Southern Tier Big Red

I remember buying a 22oz bottle of this at wegmans. Nice copper color/tan head. Had a good hoppy and caramel flavor with a nice clean finish that was bitter. Decently balenced throughout.

22 oz. bottle. A clear copper pour with a thick light-tan head. A subtle floral aroma with hints of caramel and pepper. Medium-bodied and nicely balanced. Lots of caramel and roasty qualities throughout. Starts with a good deal of sweet caramel and finishes with a hoppy bitterness. The 9.5% ABV is very well-hidden.

22oz bottle. Poured a clear medium orange color. Head was off white with an orange tint and retained its height for a good while. some sticky lace was left behind on the glass. Sprucy hops, caramel, toffee, alcohol, and a dash of brown sugar came out in the aroma. Sweet with mild hop bitterness and smooth mouth feel. Medium to full bodied. There was a good balance between malt and hops with pine resin, cotton candy, and dark caramel flavors. There was also a warming alcohol effect and an earthy, woody note at the end. Pretty good.

650 ml bottle via Bieropholie, served at cellar temperature in a tulip glass.

App.: Deep amber, clear, fair off-white froth. Aroma: Resinous, slightly piney and quite spicy hops, light cherry and cranberry in behind, a whiff of apple juice, a hint of caramel. Palate: Medium body and almost no carbonation with a little astringency. Flav.: Floral and peppery hops that touches on resin and pine, a bit fo the fruit – pears and apples, hints of berries, just a bit of caramel; off-dry with fair bitterness and a lingering floral maltiness.

This beers seems to be maligned for not meeting expectations. I enjoyed it because it brings American hop aggressiveness, but leaves the C-hops behind. Well done.

22oz bomber. Served at 54° in a chalice. Pretty reddish copper color with a smallish head. Aroma is toasty, bready, chocolatey, with a nice spicy, and to a lesser extent, flowery hop aroma. The hops are very pleasant in this, they are very delicate but with an intoxicating aroma. I was thinking typical American amber ale in the aroma, but the flavor is much different. Almost immediately the flavor is somewhat harsh and over the top bitter. As I grow accustomed to the bitterness, the malt flavor seems to peek out from behind the hops, but only briefly. I get a little biscuit here, a little caramelly malt sweetness there, some chocolate as well, but as soon as I swallow, the bitterness seems to step on the malts throat, asserting its dominance. I guess this is an imperial ipa with German hops and a little extra character malt base. Maybe I am just not being open minded, but I found this to be a little much and the harshness was detracting. The 9.5% is evident when you are 2/3 of the way through the bottle. Southern Tier seems to make some really great beers and some ones that seem to miss the mark, I guess when you aim for the stars, you fall short sometimes.

Bomber. Pours golden/orange with a thin white head. Immediate hops on the nose, as well as sweet caramel, brown sugar, and figs. Can’t wait to taste this. A lovely sharp and bitter hop bite gives way to a short rush of malty sweetness before fading into a bitter warming finish. Thick, creamy mouthfeel. This is very enjoyable.

22 oz bottle

After this sat in the fridge for a few weeks I decided it was time to crack it open. I was hoping for something enjoyable and solid without high expectations. This almost reached that bar. I would descirbe this as a thoroughly average release - there are few glaring flaws but no amazing experiences either.

Aroma / Appearance - The calm pour resulted in a carbonated amber body with an off white bubbly head. Orange peels, white bread and a trace of hops form a headspace which is predictable but safe.

Flavor / Palate - Caramel, honey and mothballs tickle the tongue before a cream dry finish. In between the taste of a chilly reuben unfolds. This was very mellow and easy to drink in a tame way. I probably won’t pick it up again but it was not a total waste of time.

This should be getting way, way more love here. I think we are so used to piney, citric hop flavors in a big beer that when something else comes along, we don’t know quite how to react. Pours a clear medium copper with a lasting white head that leaves a thick lace on the glass, quite attractive. Aroma is perfumey, floral, and a bit spicy, very unusual for most American brews. Initial biscuit oriented malt flavors give way to a spicy floral hop finish with a very long lingering bitterness. Malts and hops match perfectly here. When I read that this was a Hallertau based brew, the reason for the unique hop profile became clear. American brewers really should pay a bit more attention to some of the more traditional German varieties as a way of creating a more unique flavor profile, which is what Southern Tier has done here. The closest thing I can compare this to is the Sam Adams Imperial Pils, but this is clearly an ale. Outstanding stuff.