Southern Tier Jah-va

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

Pitch black pour with no head. Aroma has tons of sweet malt, vanilla, alcohol, and certainly coffee and milk chocolate. Also some grain and barley present on the nose. Flavor is also very sweet; tons of chocolate and coffee, predominantly. Booze is well hidden; palate on the whole isn’t particularly thick, but still full bodied and glosses over the tongue beautifully. Sweetness isn’t overly cloying, as some of Southern Tier’s darker beers are. Quite a nice brew.

Source:Bottle from Chucks in Bowling Green.
Glass:Bells Tulip.
Appearance:Black, slightly transparent pour (cola-esque) with a one finger brown head.
Aroma:Straight out of the fridge, this had a strong chocolate aroma. As it warmed, the chocolate was cut with a strong coffee note.
Flavor:Strong presence of coffee, with a milk chocolate finish. Flavor was relatively simple (for ST impys at least), but perfectly executed.
Palate:Full body with slightly higher carbonation than expected. Not bubbly enough to detract.
Overall:Another excellent offering from the Blackwater series, and the only one I had left to try. ST never disappoints.

Small sample from a bomber at a tasting at Bishops Arms, Göteborg, Sweden. Firstly, the name is a bit misleading since it makes you think there are (old) Java coffee beans in there, but instead they are Jamaica Blue, a gourmet variety with subtle mild complexity. Why use such coffee in an Imperial Stout one may wonder. Secondly, it is not a good effort at all, with pungent coffe notes, alcohol, and some liquorice. Far from the best Coffee stouts like Beer Geek Brunch/Breakfast or Peche Mortel.

A black beer with a decent head. The aroma is a potent mixture of sugary syrup, almost more chocolate than coffee. I do not like this aroma as it attacks my nose with sweetness. The taste is definitely better than the aroma with a nice coffee taste, some roastedness, & then the 11% ABV shows up to let you know it is there. The alcohol is somewhat overpowering. This is the first beer I’ve had that I tried to avoid the aroma on each drink but couldn’t avoid the sweetness. The 2 Blackwater beers by ST makes me ask the question "When is too much too much"

Bottle @ HjHansen, Odense. Pours black with a creamy brown head and lacings. Lots of cold coffee, roast and vanilla. Sweet and soft flavor. Full bodied. Oily and slick. A bit artificial like Mokah from the same brewery.

Bottle at home ... deep deep black ... solid off tan head ... soft deep rich chocolate nose ... silky smooth rich soft roast malt ... huge chocolate ... not really finding the coffee ...little caramel ... little vanilla... warming ...alcohol has been removed... except im still falling over ...

Thanks to my inlaws for this one. Pours a near-black with russet highlights. Aroma of rich treacle, coffee, bitter chocolate, with vegetal undertones. Heavy, silky, rich palate. Flavours of coffee, chocolate liqueur, maple syrup, and hints of spice. Bitter dry finish. Absolutely NO hint of the ABV! Luxurious.

22oz - Smoky nose, dark black pour, very little carbonation and no head. Tasted like a sweetened cup of coffee. Delivered what it advertised.