Upright Bottle Release

Well, I do not know what Alex and the boys thought, but I would say that the bottle release party yesterday was a complete success. Upright was filled to the walls with people thirsty for the release of their Gose, and Billy the Mountain. We had an amazing time, and I was more than happy to spend a half an hour in line to get a bottle of Gose and Billy and a glass of each. I will talk about those of course, but there was also some hidden gems yesterday, one of which was my personal fav of the day.
The Gose was pale in colour, but not in taste. It is a little spicy, light, and has a gorgeous Belgian flavor. The night before I had a Damnation from Russian River at Horse Brass. The Gose reminded me of it, but exceeded it in complexity and taste.
Billy the Mountain. What a beer. It spent five months in Pinot Barrels, four months in the bottle, and tastes of it. They refer to it as an "English-style Old Ale." I will not disagree with that, but I will add to it. It was lightly sour, sweet, and had a wonderful delicate nose. Billy was one of the best Upright beers I have had, and possibly in the top ten for Portland brews in general. I am going to let the bottle I bought sit for awhile, as it will be interesting to see see how it evolves. According to the Upright Blog, "The finished beer is ready but will surely continue to evolve for some time to come as the brettanomyces continues to transform the existing aromas and flavors."
Ok, the big ones covered. But, as is my nature, I prefer the more unknown and hidden. My favorite of the day was the Congo Pale Ale. Described to me as a Belgian IPA, it did not fail. Alex had three "experimental" beers off to the side of the main taps. I hope this beer comes out of the experimental stage to the bottled stage at some point. It was light, crisp, and had a underlying hoppiness that was embraced and enhanced by the Belgian flavors. Combining the Belgian flavor and the IPA bite is like some kind of dream world where beer cans would be made from potato chips. I know, it's crazy, but I spend my days thinking of these things.
Cheers to the boys at Upright. I had a great time, and was happy to see so many people supporting a fine brewery.