Winter Warmer - Upland Brewing Company

Jon

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Deep copper color with a thin head that laces well down the glass.

Fruity, chocolatey nose with notes of what I believe to be Simcoe and perhaps Amarillo hops. Bubblegum whaffs, too. Complex, but inviting.

Well-balanced flavors of chocolate, dark fruits, toffee/caramel and mildly bitter hops on the finish.

Smooth, appropriately carbonated mouthfeel. Has a certain crispness to it at this point in its young life.

Drinks very well for its size. Everything is in place here and I'd imagine some deliberate aging will bring on some further toffee/caramel tones that will certainly be welcomed. The hop character keeps this beer particularly interesting and also increases drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

02-29-2004 04:14:56 | More by Jon

PEIhop

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +18.1%

04-28-2013 00:14:46 | More by PEIhop

monitorpop

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%

03-30-2013 22:39:47 | More by monitorpop

Ajlvt

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +5%

03-29-2013 18:03:04 | More by Ajlvt

WoodburyMN

Indiana

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%

03-11-2013 04:13:24 | More by WoodburyMN

SportsandJorts

Michigan

3.48/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Type: ~14 oz on tap
Glass: Snifter
From: Upland in Bloomington IN
Price: $5.25

Appearance: reddish brown and almost clear. small off white head that left a lacing.

Smell:sweet sweet malts. and hops

Taste: sweet malts and somewhat piney hops. I don't like the balance or the hops in this one

Mouthfeel: thicker and good but leaves that bad hop taste lingering.

Overall: not a big fan of this one. the hop and malt flavors don't do very well together

Serving type: on-tap

03-07-2013 01:03:22 | More by SportsandJorts

t0rin0

California

3.25/5  rDev -14.7%

03-04-2013 17:00:58 | More by t0rin0

AmitC

Indiana

4/5  rDev +5%

03-01-2013 23:52:32 | More by AmitC

zrab11

Indiana

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%

02-26-2013 01:53:58 | More by zrab11

outrage213

Indiana

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%

02-06-2013 00:01:02 | More by outrage213

TonyTalon

Wisconsin

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%

01-20-2013 06:28:56 | More by TonyTalon

MordorMongo

Indiana

4/5  rDev +5%

01-13-2013 23:53:02 | More by MordorMongo

jlindros

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I've had 2 really bad infected drain pour beers today, and one that was OK but really hard to drink. So hopefully this one is great and can make up for it. This is last year's batch, 2011, thanks to erric (reddit).

Pours a nice fluffy looking 1 finger head that has plenty of retention, and eventually fades with a nice thick lacing as well, it's a semi clear mahogany slight maroon reddish colored beer.

Nose has nice old ale aged subtle malts, those caramel brown malts that have an aged aroma to them, plenty of caramel and toffee, little nutty as well, nice candy like aroma but not really syrupy, light booze and soft malt, and maybe just a hint of oxidation.

Taste starts with nice aged malts again, old ale soft subtle almost chewy and creamy like malts. Then sweetness, not super sweet but the candy flavors, plenty of caramel and toffee, little nutty again, maybe a hint of a syrup flavor, a toffee nutty candy bar like flavor. Light bitterness with a hint of earthy hops but not much. Finish gets a bit more bitter with more earthy slightly spicy hops that I bet were a lot stronger when fresh. Lingering slight sweetness and sticky feel, and plenty more toffee, caramel, nutty flavors, and soft aged malts.

Mouth is fuller bodied, nice fluffy carb, just a hint of booze, and soft creamy feel as well.

Overall a nice beer, good aged soft malts, chewy and creamy without the syrupy flavors, great malt flavors nutty caramel and toffee, etc, and bitterness that sneaks up and I'm sure was a lot stronger when fresh, but a nice balance now with a year on it. I wonder how it will continue to age, wish I had another bottle.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2013 03:45:51 | More by jlindros

johunnic

Illinois

4/5  rDev +5%

11-28-2012 18:02:20 | More by johunnic

bzach

Indiana

4/5  rDev +5%

10-21-2012 04:29:44 | More by bzach

rmehughes

Indiana

4/5  rDev +5%

10-14-2012 19:39:11 | More by rmehughes

bluejacket74

Ohio

3.58/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22 ounce bottle bottled in November 2011. Served in a snifter, the beer pours a ruby red/copper color with about an inch light tan head that sticks around for a while. There's also a good amount of lacing. It smells like dark fruit, caramel malt, toffee, and some oranges. It tastes like caramel malt, dark fruit (raisins, cherries), oranges, berries, and toffee, along with some pine and herbal hops. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit creamy and slick with moderate carbonation. I thought it was a decent enough brew. And for just $5.49 a bomber, I'd buy this again in the future. It's certainly worth trying, especially at that price.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2012 22:48:36 | More by bluejacket74

WastingFreetime

Wisconsin

3.2/5  rDev -16%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Reviewed from notes.

Pours out a standard amber color with a short-lived two finger head, mediocre lacing on the sides of the glass. Lighter side of medium body heft and carbonation levels.

Smells only vaguely of a light brown sugar and toffee sweetness. Extremely muted and blunt nose. Tastes of a semi-roasted malt / molasses / brown sugar and biscuit malt blend with a combination of herbal and pine hopping on the back end and a light dark fruit nuance in the middle.

Although the flavor is fairly good (even if the dark fruits were too thin), there is some serious work that needs to be done on the nose before this one can truly shine IMHO.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2012 07:40:49 | More by WastingFreetime

lico

Missouri

2.93/5  rDev -23.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

(2011 bottle)

A: Pours a copper brown; not really the "very dark color" described on the bottle, but a healthy color nonetheless. Very thin white head atop leaves minimal lacing.

S: It certainly smells like a Barleywine; malty, but hoppier than usual. Promising.

T: Malty at first with some fruity cherry notes, kind of watery in the middle, but finishes "boozy," which is strange for only being 8.5%. With this style the alcohol should be better hidden by maltiness. Finishes bitter. The taste really follows the smell here.

M: Very low body for a Barleywine, likely due to a lower-than-usual grain bill.

O: I just would not recommend this when there are better alternatives out there. The mouthfeel isn't right for a Barleywine, nor is the hoppy finish. That said, if you haven't had one before and are used to lower gravity beer and want to try a Barleywine, this might be a good pick simply because it's not as heavy as other Barleywines and has a lighter mouthfeel. But beware the aftertaste.

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2012 01:01:54 | More by lico

gpawned

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%

07-09-2012 22:00:08 | More by gpawned

mtrain237

Florida

4/5  rDev +5%

06-30-2012 22:16:48 | More by mtrain237

RickS95

Indiana

4/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a ruby brown, relatively clear but dark enough that you can't see through it. A bit thinner than I expected. The head is a finger thick and a brilliant white on top of the much darker liquid. As the head dies, a creamy layer of white remains perched on top.

There's a really nice balance in the nose between the malty backbone and the floral and citric hops.

Normally I find complexity in the feel, but this beer has it in the taste. It starts off like a nut brown ale, very malty, with some caramel. That maltiness is balanced by the piney, citrusy hops before giving way to the alcohol deep in the swallow.

Very complex. It's sweet initially, but then the barleywine-ness kicks in and you're hit with a bitterness and alcohol pop. However, it's as smooth a barleywine as I've ever had and the bittering hops and high alcohol are slightly muted.

Upland beers are hit or miss for me, but this was a solid hit. I enjoy all types of beer but barleywines aren't my first choice because I can't always feel my tongue the next morning. However, this was unusually tame and very drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2012 02:50:35 | More by RickS95

MSandahl23

Indiana

4/5  rDev +5%

03-29-2012 01:01:46 | More by MSandahl23

Duff27

Illinois

2.75/5  rDev -27.8%

03-21-2012 16:32:42 | More by Duff27

neckbracesub

Indiana

3.73/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Here is a barleywine that provides a significant difference in taste and finish between bottle and tap. I have had it each way, and have enjoyed it each way, but on tap it is superior in overall taste.

The aroma is very sweet and fruity, the color of the body a syrupy amber, and a nice palate that you would expect from a good barleywine. That’s exactly what Upland has created with Winter Warmer - a solid barleywine that is unbelievably good on value price. I bought a 22 oz. bottle of this at a local liquor store for only $5.49. The pint on tap I had was much higher in price, but the quality was significantly raised as well.

It is not among the high-tiered barleywines (like Hebrew Jewbelation) but they are a nice and commendable option in the genre.

Serving type: on-tap

03-09-2012 00:20:16 | More by neckbracesub