Southern Tier Big Red

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

awesome looking translucent orange body with a small whitehead.i get nice webbing on the glass as the head sits.funny enough i get some "big red" gum type aromas out if it.along with a big malty backbone.the flavors blend up much of the same.along with some allspice and a tiny citrus hop finish.

Somehow I expected this to be a bigger beer in the sense of its being more of a hop bomb. Still, with a 9.5% ABV and loads of lavor, it’s a darned good ale. It pours a clear golden amber body with a tall white head. Loads of lacework. The aroma is sweet, quite floral, and has orchard fruit and caramel... soon followed up by hoppy scents of pine, tropical fruit, grapefruit zest... The flavor continues on a fruity theme, some sweet, some bitter, with a gathering pine/earth/zest/herbal bitterness that lasts long into a dry finish. Lots going on here. Very nice.

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Bottle. Pours a somewhat dark amber with a finger or so of head and aromas that feature big hops: pine, pineapple and a bit of floweriness. Flavor is thick with hops and sticky sweetness, but it doesn’t come across as overpowering or cloying like many of the big IIPA’s... still, it kind of has that flavor. Sweetness is caramel malt and hops are a little more on the pineapple/citrus side than in the nose. Pretty good stuff.

Poured red with a thick tan head. Good retention and lacing. Smells like sweet malts, caramel, grains, caramel and barley. Taste was smooth with a strong hop presense. Full mouthfeel but a bit overcarbonated. Overall a fine beer which I would have again.

Bottle. Pours a clear amber colour with an off-white head. Hoppy malty aroma. Dry malty hoppy bitter flavor. Dry hoppy malty finish with a long bitter aftertaste.

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!

Bottle with da boys. THX Theis. Pours a slightly hazy light amber. Low bitterness. Nice hopsprofile. Hints of grapefruit. Medium body. Medium to soft carbonation. Dry finish.

22 oz. bomber consumed 3/24/2008. Pours a clear amber with a moderate linen white head that lasted through about two-thirds of the glass and left partial lacing. In my original rating, I thought the flavor was stronger than the aroma. I got the opposite impression with this bottle. The aroma was huge and was totally dominated by the scent of spruce trees. Even when I was sipping the beer, I could actually taste the aroma, if that makes sense. The flavor was light malt with a bit of citrus, and definitely spruce. This bottle was not as well balanced as I recall and was definitely more tilted towards the hops. Lots of hops bitterness at the finish. A very good beer, but different than the one I sampled six months ago.

Original rating 9/6/2007. 22 oz. bomber. I picked this up while on a reent vacation to the Finger Lakes. Pours a slightly hazy amber with a moderate, foamy, off-white head that lasted almost to the bottom of the glass and left very nice sheets of lacing down to the bottom of the glass as well. Aroma is malt, citrus, and a bit of brown sugar. The flavor is a bit more intense than the aroma with malt and citrus both nicely balanced. Just a bit of brown sugar sweetness as well. Light hops bitterness at the finish. Medium-full bodied and smooth on the palate. The alcohol was well hidden and provided gentle warmth at the swallow. A nice surprise! 7-5-8-4-16=4.0