Southern Tier Big Red

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

Big Red is a vermilion ale that’s very clear and quite sparkling. It wears a soft, thin, ecru blanket of head that has a couple of rainbow bubbles. Leaves excellent lacing. It has a homebrew whiff. The aroma is a little hop spice, sweet, sharp malt and... a bit of Play-do. In the mouth, it is velvety soft and smooth with a dry finish and a medium to full body... a bit of Plato. It is well-balanced. It’s constructed to feature the Hallertauer family with a round, semi-sweet base. Did I mention the dry finish? It’s simple and tasty!

Draft. Gold color. Lightly foamy 1/4" head. Not hazy. Pales relative to Unearthly but smooth and easy to drink. Sampled @ American Beer Fest in Boston

(on tap @ hardware) pours clear gold orange, head disipates quickly. moderate to strong bitter that is met by a surprisingly sizable malt on the tail end. the soft finish allows the flavoring hops to break through the bitter, and balances the palate. (most imperials i’ve had are all parts bitter) the flavors mask the alcohol very well. this one packs a punch but is surprisingly drinkable. worth trying if you enjoy a strong ipa.

On tap @ Coles Buffalo NY. Big Big Red. Malty, hoppy with some citrus. Packs a punch. Well balanced but I enjoy their other imperials more

Courtesy boboski. Deep red/amber topped by 1cm of frothy off white foam. Nose of lightly toasted caramel, floral and resinous hops, subtle sunblock. Sweet and malty up front with a nicefloral bitterness in the second half and finish. Lightly spicy also. No sunblock in the flavor. Subtle, dry cookie like malt throughout in the background. Some citrus and melon showing up as it warms. Full/medium body, balanced carbonation, a little syrupy. Very good.

After sitting around in my cellar for nine months, two of us finally got to total this on a good summer day. The label came apart letter by letter from accumulated moisture. Probably the beer benefitted from some ageing, there was good big bitterness there, with the malts secondary and truly adding balance. Great with lunch. CItrus hop aroma, and decent head.

This is big for a red. The aroma is malty with some grapefruit hop hints, Orange coloured with a medium head. Dry bitter taste and finish.

Thin head of medium sized bubbles. Light carbonation. Light sprucy hops aroma with some sweet malts and spices. I have a bad feeling about this brew. Something just seems like it will be disappointing whether it be the color or the thickness of the brew from the pour. We will see. Color is a rather boring orangish brown. Don’t see no imperial RED in there anywhere. Harsh roastyness and bitterness in the flavor. Lot sof hops and ashy malts. Some dry roasted peanut skins also. Yeah this is a bit of a disapointment. Hides its alcohol pretty dang well though. Finishes dry and bitter with a bit of sweet malts. Finish is actually better than it tastes going down. I will pass on this one a second time.