Southern Tier Big Red

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

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!

Pours a translucent cooper color. I was expecting a little more red :) Not that much aroma. Nice balance, not too bitter. Tasted a little earthy. Pretty solid brew, I wouldn’t have guessed it was 9.5% I thought it was average.

22oz Bomber $5.99 Sam’s Marcey I’ve enjoyed Southern Tier’s offerings so much I was pretty excited to come across Big Red. Leaves the glass a surprisingly clear highly polished copper. Tiny carbonation bubbles chase each other up the sides of the glass. The head grew to two fingers of cotton white creaminess on the pour before falling to a thick crown and leaving patchy lacing on it’s way down. I was surprised to read on the side of the bottle this is brewed and dry-hopped only with Hallertau. Although there’s the (Hallertau) usual suspects, spicy and earthy, there seems to be a melon like fruitiness in there s well. Muskmelon is what comes to mind which I’m sure is the earthiness I seem to find in muskmelons. The Hallertaus are front and center but there is a solid toasted malt presence that trys balancing things out but falls just shy. The spiciness of the Hallertaus adds something unique to a big red ale. The toasted maltiness is certainly there and balances out the spicy earthiness from the hop addition. When I first bought this beer I expected to get a hugely hoppy red ale. Instead, I got a red ale double the size. This is certainly another unique beer from Southern Tier. They hide their alcohol better than any other brewery I’ve yet to come across. With the slow moving carbonation this beer appears to be pretty thick. When you drink it’s actually smooth and moves a little quicker than I expected. Mouthfeel is on the thicker side of medium with a coating mouthfeel. This is an easy one to put away. The fact that it’s just a bigger red and there’s no alcohol present it goes down way too easy. I hate to sound cliche but this is one of those dangerously drinkable beers. Another winner from Southern Tier. Although this beer is a big red ale it’s totally different from all the other big, boisterous, hoppy reds available. While I like those big hoppy reds this is just a high quality expertly brewed red. I’ll follow these guys wherever they go. 12/29/07

Far from the best Southern Tier beer I’ve had, but still not bad. Red and transparent, but not brilliant like most other Southern Tier beers I’ve had. Aroma is a bit hoppy and contains a malty bitter. Flavor is a bit metallic, full maltiness which to me comes across as non-hoppy bitterness, but there’s also a good amount of hop. Mouthfeel is what I’d expect from an amber, and unremarkable but not bad. I’d weakly recommend this beer. I bought this 22oz bottle at 3 Cellars in Franklin, WI.

I was a little bummed with this one. Came out looking a little too thin and watery. Maybe like cranberry juice with water, but not as red. Its got some hops, but its a little too bland. I feel the "imperial" word is used too much, and this is a good example.

Bomber, a few degrees above the recommended 42. Not red, but orange/brown in color. Looks thick. Not much aroma, but what’s there is citrusy (oranges?), grassy and floral. It says 93 IBUs, but that’s more than balanced by the maltiness. Sweet, grainy, and spicy on the tongue. Body is pretty full with soft carbonation. It doesn’t feel like 9% ABV, but the thick body would slow me down.

Peppery ,spicey ,Hallertau hops dominate the aroma, hard for anything else to make its presence known, get this aroma of pennies, and a little malt in background, Taste is sweet malts and tangy hop balance,I like all the hops but the flavors seem to clash somewhat,doesn’t seem to be a real balance , fine only because I’m a hophead