Southern Tier Big Red

Formerly brewed at Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Lakewood, New York USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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This beer almost reminds me of some Belgians. Caramel, toasty, bit of raisin, plum and sweetness. Great Imperial Red.

Bomber. Pours dark amber with a medium-sized off-white head. Aroma is floral and spicy hops with lots of caramel malt. Flavor follows aroma, with some honey, toffee, and quite a bit of sweetness. Not very bitter. Aroma is pretty well hidden. Soft palate.

After my victory over the hurricane it ws time for Sunday afternoon brew. This pours a bright amber with nice head. Nose is floral and hoppy. Taste is crisp, caramel, hops, orange peel, some spices. Finish is dry and this quite enjoyable drinking although not all that red.

A - Pours a clear copper-red color with a finger of frothy white head atop. The head fades slowly leaving behind some nice lacing in the process. S - The aroma is a mix of super sweet and rich caramel malt and some pine hops. There is also a bit of booze evident. T - The beer starts off with strong sweetness from the rich caramel malts. There is just a touch of pine hops in the background at this point. Through the middle, the richness of the malts backs off a bit and the piney hops get a bit stronger with some bitterness alongside. The finish is a mix of sweetness and some hop flavor, though a bit more mild, with some of the booze flavor coming through. M - Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. The beer feels fairly smooth with a bit of warming due to the booze flavors. D - Pretty drinkable. The flavors are very rich, especially the sweetness. The booze is also pretty evident, though it actually works well with the other strong flavors in the beer.

22oz bomber from Decanted. Wow, what a nice beer, very unique. Pours amber with a hint of red in colour, with smallish off white head. Slight haze. Aroma and taste are slightly spicy ( I think the hallertau?) and nice malt profile. Hard to find the alcohol in here. Would search this one out again!

Pours a reddish Cooper with a big off-white head. Malty aroma with some hop spiciness. Carmel and toffee flavors with a slight hop bitterness. Finishes sweet. Medium body and carbonation. Another top notch beer from Southern Tier.

Hazy amber/orange; Medium slightly creamy body; Aroma of toasted malt, citrus hops, caramel, & spice; Flavor of slight roasted sweet malt, some rye, floral hops, citrus, and caramel; Finish is slightly bitter with some alcohol; Overall, a little basic - but somehow it works.

Bottle acquired via trade with tgncc...thanks again Tom!!! There are so many reds/ambers out there with a weird malt profile that I’m not a fan of that this one concerned me a bit even though I’ve enjoyed everything from the brewery before. This one didn’t disappoint!! Glowing ember/liquid metal pour with a nice eggshell head. Aroma of caramel, toffee, and bright juicy hops. Flavor is balanced and easy to guzzle (though I wouldn’t recommend it at 9.5%...well hidden by the way). Lots of citrus, orange peel, honey, and lemongrass along with a solid malt backbone. Yum!

Bottle. Pours clear amber with a foamy white head that shows lacing. Aroma is sweet herbal and faint pine. Taste is bitter pine grapefruit with a floral, herbal tea flavor as well as a little pepper. Palate is full and sticky with a chaulky dry finish. Solid American strong ale!

Bottle bought refrigerated. Smell is of sweet malt, a bit floral but I think it’s fair to say it is pretty balanced - maybe not as hop forward as many of the style tend to be. It’s clean and crisp and perhaps relatively subtle. I usually like a bold, hoppy imperial red and am not convinced that this one hasn’t seen some deterioration of its hop profile - there’s a bit of a potato flavor as it warms - but it’s still enjoyable.