Southern Tier Big Red

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!

Copper pour with small foamy white head. Aroma big on hops and malts. Spices take a role here but on a much lesser level. Quite well balanced, but nothing really stands out and makes you want to drink another.

Usually when I see te word "Imperial" I think of strong, overpowering beers. While this one may be strong, it is not overpowering! Pours slight red, with small head theat quicky disappeared. Nice hoppy flavor to start, but does not linger. My first experience with Southern Tier, I think I need to find some more!