Southern Tier Jah-va

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

Tap, Publick House Brookline. I was very underwhelmed. This doesn’t hold a candle to Victory at Sea. I would sure love to try it again to make sure.

Dark oil color with quite a bit of amber hued head. Awesome aroma of coffee beans, licorice and malt. Flavor is a lovely blend of the aforementioned aromas. Very thick and chewy body with really well hidden alcohol.

22oz bottle from WLV, Chicago. Pitch black with medium tan head. Big sour coffee aroma, fresh pine, dry malt, roast and chocolate. Sprucey flavor with coffee, cherry, roasty, chocolate, medium hop bitterness. Medium to full creamy body. Very well balanced but I really can’t get over that spruce.

Appearing to be black in the glass, the body does show some mahogany in the edges when held up to the light. Its modest bubbly tan head soon transforms into a slender ring leaving only spotty lacing in his wake. The aroma reminds me of a heavy Turkish coffee that a friend of Magyar descent used to use for her readings of coffee grounds. On top of that, add some hard roasted barley, anise, burnt hard nuts, and a dab of bittersweet chocolate. Oddly it seems a bit thin, but the alcohol slowly begins to char the tongue upon first sip. The melding of these sensations into the flavor seems to work well. There’s an added touch of vanilla, a drop or two of dark molasses, a woody bitterness, and an intensifying of the alcohol. I’m not a big fan of coffee Stouts, but this one works.

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Winter 2008 batch...Pours almost black with a moderate bubbly brown head. Aroma is a bit reserved, but otherwise has notes of dark roasted coffee, chocolate, a bit of vanilla, and very noticeable alcohol. Tons of sweetened coffee/espresso right upfront, followed by a mixture of vanilla and molasses that slowly gives way to the alcohol. Palate is full, creamy/oily, with lingering coffee bitterness, and a good bit of warming alcohol.

Bomber, dated 22 November 2005. Pours silently with a noticeably oily texture; it’s black with very small reddish brown head that takes a moment to appear. The aroma is espresso, some bitter chocolate, a touch of vanilla, and some charcoal. The flavor is molasses and cocoa, followed by chewy espresso notes. A nicely rounded vanilla and nut flavor comes in the middle, but the harmony is disrupted quickly by a cacaphonous burst of alcohol. The alcohol burn takes over the finish and aftertaste entirely, and swallowing makes me shudder a little bit like I just took a shot of hard liquor. After a few sips I feel like I’m drinking a cordial. I gotta say I’m kind of disappointed. I mean, the flavor starts off so elegantly, it’s a pity that the overwhelming alcohol throws it so far out of balance.

Bottle: Thick black, tan brown head, creamy, nose of dark strong vanilla and anise. The coffee merits its own paragraph; robust, balanced, light char, sweet molasses and chocolate. Thick and chewy, resinous mocha and balanced bitterness. Thick tail. Good!

From Puddintaine via trade. The beer came out of the bottle in a semi-viscous glob and produced an attractive brown head that was two-fingers or so tall. The head receded quickly and didn’t produce much lacing. The aroma was lots of bitter, roasted coffee, chocolate and syrupy sweet sugars. The flavor was bitter coffee with chocolate and lots of sugary sweetness coming in play to try and keep the alcohol in check. The mouthfeel was thick, chewy and quite nice. I think this beer was nice and could have slid into hot, cloying overdone beer territory, but they stopped it just in time.