Upstream Gueuze Lambic

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 7

Bottle 141/308 (7/06 bottling of a 8/05 brew) from Beertopia (3/07) in Omaha, shared at SL with sloth. The pour was fairly typical for the style, hazy straw-orange in color, white head, although the head was a little smaller than usual for the gueuze. The aroma was really excellent, far exceeded the flavor, but built some serious expectations: oak, slight bret, citrus, light funk. The flavor was a bit watered down, lemons, only light sourness (definitely not tart), earthy dirty notes, some rubber off notes, and oak. Mouthfeel was on the flat side for a gueuze, lightly carbonated, not clean enough of a finish without that heavy-handed tart zip at the end of each sip. It all just combined for a rather bland flavor, despite the aroma being so good. Great to see an American brewer working on a lambic, would love to try a few more of the Upstream lambics!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Bottle: Poured a hazy golden color gueuze with a medium foamy head with average retention and minimal lacing. Aroma consists of oak notes with some funky barnyard notes and some green apple. Taste is a nice enough mix between some oak with green apple and light barnyard notes. I would have appreciated even more if funky barnyard notes had been more present and if overall taste would have been more tart and sour. Very well done.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottled July 2006, # 143 of 308; Sampled February 2008
The cork was a real pain to get out, though I did not have to resort to a tool, but hopefully Upstream has realized that they have the wrong sized bottles, corks or cages (pick one to change and the other two should work). Pours with a one-finger thick, frothy, pale, just barely off-white colored head. The beer is pretty clear and has a light honey color to it, but shows a bright, straw gold color when held up to the light. The beer appears to be pretty well carbonated, but the bubbles seem to move fairly slowly through it. The aroma is a mix of sour notes, noticeable, though not overwhelming oak and austere fruit notes. The oak notes contributes lightly spicy wood notes, some vanillin aromatics and a definite, buttery oak component; this last seems to be the most noticed part of the aroma. The light, aromatic tartness couples with some fruit notes of green apples and pears. Some light, barnyard funk is noticeable underneath the oak if you look for it, slightly musty, definitely phenolic, with a bit of wild mushroom character.

An up front, fizzy carbonation yields to a somewhat light bodied brew, somehow this seems a bit thin for a Gueuze, though it is not watery. The oak plays a huge role here in the flavor profile, at least in comparison to a traditional Lambic, where the oak is pretty subtle. The oak flavors are not too much though, but do significantly influence the flavor profile. As in the aroma the buttery flavors derived from the oak are most noticed, but there is a definite spicy oak component in the finish and you can feel the tannins that have been added to the structure of the brew. I almost think that not enough tannins have been incorporated into the body of this brew, but I wouldn't want much more oak character than was already here. Though I haven't mentioned it yet, the beer is sour tasting, it is just not a defining characteristic of this beer, which is certainly a departure from a traditional Gueuze. It is lightly lactic, which seems to meld in with the buttery oak component. A hint of sweetness, along with the tartness, accentuates a touch of fruit notes reminiscent of chardonnay (especially with the heavy oak component), tart melons, green star-fruit and even a touch of not-quite ripe, tart, citrus.

An interesting interpretation, I do like the extra, expressive, oak dimension here; I think that it makes up for the lack of a traditional, aggressive sourness, though it probably hides some of the softer funk notes that are in this brew. The appearance (especially the fluffy head) and texture miss the lively, expressive carbonation that is typically found in a Gueuze, but this is certainly not uncorroborated. Quite a tasty brew, I can't wait to taste other Upstream Lambics.