About Us

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Our Story Community and World

Our Story

We’ve been brewing ales, lagers, and sours in Bloomington, Indiana since 1998. Many of our brews are unique twists on traditional recipes, while others are products of our own imaginations. We’re proud to say that several of our beers have brought home national and international medals and awards, but what we really care about is brewing the kinds of beer we like to drink, and providing a fresh local option to our communities. It never hurts to get a pat on the back, though! Along the way, we’ve made lots of friends and drank our unfair share of good beer, all while trying to do good in our communities and do well as a craft brewery.

The name “Upland” comes from the Norman and Crawford Uplands, the term geologists gave to our area of southern Indiana, which was never overrun by the glaciers that flattened much of Indiana’s landscape. The raised highlands or “uplands” remained untouched, resulting in a region of rugged, heavily wooded hills and hollows. The land was beautiful but poor, and life was not easy for early settlers. This adversity bred independent thinkers who had strong wills, a connection to the land, and a wry sense of humor about life. Our approach to brewing beer honors the spirit of these people and this place.

So that’s our story in a nutshell, but if you want to really know what we’re about, drink our beers! To adapt an old saying, a taste is worth a thousand words. You can find our beer in bottles and on draught throughout Indiana, Louisville, KY, and southern Wisconsin. Also stop in at our Bloomington Brew Pub, Indy Tasting Room, or find us a festivals and other fun events.

Community and World

In a world increasingly dominated by giant multi-national companies, foods processed from bits and pieces of unknowable “stuff” collected from around the globe, and mass-marketed entertainment, we think it’s more important than ever to keep our local communities, cultures, and economies strong. That’s why we source ingredients and materials used in the brewery and the Tap Room locally whenever possible, eat at local restaurants, support local musicians and artists, and help raise money for local non-for-profits.

We also strive to minimize our impact on the beautiful land we call home by conserving energy in the brewery and utilizing a solar water-heating system. Every fall the brewery hosts the Hillbilly Haiku Americana Concert, bringing in local, regional, and national touring musicians for an outdoor concert to raise money for Sycamore Land Trust. We also donate a percentage of the profit from every keg of Preservation Pilsner to a land trust in the area where the keg was tapped.

Further Reading

Want to learn more about some of the organizations we think are doing important things? Here you go!

Sycamore Land Trust
Central Indiana Land Trust
Local First Indiana
Buskirk Chumley Theater