Review - Upright Brewing Seven

Over the past several months I have written a number of reviews of beers from Upright Brewing out of Portland, Oregon. Overall, I have found their beers to be interesting, unique and of high quality. The fact that their house yeast strain, Wyeast 3711, is one of my favourites, the same yeast I have used in a number of beers including Disheveled Dwarf and The Harvester, has only made me enjoy them all the more. As their beers have been such a treat in the past I was looking forward to reviewing Seven, the last of Upright's offerings I had yet to write about.

Seven is described as a "golden beer," and its deep gold hue certainly lives up to this billing. Typical of the yeast used in this beer, it has a lightly spicy, phenolic aroma. The first taste reveals flavours of pear that are recognisable throughout. It is a dry beer, but not bone dry, and it is well carbonated, but not to the extent of other beers I have sampled from Upright. Seven has a slight bite that hints at its 8% abv, and is, in my opinion, perhaps somewhat too fruity for this type of beer. The flavour of pear that predominates also makes this beer somewhat one-dimensional, and I would have to say that it is just not very special. Seven is not as spectacular a beer as I've come to expect from Upright, but it is still for the most part a good beer that is enjoyable and fairly drinkable.
Rating: Good