Southern Tier Hoppe

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

Via trade with a gentleman from the other site. Thanks, Adam! Crisp and golden, with a lively body and pleasant fruity aroma. It’s an aggressive beer, both in its intense dryness and in its slightly rough hop profile. It balances out once you get used to it, but I was surprised at how modest the malting was. Sweet and drinkable, if not overly memorable.

Appears an orange toned amber with a foamy, batter-like head with bubbly pockets of cream that fades into a nice film and silky collar. Streams of CO2 quickly rise to the top. Smell is of biscuits, citrus, pine, earthy, caramel, cat pee funk, and minerals. Taste is of the mentioned aromas with caramel, and earthy herbs standing out. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, semi-sweet, with caramel and balanced bitterness. I barely noticed the 10% abv.

Via trade. Thank you Dave! The pour was a nice pale copper with a thick white to off-white head that showed good persistence and provided some lacing. The initial aroma provided a blast of soft citrus fruits that was quickly overtaken by caramel. As it opened up the caramel became quite prominent along with lots of butter and fresh cut grass. Try as I may I couldn’t find any more citrus hops. The piney hops I was looking for were no where to be seen. The flavor was a super sweet, caramel and sugar bomb. Cloyingly sweet in fact. The caramel and butter malt totally dominated this one. Rare to find a beer that has its hop profile kicked in the junk by malt the way this one was. Don’t know if this bottle was past its prime or if this is what the brewer intended. The mouthfeel was quite nice and the 10% abv was a welcome addition. Would like to try again.

Muddy gold with big, foamy white head / Light hop nose / Medium body with malts and biting hop finish / Flavors of pine, bubble gum, pineapple, with good, biting, bitter finish / It’s an imperial ipa, and a good one.

Pours a pretty clear golden with a nice sized white soapy head. At first, I could smell pine even far away from the glass. As the beer warmed though, the aroma rounds itself into more toffee, bread, citrus and floral notes. Some pine still lingers, and there’s something sweet there too, perhaps a slight brown sugar or cinnemon note. Sweet white chocolate and brown sugar malt taste is apparent first, but combines well with the strong grapefruit, pine and floral hop flavors. Finishes with a nice white chocolate sweetness, while the hops get more bitter and grapefruity, slightly toasty, and a bitter floral aftertaste. Nicely rounded mouthfeel, obviously a big bodied beer, but it feels pretty light and drinks easily. Medium carbonation. I guess doing a double "extra pale ale" puts a new spin on the DIPA category. Good beer, lots of nice things about it, but it’s not a "wow" beer. I can’t imagine why a beer like this is 10% though....

Sampler at <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/illinois/frankf Liquors, Frankfort. Light color, almost Pils-like. Implication from the name is that this is some hop monster, but not so. Just some well-done light toast malts, still detectable among a snootful of hops (are these PNW or New York-grown?). Hoppiness sticks around, though, and makes for a very strong surprise finish.

22 oz. bottle my mother-in-law picked up from the brewery - Pours a clear golden color with a one and a half finger thick off white head. Light lacing. Aroma is toasted malt and light citrus hops. Flavor is citrus hops and lightly sweetened toasty malt. Nice balance. Medium body. Smooth palate with no lingering aftertastes. Alcohol is slightly noticed in the finish. A very nice beer. Thanks Ma.

Golden colored beer with a rocky white head. The nose has strong citrus/orange juice notes, with enough hair spray to warm you about the ABV. Flavors of grapefruit juice, orange rind, and melted caramel that lead to a long bitter/sweet finish that ends like candied orange peel. The alcohol is noticable but well integrated.