Upland's Oktoberfest

Indiana is pretty far from Munich but it doesn't mean we can't celebrate Oktoberfest in style. Upland brews one of the better Oktoberfest beers in town and they have a hell of a party to kick off the season.

Oktoberfest is all about the beer and the food, and Upland has kept to the tradition. They had all their flagship beers available in normal plastic cups or you could splurge and buy a beautiful 32 oz dimpled glass stein. Once you got the stein you could fill it for the same price as the "puny" 16 oz plastic cups. The only problem with the stein was that when it was full it was really heavy! I now understand why Germans have such huge forearms.

Upland didn't just bring the beer, they also brought the food. There were more than a half dozen of Indy's best food trucks. In honor of the holiday I went to the most German thing available, Der Pretzel Wagon. As always my sandwich was outstanding. Not quite traditional German sausages and kraut but still helped get me in the mood.

Tables and tents were lined up throughout Military Park. Thank God for the tables, I needed something to set my stein down on! It really gave the festival an authentic lager house sort of a feel. It also made it easy to hang out with all of your friends and even make a few new ones. In front of all the tables there was a stage with a few bands that were a lot of fun and a horse drawn trolley that went into downtown. Brie and I didn't take the trolley but everyone on it looked like they were having fun.

I reviewed the Upland Oktoberfest two years ago, but I wasn't as well versed in the style as I should have been. At the time I made a mistake a lot of newbie craft drinkers do and associated Oktoberfest beers with pumpkin / spiced beers. I knew they weren't the same thing, but I thought they should be closer than they really are. They aren't sweet beers, but are lighter easy drinking beers that would be great to have during the harvest.

Upland's version pours out a beautiful caramel color with a nice thick white head. It smells like toasted malts and toffee sweetness. The flavor is a bit like Cheerios (not the honey nut kind) with just a bit of that toffee sweetness that we got on the nose. Hints of nuts add an earthy flavor to the otherwise grainy base beer. The sweetness is balanced well with a nice hit of grassy hops which pair well with the nuttiness of the malt. There is just enough bitterness to round out the brew in a really pleasant way. The beer is rich without being too heavy. The carbonation is solid without being too effervescent. All in it's well balanced and a tasty American version of the traditional German style.

I gave this beer a 2.5 last time, and I really don't think that was fair to the brew. This is a really well executed beer. I think its should get at least a 3.5/5. It's a great beer that has become my standard Oktoberfest. 

Dark Lord: Revisited

First off, big thank you to Parker!

I've never been to Dark Lord Day at Three Floyds. Its been at the tippy top of my bucket list since I first got my hands on a bottle of Dark Lord 2012. Sadly, before this weekend it was the only year I'd tasted, and I liked it so much, that it became the stout that I judged all other stouts against. Now its been a long time since I've had it, so my memory was a little bit shaky but it just tasted so good.

So this past weekend I was able to try six years of Dark Lord at a bottleshare with some awesome and crazy experienced Indy beer geeks (thanks to Parker for the invite and bringing the vertical). Dark Lord is an incredibly difficult to get Russian Imperial Stout by Three Floyds. It is only released on one day a year, and you have to get tickets just to be able to buy it. Its highly collectible and totally cellarable. We lined up Dark Lord from 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, and 13 that have been aged by Parker.  Each one has a color coded wax seal so you can tell what year the bottle is from (2008 has black wax, 2009 has white wax, 2010 has olive green wax, 2011 has yellow wax, 2012 has red wax and 2013 has orange wax).


I ranked them as follows:

1st - 09
2nd - 11
3rd - 08
4th - 10
5th - 13
6th - 12

Most of the tasters agreed that the 2009 and the 2011 were the two best years for Dark Lord. The 2009 was my favorite. It was still big and boozy, but the sweetness was tempered by some nice spicy hops and great boozy heat. It was well balanced and really stood out as being outstanding. The 2011 was great but there was more dark chocolate flavor with a solid hint of bitterness. The 9, 11, 08 and 10 were really solid 5 head beers. The 13 will be amazing in about three years but was still pretty great now.

Since I've already done a review of 2012 Dark Lord, I wasn't planning to talk about it much. I mean what more can I say about the greatest beer I'd ever had, right... Well I found out something interesting. As you drink different craft beers and try new styles, your pallet stretches and evolves. You learn to like more subtle qualities in your beer. On top of that like with some ex girlfriends the memory can be way better than the reality.  Unfortunately, the 2012 was my least favorite of all six years. It was the sweetest, almost like a sledgehammer of flavor on your tongue. I still enjoyed it, and it was a solid 4.5, but I was shocked to have my bubble burst so quickly. At first, I figured it was because the beer was a little bit fresh, maybe it needed some time to age a bit and let the sugar and booze flavor mellow out, but that wasn't just the case because the 13 had better nuances to it.

From what we can tell the beer recipe hasn't changed too much. Each one tasted mostly the same as the last just with subtle differences in the flavors that were shinning through. These can be explained by differences in grain and hop crops or changes in their equipment at FFF. All in, this is rated as one of the best beers in the world, and no matter what bottle or year you get it really does not disappoint. The beer is big bold but still nuanced enough to really get you excited. The general consensus was 3 to 5 years of cellaring will probably do wonders for the beer and let it get even more complex. I am excited to have a few of the newer bottles sitting at home right now.

I can't say enough about the guys we were drinking with. You know you are with A+ beer people when there is a line to take pictures of the bottle, and there are people getting pictures of people getting pictures of the bottle (so meta). One of the guys runs a blog, Beer Daddy Blog which really is a fun read and another runs Hop Glass which showcases some really cool glassware. Andrew, the head brewer from the Ram showed up for a bit and Cy from Flat 12. Thanks again to Parker for setting it all up. It was great to meet everyone else. I can't wait to do it again. Best wishes and Cheers!

GFJ [Grapefruit Jungle] 2013

Link to the original post reviewed fresh off draft at The Brockway Pub for GFJ (Grapefruit Jungle) - 2012.

GFJ 3013

Differences between 2012 and 2013 brew? The only notables I can taste/see are the lightening of the lacing affect, polishing of the huge grapefruit finish and slight reduction in the length of time the finish sticks around.  Other than that?  Same great brew!  ONLY THIS TIME IT'S IN CANS!  I still stand by my previous 4.5 and review.  Cheers, and get it while it lasts!

 

If you are interested in the Big Brother (DIPA) to GFJ, check out our post on Jungle Room!

FUN Fact:  GFJ was canned once before in September 2011.  A limited release that utilized the classic aluminum can design of Sun King Brewing with a small Half Dollar sized sticker used for identifying it.

Can Release: September 30, 2011

http://beerpulse.com/2011/09/sun-king-grapefruit-jungle-ipa-cans-debut-on-friday-video/

The Big Guy: My tastes have totally changed in the last year. I look at O's post from last year and see that I only gave GFJ a 3. After trying IPA after IPA and really figuring out what I like, I would have to give GFJ a solid 4. It is citrusy in all the right ways. Just sweet enough to even out the bitter hops that really hit you on the front of the beer. The sour grapefruit tastes lingers just a little bit at the end of the beer and it's outstanding! Last year I only got this one on tap, but after having it on tap and canned this year, I'd have to say there is little to no difference. Its as good fresh as it is newly canned. Get out there and drink it!