Southern Tier Big Red

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

Somehow I expected this to be a bigger beer in the sense of its being more of a hop bomb. Still, with a 9.5% ABV and loads of lavor, it’s a darned good ale. It pours a clear golden amber body with a tall white head. Loads of lacework. The aroma is sweet, quite floral, and has orchard fruit and caramel... soon followed up by hoppy scents of pine, tropical fruit, grapefruit zest... The flavor continues on a fruity theme, some sweet, some bitter, with a gathering pine/earth/zest/herbal bitterness that lasts long into a dry finish. Lots going on here. Very nice.

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I’m impressed right out of the gate. Moderately sweet up front and falling off into big bitterness in the back. Light fruity hops all overn the mouth. Orange, apricot, peach, mango. Malt is quiet but just the right amount. Big hop flavor and bitterness comes together in something slightly sharp, but not quite pineapple or pine or anything like that. It’s a unique flavor. Now that I’m reminded this is a hallertau beer I’m starting to put together where that flavor comes from. I honestly liked it more before when I didn’t know what was in it. Either way a nicely balanced, complex beer.

Bottle. Pours clear amber with a medium off white head. Aroma of berry, pine and sweet malt. Taste is more of the same, bigger on the pine and rounded out with some decent bitterness. Medium to heavy body. Decent, not my favorite offering from this brewer, but I would have this again.

2/16/08: Re-rate. i must be losing my mind because I have no recollection of rating this brew which I apparently did less than a month ago. i bought about 4 bottles around that time, one for myself and 3 for several friends in MN to bring back there. Anyway, from likely the same case, same batch, my rating this time around was noticeably better. Maybe it had to age for 3 weeks?!? Moderate hop aroma with dark fruit aspect and higher alcohol profile evident. Tons of visible carbonation. Clear amber body. Frothy, off-white head with excellent lace. Good amount of alcohol punch but seems lower than 9.5%. Consistent with my last rating, I detect some metallic notes initially. Perfect balance. Is this the best red beer ever? As a red, probably yes, as an American Strong, no, but underrated at 42% in it’s style. Very yummy. Went from a 3.6 overall to a 4.2 in 3 weeks. 1/26/08: Bottle. Basic malty lager aroma. Very different than I was expecting for a big, supposedly hoppy red ale. Dark gold to light amber body with so much visible carbonation, the crystal clear body almost looks hazy. Champagne-like in that respect. Tastes much more like I expected. Sweet and strong. Initially almost a touch on the cloying side. Hop finish is somewhat metallic, but settles into the Hallertau that I know and love. Very nice lace. Frothy, white lace and head. A nice flavor, but quite frankly, not at the exceptional level of most other Southern Tier brews. Good enough to be most brewers best beer and a beer that I would probably gush after for any new undiscovered brewer I came across. However, I know what ST is capable of and this falls somewhat short. For all of the visible carbonation, the mouthfeel is almost flat. A very nice bitter Hallertau finish. Enjoyable. Ar 5, Ap 5, Fl 7, Pal 4, Ov 15

22oz bonus bottle from Beer Truth on BA. Thanks! Pour with little head consisting of microbubble wisps over the surface. Deep amber red color. Some melanoidins in the aroma. Somewhay spicy and a hint of tartness. Lingering sour bitterness on the tongue. Not my favorite.

Clear copper, with a smallish white head that leaves some OK lace. Aroma is fairly sweet, a bit musty, a bit peanut-buttery, with some slightly spicy notes. Fairly sweet in flavor, and very bitter, with some grassy hop undertones. And I can’t shake this sense of peanut butter--it’s not a bad thing, just unusual. Very good creamy mouthfeel.

Pours copper. Light aroma of hops and malt, with some spice. Taste is well balanced. Alcohol is not present, which is surprising for 9.5%. Coating mouthfeel. A very drinkable beer. Not my favorite from ST, but still a good beer.

This was a strong and very enjoyable beer,hints of malts and hops with a nice bitterness to it and it has a nice kick to it at the end.I will get more real soon because i enjoyed it that much.CHEERS!