Southern Tier Porter

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

Nice roasted malt aroma; bittersweet chocolate. Fruity esters of pear and apricot nectar. Very little hops in the nose. Dark black-brown clear with very little head. Medium watery body with medium heavy carbonation. Starts dry and bitter. Roasted chocolate malt with coffee notes. Carbonic tang. Bitter finish with dry bitter after. Very little sweetness. A little chalky.

Nice Deep Deep brown color, almost black. no head to speak of. Nice roasted malty aroma with hints of sweetness(caramal/toffee) and coffee. Nice medium bodied roasted malt flavor. The coffee flavor comes thorugh again. Good beer.

Sampled on tap at Clark’s Alehouse. Pours a black color with ruby highlights and a thin light brown head. Aroma and flavor of chocolate and roasted malt with mild hops. The palate is light and syrupy with moderate carbonation. It’s good but seems to lack a little something.

(06.30.06) 12 oz brown bottle purchased from the Hop Devil Grill, NYC. Poured opaque brownish black with small tan head. No discernable carbonation. Roasted malt aroma. Medium bodied porter that starts semi-dry with roasted malt flavor. Finished dry with light roasted flavor bitterness. On the thin side. A very simple mono-dimensional porter but a good dimension nonetheless.

Nearly black in color (really a very deep mahogany) with a light tan head with lacing. Aroma seems to be mostly vanilla with a slight sour something in the background. Flavor is sour chocolate milk that becomes more like coffee. This beer has a smokey finish with a little bit of bitterness as well. Seems a little thin and is lacking complexity, but otherwise a pretty drinkable porter. It is actually growing on me as it warms up some. However, it is not nearly as good as the other Souther Tier beers I have tasted thus far. 12 oz pop-top bottle, $1.71 from Belmont Party Supply.

Black with a small head, vanishes, leaving at best moderate lacing. Nose complex but not overwhelming ... coffee and, surprisingly, vanilla. Taste lacks intensity, which is fine for a porter, and had complexity more common in a stout. Mouth feel was thinner than a stout, more "frisky" and carbonated than a porter, so I guess it was a toss up at the brewery what to call it. A little hoppier than a porter, less hoppy than a stout. I enjoyed this one, although I can’t say I loved it.

Pours black with weak, quickly dissipating head that leaves almost zero lacing. The nose is pretty weak, offering some toasted malts, vanilla, and coffee. The flavor consists of coffee, deep roasted malts, a hint of vanilla, and a slight woodiness. The mouth is medium bodied, without a lot of complexity on the tongue. Not too heavy or alcoholic to drink, but lacks the complex flavor that makes one want to drink another. I often buy the Southern Tier sampler pack, and these are always the last three to be grabbed, paling in comparison to the Phin and Matt’s and the Pale Ale.

Very dark color, short tan head. Lots of hints of chocolate and roast. Hints of cream or vanilla. Very thin body. Drinkable.