Upland Launches Sour Ales in Colorado with Elite Brands

From Upland:

BLOOMINGTON, IN —Upland Brewing Co. announces a new market for their growing sour ale program. Beginning the first full week of March, fans out west can find Upland Sour Ales in Colorado. Partnering with Elite Brands, their wood-aged sours will be available in select bars and bottle shops, with launch events starting March 7 in Denver.

“Colorado has one of the most dynamic craft beer scenes in the country and we’re happy to be part of Elite’s well-respected portfolio of world-class beer brands,” said Dusy Howe, Upland’s Director of National Sales. “We started talking at the Great American Beer Festival last year, and we’re excited to finally bring Colorado beer drinkers our innovative wood-aged sours for years to come.”

Upland traded a few cases of beer for wine barrels from Oliver Winery, a neighboring winery in Bloomington back in 2006, and used those barrels to start their sour beer program. Coming to Colorado will be the latest batch of this partnership, Oak & White. A blend of Upland’s base sour blonde ale is aged on Traminette Grapes from Oliver’s Creekbend Vineyard, creating tart flavors reminiscent of a dry white wine. Available in 500 ML bottles, Oak & White will satisfy both beer and wine enthusiasts.

Upland grew their sour program by aging their base sour beer on whole fruits from local Indiana farmers. One of those such beers, Peach, will also be making its way to Colorado. Peach is the result of brewers and staff cutting and destoning the peach pits by hand of 7,000 lbs of peaches. The beer reveals authentic peach flavors and aromas with a dry, tart finish. A limited supply of 750 ml bottles will make its way to bottle shops.

Upland will also be featuring innovative sours with unique fruit and spice combinations like Prim, a blonde base sour aged in wine barrels for 4-6 months on plums and cardamon. It’s tart, fruity, herbaceous, and very refreshing.

Not all of their beers are aged in wine barrels. Crimson, an American take on a Belgian Flanders-style Red Ale is aged for 8+ months in previously used bourbon barrels rather than white oak. This contributes to the slightly higher ABV, 10%, and adds subtle notes of charred dark oak to this medium-bodied sour ale. Long fermentation reveals aromas of plum, red wine and cherry.

Launch events where fans can try these beers and other small batch Upland brews begin March 7 in Denver at Goed Zuur at 6pm. On 3/8 they’ll be tapping beers at Freshcraft at 5pm, on 3/9 at Falling Rock Tap House at 5:30pm and also at the Pint Room in Littleton from 6-8pm. More information can be found at uplandbeer.com.

About Upland Brewing Co.
Located in Bloomington, Indiana, Upland Brewing Co. has an intriguing brewing story that dates back to 1998. Our mission is to brew remarkable beers in remarkable ways, staying true to the artisan, progressive spirit found in our part of the Midwest. Upland is currently the third largest brewery in Indiana and brews more than 50 different styles of beer annually.