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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8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle. Pours hazy golden, small off white head, decent lacing. Aroma is Brett, lemon, funk, oak. Gueuze like. Flavor is light sweet, a bit of juniper and gin, oaky, funky, a bit of astringence. Some funk, Bretty. Medium body, low carbonation. Yum.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Apr 2014
at 16:11
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
20th February 2014
Fare thee well Josh tasting at Bruce’s. Thanks Bruce! Hay gold beer, bubbly pale cream coloured head. Palate is lght and dry and a little crisp. Winey tangy, mildly sour peach, not getting much Gin though. Little floralness. This could have been a belter if not so much wine barrel swamping the gin. Very nice though.
Fare thee well Josh tasting at Bruce’s. Thanks Bruce! Hay gold beer, bubbly pale cream coloured head. Palate is lght and dry and a little crisp. Winey tangy, mildly sour peach, not getting much Gin though. Little floralness. This could have been a belter if not so much wine barrel swamping the gin. Very nice though.
Tried
on 26 Feb 2014
at 10:33
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle shared at Josh’s Farewell Hoorah - big thanks to Bruce, 20/02/14. Cool label ! Hazed orange amber with a moderate off white swirl. Nose is light spice, hint floral, ginger, herbal qualities, bitter orange, oregano, white pepper. Taste comprises tarte peach, light brett, orange pith, tangy citrics, straw, light spice. Medium bodied, fine carbonation. Solid stuff.
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 Feb 2014
at 02:05
8.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle shared in London to celebrate Josh’s departure. Pours lightly hazy gold with a frothy white head. Lovely aroma, plenty of ripe citrus fruits, tangerine, herbs. Light-medium sweet flavor with tangy citrus fruits, mellow woody dryness, faint bitter herbs, mild vinegar and citric tang. Light to medium bodied with fine carbonation. Sweet and lightly tangy on the finish, some citric tartness, mild acetic bite. Very tasty and refreshing.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Feb 2014
at 10:13
8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle thanks to Bruce. It pours clear golden with a small white head. The nose is funky, slightly sweet, gin, white grape, herb, spice and hay. The taste is crisp, tart, earthy, vinous, wood, gin, lactic, sour yellow plum, white grape, minerals, herb and sherbet with a dry finish. Medium body and fine carbonation. Interesting, flavoursome and balanced. Pretty awesome.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Feb 2014
at 10:11
6.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6
750mL bottle, pours a hazy golden with a small white head. Aroma brings out notes of gin, various weird spices, a little bit of peaches, and oak. Flavour brings out loads of oak, white wine notes, a little cider, subtle peach, and some unidentifiable herbs in there. Quite acidic, oaky and vinous (from the gin). Couldn't drink a lot of this due to the acidity, but for a gruit ale, I don't see how this could be much better. Solid stuff.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Aug 2013
at 20:59
8.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle. Pours a hazy pale gold with a white head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has sweet fruit that is slightly tart with backing spice, gin, funk and juniper. Flavor has juniper and tartness up front with a backing funk and gin barrel note.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Apr 2012
at 18:13
7.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle with Doodler and Co. Thanks everyone! Hazy, yellow-orange appearance with a smallish head. Orange citrusy, light berry, slightly tart, spicy aroma. Quite tangy citrusy, fairly (citrusy) sour, lightly funky, spicy flavor. Really a nice citrusy sour.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Oct 2011
at 12:04