Upright #5 - Spicy Summer Saison Treat

A hot Sunday in June and some hard work under the sun screams for a fresh beer on the porch. Yoga, 6 mile run, mow the lawn, rip out two trees, repair the gutters. Honey-do list = complete. After a hard Sunday of sweat and grime, I believe I've earned myself an Upright Five from my personal stash of brews in the cellar that are only accessed under special circumstances or after amazing personal feats. A fresh and spicy saison, perfect to beat the heat and enter relaxation mode. I only wish I brought more back from my last trip to Portland. 

We can't get upright here, as the brewery is very young and extremely small. I've been able to secure a few bottles through various northwest ventures and have been floored each time. Upright is quickly becoming one of my top 5 breweries. If you are ever in Portland it's a must visit brewery. I'll be back in December to bring home some more...taking limited orders now.

Serving Type: 750ml Bottle
Glassware: Tulip
Appearance: Translucent copper with huge and foamy white head
Aroma: Hops, fresh cut grass, herbs, pepper and a touch of wood
Taste: Robust bitter herb notes up front, a hint of sweetness in the middle (melon?), with a good hop bite at the end. 
Grade: 95/100 (A)
Surroundings: Relaxing on Sunday evening with Chipotle and a great beer
Musical Pairing: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Heart in your Heartbreak

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Parabola Day - Blanc Burger and Bottle

I wasn't one of the lucky few to get their hands on one of Firestone Walker Parabola bottles released to KC recently. Lucky for me, Blanc Burger and Bottle received a small amount and alerted me to its presence at the Plaza location. Blanc has never had to twist my arm to enjoy a great brew and bite. I probably would have made it in soon anyway, but I think it's awesome they are willing to go out of their way to entice me to come in and get my drink on try something special. Now that they've added a black bean burger to the menu, my steady diet of Blanc is only bound to increase.


I get a limited allowance from the wife each week, which happened to be given to me yesterday...and was burning a hole in my pocket. Having a bottle of Parabola with my name on it was all the more appealing and worthy of my hard earned cash. At $25/bottle, Parabola can seem steep for a lunch brew on a Saturday, but it's actually a pretty great deal for a pub/restaurant. A bottle will run $16 to $20 if found at a local liquor shop. Not a bad price at all.


The brew poured black as night with a maple, bourbon smell, holding a short lived lacy head. The taste started with a mix of coffee and dark chocolate with maybe a hint of tobacco. This quickly moved to a hint sweet maple syrup and finished with the bourbon-ish 12.5% ABV backbone. The brew was extremely smooth and clean for all the alcohol and flavor. Very impressive. One of the best, if not the best, Imperial Stouts I've ever enjoyed. In all seriousness, I think everyone reading this needs to immediately head in and try this brew while it's still available. This brew should not be missed. Period.

Serving Type: 22oz Bomber
Glassware: Snifter
Appearance: Midnight black, maple brown fringe, quickly dissipating lacy head
Aroma: Maple, bourbon, hint of coffee
Taste: Coffee, but not overly bitter, dark chocolate, maple syrup, trace of tobacco, bourbon and alcohol
Grade: 100/100 (A+)
Musical pairing: Holy Ghost! - Wait & See
Surroundings: Brews and burgers with great friends at Blanc Burger and Bottle

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Hop Fest 2011 - Tomorrow!

Tomorrow marks the inaugural year for Hop Fest. I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm thinking it will be run much better that the KC Beer Fest (Fail) of the past few years. This is mainly due to the cap on attendance as well as the possibility that The Well/Lew's may be purchasing the beer instead of relying on distributor handouts. (I have no way of validating this). I purchased a VIP ticket when the event was announced many weeks ago thinking I'd have the chance to sample some brews I may have never tried before. I hadn't heard anything referencing a bunch of VIP status brews slated for the event and was starting to get worried. Alas, I worry no more...check out the list posted on Central States Beverage's Facebook page. Many (most) of the list looks pretty standard, but there are a few special brews I can't wait to try...I guess that's the selling point for the VIP ticket. I've listed the "special' brews below. 


Will I see you up there? I hope so. What are you standing around for? You have Hop Fest tickets to buy!


VIP worthy brews at Hop Fest 2011:
Boulevard Test Sour Love Child #2 -keg
Southern Tier - Gemini, Imperial Blended Ale
Crispin - oak aged Pear and Apple Ciders - only eight in MO
Boulevard Hoppy Wheat - keg
Lagunitas Brown Shugga 2010 -keg
Troubador Magma -keg Belgian IPA
Monk's Café - keg Belgian Sour
Southern Tier - Oaked Aged Unearthly ( Imperial IPA)
Tallgrass - Velvet Roster (Belgian Triple)
Southern Tier - Jahva (Imperial Coffee Stout)
Tommy Knocker - Hop Strike (Black IPA)

Brookside Nanobrew Festival - June 11th

This seems to be the year of weddings for my wife and I. Sure, you don't have to twist my arm to go sip some free booze, dance a bit with the lady friend, and sip some free booze, but I've been missing some great events going on around KC. Will they really know if I don't show up to the wedding? Can't I just want my $50 gift so they can return it and get whatever they really wanted? Can you go without me? All questions posed and immediately kiboshed by the wife with her burning laser beam stare. Eeesh...can't blame me for trying, right?

So anyway, I'm out next weekend, but that's no excuse for you. If you aren't doing anything (or can get out of what you're currently doing) and you are looking to sample some homebrews and chow on some good BBQ, you might check out the Brookside Nanobrew Festival next Saturday (June 11th, 4pm to 7pm). There will be around 13 brewers and around 20 different brews to sample. All you can eat barbecue will be provided by Jet Bar-B-Q. In addition to the brews, they will have some wine, spirits and non-alcoholic beverages available as well. Your money will buy you a BBQ pass and a commemorative pint glass to sample the brews. Tickets purchased before June 4th, 4pm, go for $15 for BBQ and brew and $20 if you'd like the commemorative glass. After that, tickets are $20 and $25.

Check out the list of brewers and grab a ticket at  http://brooksidebeerfestival.com/.

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[Continued] Deschutes+Boulevard introduce White IPA Collaboration to Portland

Last weekend, I threw up a post about having the strange luck of showing up in Portland the night Deschutes and Boulevard roll out their collaboration to the public. The blind squirrel finds a nut, eh? They weren't serving the final product, but one of three "test" batches. I decided to capitalize on my good fortune and shoot over to Green Dragon to try the brew. It poured a nice hazy orange, looks very unfiltered, with a light and thin head. Smells of sage and maybe a hint of lemon grass. The taste was very sage, almost a bit much, with hints of fresh cut grass, a saison/wheat flavor backbone, with a teeny bit of hop flavor. I question the "IPA" in the name a bit, but maybe the hops were hidden well by the sage and other spices. 

Overall, the brew didn't knock me off my chair or anything, but I was pretty happy and was left very refreshed. To be honest, I can't recall tasting anything quite like it, so I'm not really sure what to compare it to...and being unique is a great thing in a industry with 1700 breweries. Again, this was only a test brew, so I expect the final product to be a little different, maybe a bit more refined. I definitely like where this beer is headed and can't wait for it's release later in the year. I'm drooling already...

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Imbibilicious, out.