Southern Tier Hoppe

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

22oz brown glass pry-top. No date. Appearance: A clear, pale, slightly orange hay color. Bone white head fades quickly leaving soapy lacing. Nose: Lots of citrus notes, a little leather, spring wildflowers. Palate: Bitter and light bodied. Almost no malt character, some pale malt, but the hops dominate. Lots of bitter orange and grapefruit, some dirty pine cone, light biscuit and a long flat, bitter finish. Notes: The hops rule the show here. Well made, would like a little more in the aromatics. Fantastic drinkability for an 8% beer!

bomber. clear orange pour with a medium white head. aroma of pine, grapefruit and grass. taste follows suit with a bit of bread and pale malts. a sticky medium texture that still comes off crisp. lightly bitter finish.

Bottle: Pours a light gold with a sizeable white head...great lacing. Hops take center stage, notes of citrus zest, some earth grassy character and some resin. Very thick on the palate...almost to the point that it detracts a bit. Flavor is biting, resin-y, a bit of citrus with a touch of wheat and bread dough. Decent but would prefer it to be a bit less full-bodied.

Sampled April 2009
A solid pour produces a three-finger thick, pale tan colored head. The beer is an amber tinged, copper hue that shows lightly hazed, rich gold color when held up to the light. The aroma is hoppy smelling, comes off as being dry and has a touch of alcohol warming to it in the finish. The hope character definitely leads the way with aromas of orange-zest, some pine needle like aromatics and some notes of lemon zest. The nose is missing the exuberant Amarillo fruitiness that I expected from a beer with this hop in it. The malt character contributes aromas of crushed wheat crackers and some notes evocative of chewy French bread crumb (i.e. bread without the crust).

The beer is somewhat sweet and it is a bit thicker bodied than the aroma would have suggested. Piney hop flavors, tangerine notes, orange zest and ruby red grapefruit flavors lead off with the hop flavors. There is a solid bitterness here as well that is balanced by the malt heft, such that this beer is not aggressively bitter. The herbal / pine notes seem to be the most dominant part of the flavor profile, while the malt definitely plays a supporting, though it is not quite as buried as I would expect in a beer of this billing. Flavors of biscuit-like malt, saltine crackers, a solid pale malt toastiness and a touch of grassy grain character define the malt contributions. The body is definitely not quite as light as I would prefer, it has a medium’ish fullness to it that is well within style though.

This is not a bad brew, but it is not as expressively hoppy as I had hoped for. Still this is an enjoyable brew to be drinking as I cook dinner.

Pours a light golden brown with a nice amount of head just a bit less than half an inch. Hops strong on the palate along with a sweetness that stays around just like it should. Light to almost medium bodied. I would say that yes it is more like an American Strong Ale but with a really fun spin on it for eh more like an Imperial Pale. Either way of what it truly is, great for the summer and hey if you’re looking to get there fast then this is the beer for you.

Source: 22 oz bomber purchased at Friar Tuck’s in Bloomington.
Glass: Poured into my Tripel Karmeliet glass.
Appearance: Clear gold pour with a two finger white head.
Aroma: Caramel malt with grass and pine hops. Citrus present, but not dominant.
Flavor: Sweetish malt backbone with a grassy and earthy hop finish.
Palate: Medium body with solid carbonation and a clean mouthfeel.
Overall: Not sure what they were going for here. Good but not great.

Bottle. Moderate malt aromas of cereal and grain, moderate to heavy hops of perfume and orange, light soap for the yeast, with background notes of alcohol, fresh cut fruits like melon, pineapple and berry, and a faint spicy note. Head is small, frothy, white, with fair lacing and is mostly diminishing. Color is hazy amber. Flavor starts moderately sweet and lightly acidic, then finishes lightly sweet. Palate is medium, oily, with a lively carbonation and finishes lightly alcoholic. This American Strong surprised me. It’s very easy drinking, yet it’s packed with a huge array of tastes.