Southern Tier Cuvée Series 2

Brewed by Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Lakewood, New York USA

from crackedkettle.com - pours a hazy ruby-brown colour with a modest head retention; shows a robust oak character with woody and vanilla tones, notes od prunes and black currant marmalade; solid malt body and with a robust sweetness partially balanced by a fair bitterness, sticky and oily palate, moderate carbonation, some warming alcohol presence in a long hoppy and woody finish with more notes of red fruits - a beautiful one

Bottled. Dark amber coloured. Unclear. Dense light brown head. Aroma of ripe fruits, alcohol, light bread, light spice and light sweetness. Flavour is quite vineous. Some caramel, sweetness, fruits, spice and ´wood. Medium bodied. sweetish and fruity end.

My Bottom Line:
Oaken vanilla flavors blend into caramel malts and clove-like spiciness just before earthy hops and their bitterness seal this warming sipper.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A ring of foam crowns the misty purplish brown.
-This is still quite sweet (which is to be expected of Southern Tier’s big brews, it seems), but the complexity of this one makes it a bit better than the Cuvée 1 imho.
-Oak was more apparent in this one than their Cuvée 1.
-The mouthfeel was suave and conducive to serious sipping.

Bottle.

Pours dark red with a thin white head. Smells of caramel, pepper, roasted malt. Tastes cloyingly sweet and mesy with up front weird bitterness.

Bottle. Pours a slightly hazy dark amber color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity spicy yeasty aroma with some malty hints. Sweetish malty spicy bitter flavor with some yeasty hints. Has a sweetish malty spicy bitter finish.

Bottle from the Binny’s in Plainfield, Illinois: This poured a clear reddish-amber body with a short-lived white head. The aroma was alcohol laced caramel with a touch of vanilla, old wood, and candied cherries. very creamy mouthfeel. It tasted of creamy caramel, soft nuts, fruit, vanilla, oak, and alcohol. The finish was sticky sweet with a low alcohol burn. Well crafted, but more interesting than enjoyable.

Bottle@Home. Sweet aroma with mainly dried dark fruits. Brown colour, beige head, good lace. Very sweet, nice bitterness, dried dark fruits, vanilla, licorice. Very sticky, flavourful, balanced and easy going.

Bottle at Dilly Deli. Poured hazy ruby brown color with an average frothy off-white head that mostly lasted with fair lacing. Moderate nutty malt, caremel and wood aroma. Medium body with a smooth texture with flat carbonation. Medium to heavy creamy sweet flavor with a medium bittersweet finish and small alcohol burn of moderate to long duration. This is a solid brew.