For the past 15 years, Alex Ganum and his team at Upright Brewing have been brewing consistent, well-made beers in the basement of the Leftbank Building. Through the years, Upright Brewing has been a brewers’ brewery that has won the respect of craft beer drinkers from near and far. Today, Saturday, April 6, 2024, Upright Brewing will celebrate 15 great years of brewing at its 15th Anniversary Party from 1:00 – 9:00pm.
Today, Alex and his brew team of Gerritt Ill and Neil Yandow have worked on a few special beers that’ll be on tap. The trio has collaborated with a few of their friends in the industry, including Breakside Brewery, Grains of Wrath, and Away Days Brewing to brew up a few special beers. These three will join a few other beers that we are excited to try!
Leading off the anniversary tap list is Glass Tower Anniversary Saison. This saison will also be available in 16-ounce cans (79 cases produces) with label art from Lloyd Winter. Through the years Upright Brewing has produced some of our favorite saisons made in America. Glass Tower Anniversary Saison is no exception. Brewed with HBC 522, Crystal and Summit Hops and yeast strain the offers up a bright color and nuanced flavor that develops with each sip.
Then to help ring in 15 years of brewing, Upright worked with three local breweries on three different beers styles. This includes a White Summer Ale with Breakside Brewery, and IPA with Grains of Wrath, and a Hoppy Dark Mild with Away Days Brewing.
“The one we’re doing with Breakside is white summer ale served on the hand pump,” said Alex. “Basically an English Summer Ale with white chocolate. It has a pretty cool hop component to it. It’s not a hoppy beer but has a cool little herbal hop character going on to offset the cacao a little bit.”
The IPA collaboration was brewed at Grains of Wrath and will also be released in cans is one that took the fellas at the Camas brewery a bit outside of the norm for them. “It’s a pretty classic IPA,” stated Alex. “We brewed it a little bit darker than their usual stuff. Those guys really like their IPAs. On this one I talked them into doing something a little bit maltier.”
On the Hoppy Dark Mild that was brewed with Away Days, this one will be served on CO2, not the beer engine. “This one is a very dark hoppy mild,” mentioned Alex. “Basically a dark mild grist and then hopped the hell out of it with a couple of French varieties, Elixir and Barb Rouge. It’s pretty cool because the Barb Rouge is pretty fruity while the Elixir is kind of leathery and tobacco. It has got a really cool flavor.”
In addition to these three collaboration beers, there will be a few other previous collaboration beers on tap. “We will be serving the final kegs of Forest Flor that we did with Tim and Rachel from Nebuleus. And the last Fair Isle collab keg, Summer Leaves, a pretty cool saison that went into foeder. We liked it so we stashed a keg for the anniversary!”
But that’s not all when it comes to special beer releases for today. Upright also brewed a new version of Special Herbs, its reoccurring gruit beer that was originally brewed for the North American Organic Brewers Festival. However, this version is brewed with a touch of hops.
“It is the first time we actually revamped the recipe,” stated Alex. “So this batch actually has hops in it. It’s not super hoppy, kind of like what we use in a saison. Some of the botanicals are the same but others are ones that we have never used.”
Also joining the tap list today is a former favorite of ours and many other beer fans, Urban Farmhouse. Yes, the beloved beer that was brewed by The Commons Brewery will make a return with Upright’s interpretation of it.
Nearly a decade ago, Saraveza hosted a recipe exchange that featured Upright and The Commons as each brewery took on one beer from the other brewery. The Commons brewed Upright’s Four, while Upright brewed The Commons’ Urban Farmhouse. Well today you can try the latter!
Cheers to 15 wonderful years of beer!
Upright Brewing – 240 N Broadway – Portland, OR
About The Author
DJ
D.J. is a Portland, Oregon based writer that spent his formative years in the Midwest. With over 25 years under his belt of drinking beer at festivals across America and the world, he has developed a strong appreciation and understanding of craft beer and the industry that surrounds it. He can be found in any of the great breweries or beer bars that make Portland the best beer city in the world. His writing can also be found in the archives of Northwest Brewing News and can be followed on Twitter and Instagram at @hopapalooza.
