FuzzyBrew Review: Upright Seven
Brewery: Upright Brewing Co.
Location: Portland, OR
Style: Saison
ABV: 8%
IBU: n/a
FuzzyBrew Rating: 4 of 5
This beer came back in my suitcase from a recent trip to San Diego with some friends. I’m a huge fan of saisons and I was also excited to get to try another beer from this Portland brewery that specializes in “farmhouse inspired beers with a Pacific Northwest twist.”
The beer is hazy yellowy-orange in color, with a long-lasting rocky head. The aroma was filled with complex yeasty fruity esters. Pears and old lemons if had to single a few out (old lemons in a good way). The fruity funk was balanced by a grassy spiceness from the hops.
High carbonation made the beer refreshing. This beer wears its alcohol well. It wasn’t until my second glass — and I realized I’d been trying to write the first sentence of this post for 15 minutes — that maybe the alcohol was higher than normal.
I drank this beer with take-out from India Palace. If I had one quibble with this beer it would be that I would have liked it to finish a little dryer. Don’t get me wrong, though, this was a damn good beer. As far as pairing it with Indian food, I’m thinking that I didn’t get my dish spicy enough because I was really enjoying both, but, separately not together. You know life is good when you can spend a night analyzing Indian food and beer.
The brewer at Upright recently wrote about working with their Saison yeast on their blog. It’s geeky but interesting.