Southern Tier Jah-va

Brewed by Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Lakewood, New York USA

pitch black with thick tan head. nose is surprisingly hoppy. flavor of roasted malt with some chocolate coming through and just a tad of coffee. a lot of hop flavor. the alcohol is present but in mild quantity for the impressive 12% ABV. A complex brew, that possibly had been aged too long, allowing some of the coffee to dissipate. still very nice

THOUGHTS: A really nice coffee imperial stout that did taste like coffee, but still had an impy stout profile. Would have never guessed this was 12 percent ABV until the slight heat in my chest going down. I thought it was odd that it smelled fairly hoppy, yet tasted more like coffee. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark brown that was nearly opaque black in the glass except for slight orange highlights at the edges. It had a small, tan head that just about fully diminished and left barely fair lacing. The aroma was moderate Grain, roasted malt, milk chocolate and very light, mild coffee, a hint of pine hops, some alcohol and slight, underlying, cream. The flavor started out bitter and sweet, and finished bitter with a touch of sourness with a long duration. There was roasted malt, caramel, slight chocolate, then a good amount of coffee and bitter coffee with a touch of piney hops. It was hard to tell where the bitter coffee stopped and the hops began. Nice balance. The full body was fairly oily, but was still sticky on the lips, with tingly carbonation and a light alcoholic finish.

220z Cablammer - A light molasses color pours out. Very little head. Aroma of coffee no doubt. Lots of oily finish on the palate. Would cellar nicely for at least three years to achieve full flavour. Overall impression is "this is the second best coffee stout i’ve tried sine the Avery Meph Addict" . Very good and worth the 8 bux.

22oz Bomber $8.99 Route 6 Liquors Winter ’08 Release Jah-va gurgled from the bottle a midnight black with an incredibly dense, creamy two finger mocha head. The head on this beer just won’t quit and ends up sticking around as long as the beer does. I’m surprised by the creaminess and staying power of the head on this beer. As it slowly falls and after each drink there are sticky chunks of lacing left behind. A great looking stout! As I stick my nose in the glass I’m immediately greeted by deep dark chocolate, roasted malts, day old coffee, balancing hoppiness, and a clean whiff of alcohol all in that order from most prominent to least. The coffee isn’t quite as pronounced as I hoped but this beer does smell good. There’s a touch of molasses like sweetness in there that seems to keep things in line. As far as I can tell from the nose the hops are bigger then I expected, and I like that aspect but there’s a sweetness that takes away from the overall aroma. The roasted maltiness stands out in the flavor more then the aroma suggested. The coffee doesn’t stand out all that much and I would go as far as saying it’s rather subdued. The alcohol, hops, and sweetness come together on the finish to create big flavor and alcohol fumes that tickle the nose. The dark chocolate runs throughout rising and falling as the roasted malts assert themselves. The sweetness grows as I drink and between the roasted malts and hoppiness, a bitterness grows on the tongue. The mouthfeel is on the heavier side of the spectrum but has a nice silkiness. Although I may be a little picky the sweetness tends to get in the way just a little bit. I do enjoy the numbing ability the malts and hops have on the tongue and the slightly dry finish accentuates that. This is a giant beer so the drinkability is hampered on that fact alone although the heat doesn’t get in the way of the drinkability but the 11% does. The sweetness can be a little too much at times but the drying effect seems to take care of that small problem. This is another quality beer from Southern Tier. I would have liked to see a little more coffee come forward but even so it’s still enjoyable. Somehow they make great big beers with the alcohol being barely noticeable. Another good job from the guys at Southern Tier. 6/17/08

A little alcohol, toffee, coffee and caramel in the nose. Full flavored and thick on the mouth. Flavor is strong coffee and vanilla. Very good coffee stout.

’08 bottle - Pours black with a thin tan head. It has a big aroma of roast malt, coffee, and a touch of vanilla. The flavor has roast chocolate malts and plenty of coffee. The alcohol is buried under loads of sweet malt and some coffee bitterness lingers in the finish. It’s full-bodied and quite tasty.

Wow i really can’t say enough about this beer. Not to overpowering of a taste but still enjoyable. For 12% it drinks very smooth, I will drink this beer whenever I have the chance, awesome brew

Bottle. Dark brown pour wiht a slow forming, but large, tan head. Aromas are detectable from far away... thick coffee scents and dark chocolate are dominant. Closer inspection reveals a whisky-like alcohol presence and vanilla and cream. Flavor is thick with coffee (almost a burnt coffee taste) and has a vanilla sweetness to balance things out. Maybe it was just a great end to a long day, but this was excellent!