Cherry Lambic - Upland Brewing Company

FosterJM

California

3.88/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

1417th Review on BA
Bottle to Bruery Taster
750ml

Vintage 2010
Thanks to Gonzoillini for sharing
Bottleshare in Chicago

App- A soft red with some pink and cream highlights. A small fizzy head was there and gone.

Smell- A prickly cherry and a stinging lactic note. Wasnt offensive smelling just needed to pop a bit more.

Taste- I thought it was better than average. Seemed to be aging nicely and still had a good prickly base with some nice cherry.

Mouth- A light body with a medium prickly carbonation level. Was a touch dry and I like that.

Drink- Nice little beer. Seems to be doing well and not offensive as some have said.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2012 22:20:13 | More by FosterJM

antoines15

Indiana

3.88/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

bottle from 2010, poured murky reddish.

smelled very tart, not much cherry though.

Taste is just more sour, not much cherry. Good, not great.

Mouthfeel is is what really does it for me with this beer. Very nice indeed.

Overall it is good, not great, but what do I know? Jeff said, and I quote, "I'm just gonna drink sours from now on," after having this beer, so that's gotta count for something. I'm gonna tweet that people should read this review. #CherryLambic #Upland #Bulls #BeatTheHeat

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2012 03:53:29 | More by antoines15

cpetrone84

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

pour is a hazy mix of tangerine orange and light pink with a dirty hue. Bubbly light tan head. The nose is really nice, tons of funk, cobweb, earthy musk and light mushroom. The fruits are not the focus, some berries and cherry in back. The taste follows the nose, more musky mushroom and some earthy cheese. The cherries are in back, very nice sourness, assertive but not puckering. The body is rather full, moderate carb, probably a touch low, and semi dry finish. Very good, well balanced, and excellent funk. Gets a bit vinegary as it warms and towards the bottom of the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2012 14:30:04 | More by cpetrone84

Cresant

Kentucky

3.1/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This 750 mL bottle was from the late 2008 or early 2009 bottling. It was corked and capped; now Upland lambics are corked and caged like a champagne bottle. The first pour was beautiful – crystal clear and the color of honey with ruby highlights. No lacing in the glass but lots of bubbles rose from the bottom of the flute. The subsequent pours were cloudier and I ended with a flute of sediment that looked like a paintbrush had been cleaned in it – murky and dull.

The smell was of cherries. Faded, subdued cherries. A faint grain presence was there too. I may have cellared this one too long; unfortunately the aroma was past its prime.

The taste was boldly sour – just as expected! Woody and vinegary – like a fine aged balsamic. Lactic with only modest cherry flavor. Wonderfully tart with just enough malts presence to give it some structure. Drying with a long puckering finish. The body was light to medium with plenty of effervescence.

Again I see the error of my hoarding, I aged this one a bit too long. It’s fruitiness and bold cherry flavors have been muted. I have several other, younger lambics from Upland that I will need to review soon.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2012 23:10:13 | More by Cresant

ehammond1

California

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle (2010)

Acquired via trade
Thanks, barkingelectron!

(Aged for 1+ year)

Careful all, this one's a gusher!

When the foaming eventually subsides, this beer pours a murky, hazed, dark pink and light ruby with a pillowy, thick, quickly forming pink head. This eventually leaves the glass messy with spiderwebs of pink lacing. I like it.

The aroma is both very acidic (sour!), and very fruit-forward, with lots of tart and fresh cherry aroma leaping from the glass. There's also a good amount of bright funk complementing the sour acidity and the fruit aromas.

As has been my experience with other Upland sour lambics, this one is hugely sour--mouth puckeringly, throat closingly so. Along with the aggressive sourness is a lot of bright, fruity, plump, fresh cherry flavor. The funk is relatively subdued, at least compared to the aroma. This is a marvelous combination of cherry and sourness--exactly what I was hoping for.

Medium bodied with high carbonation--perfectly appropriate for the style. A joy to sip. I had this before my meal and after, and it was brilliant both times. Drinks incredibly well both chilled and at room temperature.

Phenomenal cherry sour. I would love to fill my cellar with this stuff.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2012 17:47:00 | More by ehammond1

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle: Poured a light pink color ale with a huge foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of sour cherries is more powerful then expected with load soft rat and funky notes. Taste is also a mix between some strong tart and sour notes with some fresh tart cherries and loads of funky barnyard notes. Body is fuller then average for style with good carbonation. Interesting example of fruity lambic from the US though while still being very good lacked some balance and was a bit too sour at the end of the day.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2011 21:10:55 | More by Phyl21ca

Treebs

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

750 ml C&C bottle served in a Founders snifter. Batch 134-08, bottled 10/12/10

A: Pours a very hazy purplish color. Man this looks a lot like grapefruit juice. Airy white head from on the pour with some small chunks of a cherry floating around.

S: Musty and tart. some slight sour cherry and some slight funk as well.

T: Great fruity tartness upfront, some subtle sour cherry skins, and some minimal funk. Finishes with a nice earthiness.

M: Has a definitive dry finish, so much so I feel it at the back of the throat. Has a great prickly carbonation and your left with a nice a dried fruit rind on the palate.

O: I liked this one because I enjoy cherry and it had a great mouthfeel and body, but the Persimmon version still reigns supreme.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2011 14:01:52 | More by Treebs

4DAloveofSTOUT

Illinois

3.83/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.75

batch number: 134-08
bottled: 10/22/2010

poured into snifter.

Appearance: pinkish koolaid red colored beer. The beer has some floaties in it. Fizzy white head that dissapears quickly. For some reason I thought this would be a deep dark red colored beer...

Smell: not getting much cherry notes from this beer. Vinegar, lemon, hay, & funk.

Taste: mild cherry tartness mixed with a moderate lemon sour; followed by hay and funk. Lemon sour and funk remain in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: light bodied beer and carbonation on the high end of moderate. Appropriate mouthfeel for the style and I think it enhances this beer!

Overall: Its a nice lambic, but its over priced at over $20 a bottle. Thats the bottom line. If this beer was a favorite style of mine, I would be able to appreciate it a little more. I just prefer stouts over sours. It is a good change up when i am in the mood for something totally different.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2011 02:08:53 | More by 4DAloveofSTOUT

DavoleBomb

Ohio

3.95/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a tulip. Bottled 10/22/10, Batch 134-08. Big thanks to Rempo for all my Upland needs.

3.0 A: Opaque peach/ruby red color. I think a saw a yeastie or two float by. Nearly three fingers of white, fizzy soda pop head that falls fairly quickly and leaves no lacing behind.

4.0 S: The aroma makes up for the average appearance. Plenty of tart cherry accompanied by a good bit of oak and hints of vanilla. Maybe even a touch of raspberry. Lots of tangy lactic acid with just a touch of acetic acid. A light, almost doughy maltiness.

4.0 T: Good balance between the fruit and the sourness. Moderately tart cherry, lots of lactic acid making this even fruitier, and just enough acetic acid to get a decent pucker going. Oak and vanilla in moderate amounts. Peach and raspberry fruitiness to support the cherry. A decent barnyard funk to round things off.

4.0 M: Lighter medium body. Perhaps just a touch too much spritzy carbonation. Reasonably creamy for the body. Quite smooth as this one is quite balanced while still delivering a punch.

4.0 D: The cherry is another solid soldier in the Upland lambic lineup. Aside from the appearance, this is solid all around.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2011 00:24:00 | More by DavoleBomb

mdvatab

Indiana

3.4/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Poured from 750ml bottle into a tall pilsner glass.
Hand-written bottle date: 10/20/10 (Batch 134-08)

Aroma: Sour, wild bretty funk. An acetic/vinegar note. No real cherry coming across, but smell reminds me of the last kriek I had. The aroma clues me into the fact that this one's going to be more like an authentic kriek than a sweet, sugary Lindemann's lambic.

Appearance: "Thar she blows!" Upon popping the cork to a loud "POP!", beer begins gushing rapidly from the bottle. By the time it settles down, I've lost 1/4 of the beer. Having paid $25 for this one, I was NOT a happy camper... 2 finger off-white head disappears quickly, like the foam on a glass of soda. The body of the beer is opaque, and resembles pink grapefruit juice. (Did the little penguin in my refrigerator shake this one up on me or something?) Chunks of pink cherry pulp can be seen rising and falling through the side of the glass.

Flavor: Puckeringly tart. Lemon meets sour cherry meets musty funk. Very reminiscent of an "umeboshi" (Japanese pickled plum). The acidity worked very well with the thin slices of Gruyere that I enjoyed alongside.

Mouthfeel: Crisp bite from the carbonation. Much fuller mouthfeel than expected (medium-full), due to the cherry pulp and yeast in suspension. Tartness makes the mouth water.

Overall: I honestly enjoyed the aroma and taste of this one. However, the fact that I lost 1/4 of this relatively-expensive bottle from gushing left me feeling short-changed. Upland's blackberry, kiwi, and other lambics really sound interesting, but I don't think I can ever justify dropping $25 on one of these again.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2011 11:50:06 | More by mdvatab

TurdFurgison

Ohio

2.6/5  rDev -32.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Batch 134-08, bottle 10/22/10. On removing the cork the beer began a slow gush, even after pouring a full glass the gushing continued. Easily managed but still a point to consider with opening this bottle.

The liquid is a murky pinkish color, maybe salmon pink. Lots of floaties, huge volume to the head which diminishes within minutes. Lots of dried sediment on the walls of the glass as it emptied.

Tart smelling, acetone and cherry. Honestly this is not an appealing smelling kriek, a bit too much nail polish and not enough cherry aroma. Same in the taste, this has an unpleasant background flavor of solvents. I tried and couldn't finish the whole bottle, a real shame. I'll give points for the sour edge but subtract them for poorly crafted flavor.

Not recommended, my least favorite lambic from Upland to date.

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2011 19:55:50 | More by TurdFurgison

thagr81us

South Carolina

4.1/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this one during the 'We Want The Funk!' tasting that was graciously hosted by beermeX2! Big thanks goes out to beermeX2 for sharing this one with the group! A gusher! Served from bottle into a Mikkeller flute. Poured a pinkish orange with a half finger off-white head that subsided to a minimal amount quickly. There was no lacing evident throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, cherry, and sour. The flavor was of sweet malt, cherry, tart, sour, and wood. It had a light feel on the palate with medium carbonation. Overall this was a pretty good brew. The aroma on this one was pretty good, but not very complex. This was okay as it was still quite nice. The flavor on this one was quite good though. The wood aspect on this one definitely added a new dimension to this one over the other Upland Lambics we had. Really worth trying if you get the chance.

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2011 19:07:54 | More by thagr81us

titosupertramp

Tennessee

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Looks a lot like pulpy ruby red grapefruit juice when held to light. Lots of floaties. Not much of a head, but plenty of carbonation in this one.

S: Tart cherries out in front with some wood like smells.

T: Pretty tart throughout when fresh out of the fridge, but as it warms, there are some sweet flavors that balance this out. Cherry, oak, funk is mostly what I'm getting here. I can't quite figure out where the sweetness if coming from but it's nice.

M: Lots of carbonation causes almost a burning, tingling sensation. As mention earlier, this is pretty tart at times. Lots of cherry pulp towards the end of the bottle.

O: I like this a lot, but the high price tag would keep me from getting this again.

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2011 23:40:11 | More by titosupertramp

AgentZero

Illinois

4.22/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Red beer with a bit of a white head on it that didn't really stick around for very long.

S - smells like cherries, vanilla, and wood. Quite nice.

T - Vanilla, little bit of wood, sour and tannic, with some great cherry flavor on the end. The cherry is very real, but with just enough sweetness to balance and add to the tart notes.

M - Smooth with good carbonation.

O - Really enjoyed this beer, been having a good run with the Upland Lambics lately.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2011 04:10:00 | More by AgentZero

Sean9689

Illinois

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml bottle purchased at the released. Split with friends.

A - Pours a pinkish red, white fizzy head, thin cap, and some whisps.

S - Nice sour/tartness, sour cherries, oak, fruity. After having the blackberry, it was nice that this one had a lot more sour/tart notes.

T - Big sour cherries, lacto, oak, sweet fruit, tart cherry finish. The cherries are excellent and enjoyable and the tart notes compliment the fruity sweetness.

M - Light, fizzy carbonation, dry finish.

O - Really enjoyable. The cherries are excellent and it's just a very easy to drink beer. Recommend.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2011 16:22:18 | More by Sean9689

bluejacket74

Ohio

3.63/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Batch 134-08, bottled on 10/22/10, 750 ml corked and caged bottle. Served in a flute, the beer pours a pinkish/orange color with about an inch light pink head that stayed around a little while. There's also some sediment floaties that I can see in the glass. Not much lacing at all. Aroma is tart cherries, oak, funk and vinegar. The taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also some lemon peel noticable. The cherry flavor is weak at first, but it does get somewhat stronger as the beer warms up more. With that being said, the cherry flavor still wasn't strong overall. Mouthfeel/body is light/medium with high carbonation. I think it's a decent enough brew, I'd like to try Upland's other fruit lambics to see how they compare with this one.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2011 21:18:46 | More by bluejacket74

sweemzander

Illinois

2/5  rDev -48.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1 | overall: 2

750mL corked and caged bottle poured into a stemmed glass. 10/22/10 bottled date. Thanks to Kyle for picking this up for me!

(A)- Gusher! A super cloudy pink to red blush color that produced some white froth. Alot of chunks made their way into my glass; not sediment, actual chunks that looked like cherry skins or something. Talk about unfiltered!

(S)- Ripe cherry pits and pie crust. Mildly tart and lactic with lots of dry oak.

(T)- Cherry pits and damp wood/oak. Some acidic funk, but otherwise straightforward.

(M)- Very thin and mellow with a kind of muted fruit/lambic feel. I almost had to chew this due to how much sediment and chunks of who knows what made it into my glass. Not much sour or funk to speak of.

(D)- Thus far, easily the most disappointing from the Upland Lambic lineup. The fruit is muted despite how fresh it is yet and there really isnt much else going on aside from some damp oak and very minute tartness. I literally almost had to chew this since there was so much "gunk" in this beer. I am sorry to say that this was a fail in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2011 04:25:19 | More by sweemzander

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle shared by Thorpe429. Thanks Mike.

The beer is a cloudy, hazy pink hue with a small head that leaves sparse lacing on the glass. The aroma brings some light funk with a healthy dose of tart cherries. The taste follows suit. This isn't among my favorite Upland lambics, but is enjoyable nonetheless. Oak barrel notes emerge more as the beer warms. The finish brings moderate acidity. Overall, a solid fruit lambic, and one I would certainly have again.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2011 16:56:54 | More by Huhzubendah

mikereaser

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Reviewed blind as part of the Blind BIF #5

Bottle number 9 courtesy of johnbjaeger

A - cork and cage pours a color that can only be described as grapefruit with a nice bright white cap that quickly faded

S - Ah, this smells so good. wonderful funk, oak, some fruit, maybe cherries or some other sweetness.

T - the flavor seems to be cherry or strawberry, a mustiness mixed with some oak along with a bit of a medicinal quality to the finish.

M - light carbonation yet prickly in my mouth, medium body with a slightly puckering finish, the adicity is starting to get to me a bit

D - its good, I don't know if its something i'd go for more than once a night, and I wonder how my stomach will be afterward, but its really enjoyable.

I really liked this one, though one is enough at a time. So lets see what we have here...

Upland Cherry Lambic
nice! I wasn't expecting one of these. I've been curious and I'm glad I got to try it.

3.5/4/3.5/3.5/3.5

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2011 03:19:30 | More by mikereaser

mdfb79

New York

3.78/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle shared by Thorpe429; thanks Mike! Poured into a tulip.

a - Pours a deep red color with an inch of white head and moderate to high carbonation evident.

s - Smells of acedic notes, some funk, oak, tart cherries, tart dark fruits, and vinegar. Nose is nice and tart.

t - Tastes of vinegar, acedic notes, oak, funk, tart cherries, and tart dark fruits again. Not as much cherry as I was expecting, and a lot of vinegar.

m - Medium body and moderate to high carbonation in the mouth.

o - Overall a nice Upland lambic, but I preferred the Blackberry tonight. Not my favorite from Upland, but definitely worth checking out if you like their lambic offerings.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2011 19:21:44 | More by mdfb79

Verecund

North Carolina

3.63/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Early 2011 batch. Opened on May 28, 2011. I've enjoyed working my way through the Upland lambics, and this is the penultimate one in my current stash.

Pours a tea rose with a short-lived half-finger head. Subsequent pours yield a nice two finger bubbling head. It's "duller" than I expected in color.

Some tart cherry and wet oak on the nose, but there's also a lot of strawberry sweetness. Upland funk: straw, sweat, and a little bit of medicinal character.

Sweet/sour berries, musty funk, and lots of lactic acidity. Some lemon sourness and oak contrast the tart cherry dominated taste profile.

Medium with just over medium carbonation. Pretty lively. The lactic acidity lingers on the tongue; the feeling it brings about reminds me of holding a sour skittle to the tip of my tongue. Pretty sweet on the finish, all things considered.

Par for the course, this is an enjoyable American sour. Better than Strawberry, but not as good as Blackberry, Persimmon, or Peach, IMO. A little too sweet - when I came to write my review, I actually searched for Strawberry Lambic first, since that was the dominant berry note here, especially on the nose. Still, worth trying once.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2011 18:25:06 | More by Verecund

drabmuh

Maryland

3.68/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle shard by Thorpe. Thanks! Beer is red and hazy with a white diffuse head. No lacing moderate carbonation.

The aroma of the beer is heavy with Brett b but as it warms it gets more cherry. The acetic and lactic acid present too.

Beer is pretty funky and sour with a mild tartness from the cherries. The beer is less cherry than I expected more acetic and stronger oakiness and Brett character than I expected. I liked it enough but it is not my favorite lambic of theirs.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2011 15:39:42 | More by drabmuh

woosterbill

Connecticut

4.03/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle into a La Chouffe tulip. Sampled at the Batch 3 Rosso release; thanks to the kind soul who shared it!

A: Murky, cloudy red-orange body. Plenty of fine carbonation. Ok.

S: Sweet & sour cherry, with plenty of vanilla, dark fruit and oak on the tail end. Nice.

T: Big acidity up front, with sweet, sour, and sharp cherry following it up. Clean, straightforward, and tasty.

M: Lively, spiky, and full. I'm a fan.

O: This was a tasty enough cherry sour, but it paled in comparison to both of the other ones I sampled at the same release (Cisco Monomoy Kriek and 3F Oude Kriek '06). Nothing bad about it at all (I was afraid from the aroma that it would be too sweet overall, but the acidity in the flavor was terrific), but nothing really stood out, either. Worth trying if you're even slightly interested, but not something I'd go out of my way to have again.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2011 15:42:45 | More by woosterbill

BZero007

Virginia

4.05/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Enjoyed at the NOVA BA tasting #1, big thanks to the BA who shared this with everyone.

If there was ever an occasion that required toast with a bottle that could produce a show..Upland is the way to go! Popped corked with a gorgous stream of red foam and liquid. The brew graces the air in a wonderfull color arrangement as the light shines through it...

Pours a hearty red color with a light pink head that forms and quickly disapears. Aroma is acidic with funk and a strong presence of cherries. Taste is a bit more acidic then its brother brew the blackberry. The acidic flavor is accompanied by the funk and cherries, which in this case the cherries stand out a bit more. Again with the mouthfeel as in the blackberry this brew felt great! My taste buds were left intack for the rest of the tasting which is greatly appreciated. Really enjoyed this brew and will purchase in the future.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2011 20:23:14 | More by BZero007

billab914

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 750ml bottle into a tasting glass. It poured pink in color and looked a bit like grapefruit juice. I got some sediment in the pour as well. A thin, white, fizzy head stuck to the edges of the glass.

The aroma has a very sharp tartness to it with some nice sour and funky notes. I get a some acidic, vinegar notes to it as well, but not too bad. The cherries add to the tartness and also give it a little sweet, fruitiness. The cherries were great in the aroma and I love cherries.

The taste has a very strong sourness to it right off the bat. The cherries add a fantastic fresh, tart, fruity, slightly sweet flavor to it that I really enjoyed. A little bit acidic but the cherries really brought the sharp, sour flavors together.

The mouthfeel is light with carbonation being high. Overall I thought this was an excellent beer. I really liked the tart cherry flavors it had as well as the big sourness. Very nice overall. I love cherries though so it wasn't a surprise I liked this one.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2011 17:43:48 | More by billab914