Special Herbs
Upright Brewing in Portland, Oregon, United States 🇺🇸
Traditional Beer - Gruit Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.61
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Special Herbs began as an experiment a few years ago when we decided to age a bit of our Reggae Junkie Gruit in Old Tom Gin casks. After a short time the beer tasted dull, but several months later it picked up some natural acidity along with the botanical aspects from the residual spirit in the oak. We loved the profile for having so much brightness and depth in the nose while maintaining a crisp and wine-like mouthfeel and finish. This new batch represents the first of annual releases for the Special Herbs, and in addition to two gin barrels we also mixed in two third use wine casks that were full of spent peaches carrying their own mix of yeasts and bacteria, contributing even more layers to this wild beer.
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7.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle: Poured a pale yellow color gruit with a small white foamy head with light retention and light lacing. Aroma of light tart notes with some herbal notes and faint vinous/gin barrel notes. Taste is also a mix of tart/acidic notes, light funky yeast notes with some faint wine barrel and gin barrel notes. Body is about average with medium carbonation. Interesting mix of flavors but a little more acidic than I was hoping for.
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 Jan 2024
at 19:26
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Brown bottle, 12.7 ounces, exchanged with Dustin Sepkowski (merci!) on 11 May 2023, savoured on 7 June 2023; eye: golden, cloudy, no effervescence, no head, no lacing; nose: acidity, herbaceous, light musk, fresh; mouth: acidity, herbaceous, light musk, fresh, mineral, acidic finale with fruity presence, medium body, average carbonation, lightly sweet, slick texture; in short: fine FRANÇAIS
Bouteille brune, 12,7 onces, échange avec Dustin Sepkowski (merci!) le 11 mai 2023, savourée le 7 juin 2023; œil : dorée, voilée, pas d'effervescence, pas de mousse, pas de dentelle; nez : acidité, herbacé, léger musc, frais; bouche : acidité, herbacé, léger musc, frais, minéral, finale en acidité avec présence fruitée, corps moyen, carbonatation moyenne, légèrement sucrée, texture coulante; en résumé : bien
Bouteille brune, 12,7 onces, échange avec Dustin Sepkowski (merci!) le 11 mai 2023, savourée le 7 juin 2023; œil : dorée, voilée, pas d'effervescence, pas de mousse, pas de dentelle; nez : acidité, herbacé, léger musc, frais; bouche : acidité, herbacé, léger musc, frais, minéral, finale en acidité avec présence fruitée, corps moyen, carbonatation moyenne, légèrement sucrée, texture coulante; en résumé : bien
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 Jul 2023
at 17:21
8.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 9
Tap @ Tin Bucket. Pours clear golden with a small white head. Aromas of citrus, lemons, lactose, ginger, light bitter herbal notes. Taste has ginger, lemons, citrus, orange and a light lactic finish. ALL CAPS when you spell the man name!
Tried
from Draft
on 06 Nov 2019
at 16:55
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
750ml bottle from O’Hare’s. Vintage 2016. Pours a slightly hazy golden with a white head. Aroma is sour, slightly funky, just some herbs and flowers, and, of course, barrel notes. Taste is pretty the same. Refreshing and pleasant, somewhat similar to Flora BA, which I liked a little bit more, though.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Jan 2017
at 00:05
8.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 10
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Poured from a 750 ml bottle. I’m not sure of the vintage, but it is probably 2012 or 2013. Aroma is very herbal and floral with yarrow and lavender. Light phenolic notes and citrus with a lemongrass character. Some coriander and grains of paradise. Pours a slightly hazy, golden orange with a small, thick white head that quickly recedes to the edges and disappears. Flavor is slightly acidic with a medium light citrus notes. Moderate herbal and floral notes. Some yarrow and lavender notes. Quite a bit of coriander and birds of paradise. Light bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. Low astringency and low alcohol warmth. Overall, a great beer. Tons of floral and herbal notes with a bit of citrus. I really like this beer; Upright is criminally underrated. Herbal, floral and citrus notes are very gin like. Age hasn’t really hurt this beer, though the flavor is a bit more muted.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Oct 2016
at 23:51
7.8/10
THT August. Thanks RandomStrangerNL. Hazy golden, white head. Sweet malts, special herb, juniper, orange peel, deep fruity lemony, white pepper, herbal, quite soapy, allesreiniger. Medium sweet, light sour/zesty. Medium body, light minerallike texture.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Aug 2016
at 19:42
7.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Sampled at THT August. Bottle thanks to RandomStrangerNL. Hazy golden, white head. Sweet malts, special herb, juniper, orange peel, deep fruity lemony, white pepper, herbal, quite soapy, allesreiniger. Medium sweet, light sour/zesty. Medium body, light minerallike texture.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Aug 2016
at 13:42