Upland Strawberry
(Previously labeled Strawberry Lambic). Made with fresh whole strawberries from Heartland Family Farms in Spencer, IN, Strawberry is a fruited sour ale that showcases distinct fruit characteristics with a mildly tart base sour blonde ale. Light reddish hues highlight the color, with a bubbly pinkish foam. Aromas of fresh field strawberries and pleasant tartness, plus lactic tanginess and strawberry fruit flavors create a refreshing and experiential taste. Finish is very dry, with lingering strawberry flavor.
(Previous description) In the spring of 2006, I brewed 300 gallons of top-fermented beer using wild yeast to create a Belgian-style Lambic. We conditioned the beer in oak casks and then initiated a secondary fermentation in the casks using whole fruit from Huber's Orchard in Starlight, Indiana. You should experience a tart, almost sour taste balanced by the aromatic and richly flavorful addition of whole strawberries - perfect to share with friends, and a platter of good cheese and fresh fruit. - Caleb Staton, Head Brewer
(Previous description) In the spring of 2006, I brewed 300 gallons of top-fermented beer using wild yeast to create a Belgian-style Lambic. We conditioned the beer in oak casks and then initiated a secondary fermentation in the casks using whole fruit from Huber's Orchard in Starlight, Indiana. You should experience a tart, almost sour taste balanced by the aromatic and richly flavorful addition of whole strawberries - perfect to share with friends, and a platter of good cheese and fresh fruit. - Caleb Staton, Head Brewer
3.8
326 reviews
Bloomington, United States
Community reviews
2013 bottle. Pours out a murky red shade with no head. The aroma has vinegar, strawberry and that kind of musty old closet feel to it. Taste is very sour and there is more carbonation than most Belgian lambics. I like the fruit integration but don’t think the base beer truly stands up.
Red pour from bottle at Beermiscuous. Fresh strawberry and tart flavor. Only had a small sample but I want more
Smell is strawberries and sweet tarts. Taste is tart, sour strawberries. Low to medium carbonation, medium body, and very slight foam.
Bottle shared. Pours very cloudy amber brownish with no head. Aroma of massive tart strawberries, slight jammy and funk. Flavor is heavy acidic, a little too much acid like usual for upland but still drinkable. Light bodied with soft carbonation.
Pours a light pink. Very nice aromas... Strawberries, strawberry jam, lemon, vinegar. As it warmed I got pickle juice and funk. Insanely sour. Lemon juice, vinegar, pickles, strawberries. I can only manage a glass because it’s too acidic for me. But a very well crafted ale
Pink peach body not much head or lacing. Cloudy some sediment. Intense aroma of vinegar and strawberries. Taste is intensely sour which I love. Lactose vinegar lemon juice. Sour sour sour. Fantastic. Thanks cards04 for the sample.
(750ml bottle) cloudy reddish yellow, fine white bubbles. Nose of butter, strawberry, lightly tart, cinnamon. Taste is a but acetic and lactic and not in a good way, strawberry, acetone, butter, lots of flaws here. Medium carbonation but super tart linger.
Refrigerated 75 cl brown bottle from shrubber85, bottled November 13, 2013, poured into a tulip. Translucent orange with small off-white head. Aroma is sour, medium/thick body, medium carbonation, and little small-bubble lacing. Taste is rich sour, some strawberry, and some oak. Really solid sour.
Bottle with thanks to Clownisseur. Gusher on opening. Pours completely murky peach/orange, with a medium fizzy white head that leaves some residual and lacing. Aroma is lemon, fruity, strawberry seeds and stems, oak, some funky basement. Flavor is fully tart, fruity, oak. strawberry is discernible, some funk present as well. Full body, creamy mouthfeel. Pretty tasty.
Nice reddish dirt colored pour. Small amount of white bubbles. No lacing. Aroma is very sour smelling. Some fruit mixed in with acetone and acetic badness. Taste is horribly sour. Can’t really get much more sour than this. Not much to taste through it all.
75cl, Batch 3.10 (bottled Nov. 12th 2013), no mention of ABV, exclusive American brew, with strawberries, thx alot to Vincent for bringing this over!, complex sour fruit brew, sour/fruity and slightly spicy/sweet, yet not balanced, cloudy, nearly no head, nice brew, yet very expensive!
Bottle @ Darkness Day eve, thanks to a chill bro for sharing. Pours a hazy pinkish orange appearance with a thin head. The aroma is overwhelming full of strawberries and other red berries. Pretty high sourness. Dry, low sweetness. A little bit of funk and lactic notes. Not sure I could drink a lot of this but it is fun in small amounts.
Side by side tasting of the Upland Sour Reserve, Raspberry, Strawberry, Blueberry and Kiwi Lambic.
Sour Reserve Blend 5: soft sour body, buttery, a tad floral as well 4.1/5
Kiwi: no real kiwi characteristics, extremely sour and lactic 2.9/5
Raspberry: one of the freshest raspberry aromas around. Afterwards all is sour and lactic 3.4/5
Strawberry: aroma is q bit chemical strawberry, the body and taste makes one remind of the Hanssens Oudbeitje, let it be a lot more sour 3.2/5
Blueberry: the nicest and tartest of the "Lambic" series we sampled 3.5/5
These beers are not lambics and should not be called as such. It is obvious that the sour character in this beer comes from lactic fermentation rather than a complex process of different families of bacteria and yeast. The aftertaste of all of the sampled "lambic" serie have a repelling sour finish...
Bottle thanks to trade insert *credit here*. Poured light hazy pink with no head. Aroma of bretty berry. Light carb med bod. Taste is pretty sour like sour strawberry jam.
Bottle shared at Darkness day. Pours reddish golden color. Strong tart strawberry smell with some funk. Massive sour taste....can taste the strawberry. Really tart and really awesome!!
Bottle. Hazy golden orange pour. Tart and sweet strawberry. Lively on the tongue. Killer.
Thnx to Geoffrey
Pours murky amber . No head .
Smell is funky , sour, strawberry .
Taste is dry sour , strawberry in a vegetable way ( not sweet - think of Oudbeitje but way more sour ) . sour back , very full , very dry . Sharp in its sourness .
Nice , but very simple ( sour bacteria added rather than a complex mixture of different Brettanomyces - species ) .
Corked @ caged bottle from a trade a while back. Had pretty low expectations of this but... Hazy blood orange pour with some white lacings. Loads of fresh strawberries, some funk, light acidity and a light sweet finish. Very good and not as artificial as other strawberry beers i’ve had...
Bottle during upland share. Pink pour with white head. Tons of strawberry, tart aromas. Super tart flavors, strawberry, sour tones.
Bottle..Pour is pink with a white head..Nose is funk, strawberry, fruit, spice..Taste is acidic, dry, sour, oak, strawberry,
Un nez de fraises putréfiées très spectaculaire avec des traits sauvages et acétiques éxhubérants. Les saveurs sont malheureusement dominés par l’acétique et j’ai pas mal mieux apprécié les premières que les dernières gorgées.
Bottle, sent by b3shine (thanks Beau!), and shared at RBAG 2014. Murky pink with a white head. Crushing lactic sourness washes over the palate, then ripe fresh strawberries settle in-- awesome!
The last of my Upland bottles. good riddance. Bright pink, reddish appearance. Nose is lactic acidity, sour candies and light lemon juice. Taste is harsh, acidic and incredibly strong. more peach / raspberry like than strawberry. At least the sweetness toward the end is redeeming.
750 mL bottle supplied by WillRunForBeer - many thanks! To long-stemmed tulip, it pours a rusty, pinkish-red with which a whitish-ringed head stood. Together: Tastes and smells of apple cider vinegar, raspberry ChapStick/lip balm, fruit leather, and humid sweat. Separately: Aromas of athlete’s foot, rhubarb. Kind of a V8/tomato juice component experienced at swallow, followed by gooseberries, agave syrup, puke, and crushed aspirin. Additionally, you should know, this is acidic as hell. Only the true acid heads (ha!) need apply. I was thinking I might not able to finish this, but it’s such a unique blend of flavors that I had to slurp it down. One helluva beer.
RBAG shared by Tony. Aroma is quite strawberry. Lactose sour, but strawberry is still strong in the flavor. Great!
Bottle shared by Tony at RBAG. Pink grapefruit pour, little bit of white head. Aroma is cheese funk, tart fruit, sour. Yum. Taste is tart funk, very sour. Good stuff
Bottle - Strawberry, funky sourness and acidic. Cloudy peach with a decent white head. Strawberry, tartness, strawberry and more tartness.
Poured from bottle to teku. Hazy orange hue with fizzy white head that quickly dissipated. Aroma is lactic, strawberry, straw, acetic. Mouthfeel is nice with medium light body and zesty carbonation. Taste is sweet throughout with tart sourness in the following and extending through the finish. Overall this is a great sour.
750 cork and cage tried to take my head off! After a wild display of overcarbonated fireworks that I adeptly contained to a drizzle running down both my hands into Andrew’s sink, it pours a dark apricot color with a, off white head. The aroma of dried strawberries fills the room. Going in close with my sniffer reveals more strawberry, acetic, some earthy tones. Flavor is quite tart and acetic, overripe strawberries, a touch of leather. A bit more strawberry sweetness in the finish relieves the palate from the pucker just enough. A bit of an ordeal, but this is tasty!
Plastic cup from Beechner224 via DrewFace. Pour is difficult to judge but a reddish muddy color with minimal head by the time the cup got to me. Aroma is fruity with a moderate tartness to it. Taste is initially mouth inverting puckering. As I sip a little more I am able to taste a little of the fruit, berriness, but the sour really dominates this beer. Strawberry flavor seems to have aplastic taste to it as sell but that could just be from personal experiences with strawberries. Overall a pretty tame beer compared to the kiwi I had from them before.