Upright August IPA

Upright August IPA

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Brewed by Upright Brewing

Portland, OR, United States

Style:  Saison

7% Alcohol by Volume

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IPA / Saison Hybrid with Brettanomyces While we make a point to partner up with some of the greatest brewers on the planet for our exclusive offers, the beers that get made for the first time exclusively for our Rare Beer Club members always have a bit of welcome mystery to them. The first time we get to try the end result (of what’s often a couple months of batting ideas back and forth, figuring out a good approach that combines a brewery’s particular strengths with what we expect will intrique a good swath of our Rare Beer Club members), is something special. Upright has always made an impact on us for their beautifully drinkable saisons and rustic ales, along with a deft usage of hops, and this riff on a Belgian-style IPA truly brings the best parts of the saison and IPA styles together in a way that we’ve been seeking for The Rare Beer Club for a while now. The end result, courtesy of the great folks at Upright, is everything we’d anticipated and more. It’s not very easy to get us to the tippy-top level of beers we’re really excited about. But here, the juicy fruit from the hops and Juicy Fruit bubble-gum character from the fermentation are perfectly matched into the central notes of this beer—touching on tree fruit (limes, for sure), sweet orange, zesty grapefruit, and even edging onto some floral notes, which seem to come from a lot of directions at once. The aromatics are mouthwatering, pulpy. The best of citrus character without sharp acidity, the aroma notes feel like they’ve been fluffed up with lemon juice mist. The nose is refreshing, spacious, and it certainly forecasts that dense citrus ahead. Because this is a massively hoppy beer. Not in any way assaultive bitterness, but still a huge display of hop-derived flavors and aromatics shaping so much of August IPA: pithy citruses, from pomelo to mandarin oranges, expanding to encompass limes and lemons as secondary notes of similar volume—plus all those other things. There are highly endearing sweet floral notes where the fruits leave off, along with softer pine and herbs. But the hops never weigh heavy, and a well-carbonated, spritzy texture and streamlining note of pepper and acidity via the yeast do wonders to shape this. Notes of peach appear as this warms. Apricot. Almonds. Just a touch of alcohol underneath, quietly making this all seem that much more streamlined. Do make a point to get this one in front of some beer-minded friends, particularly the ones (bless their foresight) who always tend to have saisons and hoppy things in the fridge. This Rare Beer Club exclusive turned out so good that we make an effort to remind ourselves to share. Should you find yourself in Portland, do swing by and say hello to the Upright folks!