Upland RadFest

The first Upland RadFest was officially for the release of their new beer heading for the permanent lineup, Rad Red. Unofficially, it was yet another excuse for Upland to throw a party.

“Rad” was the order of the day, starting with the Rad Red itself. It’s a bold American Amber quite different from Upland Amber. No details yet but the bottom of the 6-pack says:

All right, we know what you’re thinking: What on Earth is going on down there in Bloomington? To be honest, it’s really about the beer. Brewing for over a decade with the most totally righteous malt, hops, yeast and water led us to develop this aptly named and deliciously rad brew. Crunchy caramel malts for balanced bitterness and aroma? Check! Upland’s sweet blend of ale yeasts doing their magic? Check! Excellent clean tasting water of Southern Indiana? Right On! In our experience with Rad Red, we had visions of zombies, robots, ninjas and a gangster jectpack monkey. An no, this isn’t a goofball party beer lacking taste, character and hand craftedness. This is a beer brewed to be rad, to have a pelasant and prominent malt presence, a blessed bitterness and a beauty aroma and one ond to enjoy with best friends on those occasions when you argue incessantly about what is and isn’t rad. We just thought a space babe riding a rocket with a laser whip would get the conversation going.

With only a bit over 200 people, 6 bands, and a 5-hour event it turned more into a party where people could stroll up, talk to the brewer, and start a personal relationship with a particular beer. Brewers represented were Barley Island, Bloomington, Broad Ripple, Brugge, Lafayette, Mad Anthony, New Albany, Oaken Barrel, Shoreline, and of course Upland – along with the Bloomington Hop Jockeys.

What would a RadFest be like without Rad clothing. Everyone was invited to wear their best and the crowd favorite got a $50 gift certificate to the tap room.

The winners were the couple in the sorta-Romulan costumes. They ended up with a quick game of rock/paper/scissors with the Dog and Hula couple for the honors.

You won’t miss the beer in stores; just look for RED.