RateBeer

Southern Tier Big Red

Percentile
89
overall

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution
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RatingsAverageScoreSeasonalABVStyle PctlServe in
4133.54/5.03.52/5.0Special9%52.8Snifter, Trappist glass
Commercial Description:
Inspiration can sometimes be found in the strangest of places. This eccentric brew started with a single flower from a hop named Hallertau. The delicate and spicy aroma present in the flower has been responsible for generations of great beers. Hallertau hops are to a brewer what an old tractor is to a farmer: reliable. Big Red expresses the nobility of Hallertau by placing it at the forefront of this Imperial Ale. Pour it into a snifter. A swirl allows the spicy aromas to come forward as a taste to the lips reveals the complex balance between sweet malts and the bitterness of hops. Big Red’s ability to please is as dependable as your grandpa’s old tractor. Please consume wisely.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 yobdoog (1431), Woodridge NY, New York, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/103/515/20
Jan 3, 2008  
Malt and hop balanced aroma. Not that Big of an aroma though. Taste is sweet bigger than aroma. Nice hop balance, not too bitter. Caramel sweetness, smooth, hides alcohol well. Reddish brown color nice head, retains well. Pretty nice red.


 MoDog (917), Griffith, Indiana, USA
3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/55/103/512/20
Jan 1, 2008  
Poured from a 22oz bomber and served in a shaker. This beer poured a clear, dark amber color with a one-finger thick head of beige foam that slowly settled into a thin layer. Some decent lacing coated the glass. The aroma of the beer was made up of mild caramel, grapefruit and floral hops. The flavor included a dull, dry bitterness, along with some unsweetened caramel notes, and a touch of alcohol. A bit lifeless and flat. The mouthfeel was full-bodied and oily with minimal carbonation. Drinkable, but the flavor was just plain boring.


 LooseCannon (927), Norfolk, Virginia, USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/103/515/20
Dec 30, 2007  
22oz bottle. Pours clear amber in color with foamy white head. Aroma malt and citrus hops. Taste is about the same as the aroma, nice balance between the hops and malt, with bitter finsih.


 Drink4Satan (585), Bristol, Rhode Island, USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/57/104/514/20
Dec 30, 2007  
Pours a clear golden colour with a one finger white head that leaves spotty lacing, which is why I don’t get the name ’Big Red.’ There is a resin-filled noble aroma that is spicy and earthy. There is a distinctive vegetable and grain presence also in the aroma. The flavour has a nice balance of earthy, high alpha hops and an earthy caramel malt backbone. The sweetness is more of a vegatable sweetness than a fruity one. There is a pine resin hop assault on the finish, which caps things off well, eradicating the vegetable flavours that muddy up the flavour mid-palate. Good tingly carbonation and a medium body provide good drinkability.


 eaglefan538 (2360), Wilmington, Delaware, USA
3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/56/103/512/20
Dec 30, 2007    Updated: Oct 25, 2008
Re-rate on draft at SL, 10/08. Original rating stands, just not that impressive, especially alongside Ale to the Chief and Hop Head Red. There really was an earthy, slightly vegetal, off taste in this thing. Original rating: Bottle, SL, shared by bfeld. Appearance was clear amber, nice white head and lacing, diminishing quickly to a thin covering, regenerable with a swirl, though. The aroma was citrus, vegetal, earthy. The flavor followed suit, some biscuit notes, some resinous notes, but overall not that intriguing, the vegetal aspects not strong at all, but undermining the concoction. An ok brew, but for this level of ABV on the liver, I want more.


 Alldaydrinker (558), Norwood, Massachusetts, USA
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/104/513/20
Dec 29, 2007    Updated: Dec 30, 2007
Courtesy of Drink4Satan! Pours a clear golden color with a small creamy white head that instantly suds up the glass. Nose is grasy with a piney framework and caramel malts lingering. Initial taste of a light to medium body with pine and touches of clove. Finishing with Rhine bitter hops and sweet malts to add a nice balance. Good palate duration, good head retention and some lacing of the glass.


 emerica56 (579), Bristol, Rhode Island, USA
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/57/103/515/20
Dec 29, 2007  
Poured this into a snifter and it has aclear cider like color with a thin head that lasts for a while, also there is some minor laceing along the side walls of the glass. As i put my nose to the glass and take a sniff it smells very earth like followed by caramel malt. As it warms up and you take a sip it is also earthy and the flavor resembles fresh garden peas which lasts in your mouth for quite some time. It is a very refreshing beer that is good to enjoy with your dinner.


 unclemattie (2401), Georgia, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/105/58/105/518/20
Dec 29, 2007  
24 Dec 07. 22oz bottle. pours medium amber color, off-white (golden) head. Aroma of nutty malt, piney hops, and some alcohol. Flavor has some presence of sweetness, although mostly controlled by a very stern bodied, high alpha presence. BIG HOP in the finish. I love a good "palate killer" just like the next hop head. I just needed a warning for this particular hop bomb. Ka - Boom... Big hop pow. CHEERS!



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