Southern Tier Cuvée Series 2

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

Courtesy of sebletitje. Pours a dark amber color with thin white head. Aroma is sweet and boozy with notes of vanilla, bourbon, wood, brown sugar, molasses, some caramel and honey notes. Flavor is sweet and malty with notes of oak, bourbon, vanilla, brown sugar, molasses. hints of chocolate. Generally medium body with a slightly boozy finish.

Single bottle purchased at Chuck’s in Chagrin Falls. I had noticed that I didn’t enter my rating for the first in the series, so I got to remind myself that...well, I didn’t much care for it. This one sure looks like it will out perform its younger sibling. Poured into a Trappist glass it has this dark ruby color with a faint cloud of bubbles left scattered across the surface. The aroma of this one has a very nice cherry vanilla scent with a nice hint of wood. Very sweet smelling, yet still considerably hearty. Flavor is serious. This spent a proper length of time in the barrel and it comes through here. It has the full malt character one would expect from a strong ale like this, but this thing has some serious wood. It has a very rich woody malt flavor at first, that comes with an almost gritty texture, before some really mellow fruity viscous feelings come rushing my way. This has made me a happy camper and restored my faith in humanity (at least for a few moments.)

Bottle. Copper pour with a dense, compact tan head. Aroma is sweet malts, caramel, nuts, oak, light vanilla and dark fruits. Taste is strong caramel, chewy , toasted malt, dark fruit (raisins, plums and perhaps prunes), more oak, candy notes, vanilla and brown sugar. Rather sweet overall with an alcohol note throughout. Body is medium-full and sticky with alcohol warmth and a full microbubble carbonation tingle. Ends with more caramel, chewy malts, raisins, oak, light vanilla, candy, nuts, and cocoa. Rather tasty overall. Light bitterness towards the end. Good beer!

Bottle. Pours amber red with a thin beige head. The aroma has toasted almonds, oak, peat, vanilla and a bit of a fruity sweetness. The flavor is sweet and oaky, with a light roast and hazelnuts. Rounded out by a moderate bitterness.

Thanks sebletitje for the share. Pours amber-brown with a white head. Nose is alcohol, malt, oak, barrel, maple, spice, and caramel. Flavor is malt, whiskey, some dark fruit, and some raisiny syrupiness. Light carbonation and a medium-body tells me that this beer is ok. Better than Cuvee One, that is true.

courtesy of BA trader. pours amber with beige head. Aroma and taste. Rich caramel malts profile with some wood notes. The oak was there but not overpowering the beer with some light vanilla notes. Some brown sugar, dark fruits, and overall the beer just wasn’t really what I expected. So far, the Cuvee series have been disappointing, this one is better than what Cuvee 1 was.

The first of several beers I enjoyed on tap at my last trip to Max’s On Broadway in Baltimore. The beer had a dark amber-copper color with a big creamy, thick off-white head that had good cling and retention. The beer had pine and citrus hops in the aroma, with a sugary, roasty malt and caramel mix too with a touch of raisin and fruits. The taste was sweet, malty and a bit fruity with some raisin and a touch of bitterness too. The body was very full and creamy, with a medium-wet mouthfeel and moderate carbonation; served slightly chilled. A very good, flavorful beer.

In short: A very sweet and very woody big brew of some kind. Good in small quantities
How: Bottle 22oz. Consumed soon after purchase. Tasting session with Montreal crew.
The look: Partly cloudy dark red body topped by a beige ring of foam.
In long: Sweet nose. Taste of brown sugar, wood, caramel, sweetened berries, vanilla. The woody flavours here didn’t feel like usual oak barrels, more like no-real-character construction wood. Too sweet to be very enjoyable. An improvement over Cuvée Series 1. At this rate Cuvée Series 8 looks promising.