Upstream Kurgan Wee Heavy

The Upstream Brewing Company is a brew pub in Omaha,Nebraska with two locations.  I have only been to the one in the Old Market downtown.  They brew a solid line-up of brews with interesting specialty brews.  They currently have almost half a dozen specialty bottled brews available of differing styles that were all aged in used Templeton Rye barrels.  This Wee Heavy Scotch ale is 9.5% ABV and was brewed in December of 2010 and bottled in December of 2011. It is bottle number 169 out of 244, and won a gold medal at the 2011 Chicago Festival of Barrel Aged Beers.


The beer pours very dark brown to black in appearance.  There is no head and no carbonation.  The aroma is sweet dark malt, yet tart and fruity, plum and light rye whiskey.  The taste is plum, prune, darkened sugar, wood, bitter, and light rye whiskey.  This drinks more like a cordial liqueur than a beer.  It is interesting, but a little on the sweet side for my taste.  However, the aging in the Templeton Rye barrels adds a note that makes this beer work.  It would be lost without that whiskey barrel aging.