High Five

Few things in life are certain: death, taxes, and a kickass selection of craft beers on tap at the Horse Brass Pub. Wednesday night I was again a moth drawn to the flame (actually more like a slug drawn to the beer).

Last night I stopped by the Brass with the intention of doing a one-and-done. This seldom happens. My mission was to get my mouth around the Five from Upright Brewing. I know it may make brewer Alex Ganum cringe to hear this, but Upright is all the hype right now. Checking Twitter last night at work, I  saw several tweets about the five on tap about town. Bailey’s Taproom, Saraveza, and my Southeast watering hole, the Brass. The good news about this kind of hype is that it doesn’t go unwarranted. Let’s face it, anyone who has tasted Ganum’s beers knows they’re the shiznit. Producing funky fresh brews is his steez.

The Five is indeed a hoppy brew, but the rich hop character doesn’t overwhelm the palate like, say Boulder’s Mojo Risin’**. In fact, Five begins in one place and finishes somewhere else. This is a testament of the beers complexity and a sign that it is a superb brew. So many rich herbal, yeasty, zesty notes that I won’t go into a high falutent schpeel. Just try it.  NGL, It’s delish beer.

Thanks to Urban Dictionary for some of these links!

**Mr. Mojo Risin is an anagram for “Jim Morrison” and speaking of anagrams, we received this email from Mick Tully of Northholt, England regarding Bend Brewing’s Wild Blue Yonder Brew:

Looking forward to tasting your product here in the UK at Wetherspoons’ Beer Festival.

Here’s an anagram:

Wild Blue Yonder – Oregon Amber Ale =
Bloody-well made beer in our range!

I’ll drink to that!

Cheers!
Mick (Northolt)

Cheers, Mick!