Upslope Brewing Co.
Boulder, CO
Available: CO
Upslope is Boulder’s newest brewery, celebrating their one year anniversary on November 7th, 2009. They have chosen to can their beers, an appropriate choice in a region known for camping, outdoor sports and music events.
ABV: 7.2
ABW: 5.7
Color: copper
Bitterness: 65
Original gravity: 1068
The copper-red pour billows a creamy beige froth and nice lace. The aroma is quite malty, and full of caramel and toffee. The hops are not in the forefront as expected, and have a woody, earthen aroma with some citrus notes. Similarly, the flavor is decidedly slanted towards the malt, with hop character again offering an unfamiliar IPA profile. The flavor and mouthfeel is robust enough for the style, as it finishes with a bracing bitterness and creamy body. A bit more focus upfront on the aromatic hops would enhance this brew some, and coax it into style. Definitely worth a try for those who like a big, malty brew with a medium hop profile.
There’s something mystical about big malt and fresh hop aroma emerging from a can. My Pavlovian reaction and expectation upon hearing the can cracked open is anything but the real experience. I’m in a hop yard. I’m emerging from a mash tun. Intensely red IPA, ballsy, juicy orchestration of malt and hops. More full bodied than most IPAs. The differentiation is welcome. This is not your ordinary IPA, but is one nonetheless. Powerful statement. Wonderful aftertaste that inspires. More, more and more and … Loving this, too, as I melt into wonderfulness.
K. Florian Klemp is an award-winning homebrewer and general hobbyist who thinks there is no more sublime marriage than that of art and science.
Author of the New Complete Joy of Homebrewing, founder of the Great American Beer Festival and a Beer Examiner at www.examiner.com, Papazian is a leading voice in beer and brewing.
