Style: Gose
ABV: 6.5%
IBUs: 9
Nick’s Take
Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all had a nice, safe thanksgiving despite the challenges that we face in the current climate. One thing that I’m thankful for (besides my family, friends, and health) is good beer and starting this blog with Joe just a couple short months ago. It’s been a great outlet for us to express ourselves and spread some positivity about something many of us enjoy. I also want to thank all of you who have supported us in this endeavor. It truly means a lot! With all the mushy stuff out of the way, let’s get into this week’s new release!
When I moved to Greenville over four years ago, I tried to become initiated with the city and find places to visit for food and drink. At the time, Uptown Greenville was evolving, and little did I know that a brand new brewery was on the way. Uptown Brewing Company opened in January 2017 and has been a staple of Greenville ever since. Joe and I, along with friends, have spent many evenings here drinking brews, competing in trivia, and listening to live music. Just last week, we learned of a new gose on their menu – “Bethro Jodine” – and didn’t waste time making our way to the brewery to see what these guys had concocted.
“Bethro Jodine” is a pretty intriguing beer to see in person. After grabbing my full pint glass from the bar and heading to my table, I snapped a few photos and took a few moments to enjoy the soft pink hue of this beer. It was also noteworthy that a prominent collar (white, with just the lightest touch of pink) had formed from pouring, and it was maintaining itself well. My first thought of the color was that it appeared to be similar to grapefruit juice, but perhaps more opaque. It was certainly very hazy but a little light was able to sneak through.
My curiosity was piqued at this point, so I went in for a few whiffs. Noticeably tart on the nose, but underneath that were mild malt aromas and a detectable amount of sweetness. I felt that lactose and berries were contributing to the aromas I was finding, and wanted to see how it would taste. It was really enticing.
While it had a distinguishable tartness through the nose, my taste receptors were signaling much less sour than I had perhaps anticipated. Not enough to make you pucker, but a good amount to enhance the tasting experience. What most caught my attention was the fullness of this beer; it has a fluffy, creamy texture that covers all surfaces of the mouth effectively and helps the flavor linger (more on that next). Lastly, I’d note that this gose finished with a bit of dryness on the roof of my mouth and on the tongue.
As I was taking my sips and letting the full-bodied beer coat my taste buds, I relished at just how sweet and tart it really was. I was getting a huge berries and cream sensation the whole time (not sure if that was their intention, but either way I was enjoying it). The lactose definitely contributed here and helped balance out the tartness and berry flavors, which I found to be on par with raspberry and blackberry. About halfway through my glass, I started getting faint notes of some kind of herb. I could not put my finger on it, but I was leaning toward rosemary or something really aromatic. I later learned that this brew had mint in the recipe, and it’s possible that you will pick up on that more than I did.
I’m a fan of sours/goses and Uptown Brewing Company produced a really tasty and complex edition with this latest release. I would say that I likely wouldn’t have more than one or two of these in a session (as is common for me with sours, as the tartness can be overwhelming after a while), and did not down it very quickly. This is a brew that should be savored! “Bethro Jodine” was a great new edition to Uptown’s beer menu, and I recommend stopping by if you have an opportunity.
Thanks for reading! Cheers!
Abbreviated tasting notes
Appearance: Soft pink/salmon color that is slightly opaque. Bubbly head that has a pink hue and slowly reduces to a wisp. (4/5)
Aroma: Tart on the nose, with aromas of sweet berries and very mild malt character. (4/5)
Mouthfeel: Not too sour on the taste receptors (minimal puckering), full body, and leaves a bit of a dry finish on the roof of the mouth and tongue. (4/5)
Taste: Berries and cream vibe, with good balance of sweetness from lactose and tartness from the berry. A light herbal aftertaste/in retronasal. (4/5)
Drinkability: It’s a full beer that is also a bit tart, that I may only have one of in a sitting. This is a “savor the flavor” beer that shouldn’t be crushed. (3.5/5)
Total: 19.5/25
Joe’s Take
Ditto to what Nick said in his “mushy” section of the post. We’re glad to have this as our side project and appreciate your support!
For our new release this week we’re hitting up another Greenville brewery staple and trying a new sour beer by Uptown Brewing Company. Uptown was one of the first breweries I visited when I moved to NC and became a frequent hang out spot for Nick, the gang, and myself. Their trivia nights kept us coming back and sampling their new offerings. With quarantines and such our visits slowed down and we decided it was time to get back to the brewery and showcase one of their beers on the blog. So without further ado, here is my review of “Bethro Jodine” by Uptown Brewing Co.
The fruited sour was served in Uptown’s glassware workhorse, a branded shaker pint glass. It was a hazy pink brew that looked somewhat like liquid bubblegum or one of those SoBe drinks that used to be sold at gas stations and convenience stores (ya know, the one with the lizard on the label). It had a thin white head that dissipated almost immediately and left no lace behind in the glass. This was different from Nick’s experience and I’m wondering if the glass had some residual detergent or oils on it that caused the head to quickly die down.
Aromas were not extremely strong and the beer may have benefited from a glass that had a more narrow opening to concentrate the aromas. I was able to pick up sweet berry notes with a slight fresh herbal character pulling through. There was little hop aroma present and I had a hard time picking up any malt character.
The mouthfeel was pleasant and smooth. There was only a slight acidic tartness that was not overbearing. The beer had some body to it, attributable to the lactose in the brew, and was not overly carbonated. After swallowing, “Bethro Jodine” left somewhat of a drying sensation but did not coat the mouth.
The flavor of “Bethro Jodine” came through as sweet berry, followed by fresh mint, and lastly a sour funk. The mint flavor was not too strong and reminded me of plucking a fresh mint leaf and chewing on it. This flavor was more of an undertone that played well with the tart sweetness the beer presented as its primary flavors. There was not a huge depth beyond this interplay and sweetness was at the forefront. However, this made for an easy, simple to drink beer. I would place this early in a drinking session so the flavors and sweetness don’t get overwhelmed by a bitter hop forward beer or inky black stout.
It’s great to be back in Uptown Brewing Company and we will have to make a point to visit regularly (even though our trivia days have been limited recently). So stop in and give this new sour a try. Let us know what you think! Cheers!
Abbreviated tasting notes
Appearance: Pink, hazy, almost like liquid bubble gum or raspberry juice. Thin head, dissipated almost immediately. (4/5)
Aroma: Not a strong aroma. Sweet reminiscence of berries and fresh mint. Minimal hop aroma. (3.5/5)
Mouthfeel: Smooth, slightly viscous, not overly carbonated, nice. (4/5)
Taste: Sweet berry, mint leaf, slight sour funk. Finish brings out the funk. Slightly tart. Not a huge depth of flavor but tasty. (4/5)
Drinkability: Smooth sipper but only good for one in a session for me. Sweetness would be a touch too strong. (3.5/5)
Total: 19/25
Comments are closed