Gin casks. After a short time the beer tasted dull, but several months later it picked up some natural acidity along with the botanical aspects from the residual spirit in the oak. We loved the profile for having so much brightness and depth in the nose while maintaining a crisp and wine-like mouthfeel and finish. This new batch represents the first of annual releases for the Special Herbs, and in addition to two gin barrels we also mixed in two third use wine casks that were full of spent peaches carrying their own mix of yeasts and bacteria, contributing even more layers to this wild beer.
Malts: organic pale, organic munich, spelt
Botanicals: sweet and bitter orange peels, lemongrass, Sichuan peppercorns, hyssop
Yeast: house saison
Brewed: June 14th & 15th 2012, bottled on June 13th 2013
Total yield: 80 cases, 5.7% abv
About Upright Brewing
Upright Brewing specializes in farmhouse inspired beers rooted in France and Belgium but made with local ingredients and a Pacific Northwest twist, while also dabbling in both classic and quirky projects from around the world. The name is a reference to Charles Mingus and his primary instrument. Mingus was a musician whose compositions defy categorization. At Upright the recipes and processes are decidedly unbound, making for a true hybrid style that shares Mingus’ spirit of exercising creativity and craft.
http://www.uprightbrewing.com/
