Southern Tier Raspberry Porter

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

Bottle: Poured a deep clear brown color ale with an average foamy head with average retention and no lacing. Aroma consists of real lightly sweet raspberry with some light roasted malt notes. Taste is a nice mix between some lightly bitter roasted malt notes with some black chocolate and some real raspberry taste. I am usually not the biggest fan of sweet fruity porter but I thought this was a real treat.

A dark brown appearance with a minimal head. The aroma contains some chocolate but loads of raspberries. The flavor contains some chocolate, coffee, and raspberries which again dominate. The palate was a bit thin on this one. Overall I thought it was pretty good.

12 oz bottle. I really didn’t care for this one, what a let down since I really love most of the other Southern Tier offerings I ahve tried. The chocolate malt raspberry combo on this beer seems very artifiical in both the aroma and the flavor. It seems very forced and not natural and this beer is just a let down all around. I am suprised that I forgot to enter a rating a for it, I could have sworn I rated this one several weeks ago.

Date: 05/24/2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

Appearance: clear brown, scant head,
Aroma: big raspberry aroma backed by chocolate malt, touch of fruity tartness while still being sweet,
Flavor: sweet chocolate malt flavor, lots of raspberry puree character, caramel sweetness is balanced by the raspberry tartness, light bitterness

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.9/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

Again Sucker for sucker for fruit beer and southern tier is a big deal for me in general but the 12ozers are hit and miss. 4th of 4 weird fruit beeros. razz razz back to back. Pours not anywhere as dark as the picture on the left. Its dark brown but not black, and 2 fingers of a tan head. Nose is sweet and slight razz. Taste is a fruit beer that doesn’t anyway resemble a porter, its ok but doesn’t make me want to try it again.

Pours a transparent bright ruby with a thin, spotty-lacing off-white head. Nice aroma of fresh fruity raspberries with a touch of underlying doughy malts. Body has average thickness with a mild sweetness quickly drying out along with a some musty raspberry flavor. Needs more sweetness and body, but has a nice aroma.

Pours an amber brown color with a tan head. Aroma is sweet raspberry candy, roast, chocolate, and caramel. Flavor is caramel, roast, chocolate, raspberries, and a bitter roast finish.

12 fl. oz. bottle via Bieropholie, served at cellar temperature in a tulip glass.

App.: Deep mahogany with a small, frail off-white head. Aroma: Lots of fresh juicy raspberries (go figure), some nice chocolate and dark malt notes struggling to be noticed in back; the raspberries seem real enough with just a hint of cough syrup (not objectionable); Palate: Medium-ish body, soft but full effervescence, slightly powdery and slightly syrupy (an interesting combo). Flav.: Still plenty of raspberries but the dark-roast malts assert themselves more; some black coffee and milk and dark chocolates, slight wood; the raspberries are again quite fresh and real with hints of bitter notes I want to call raspberry leaves; finishes quite dry (thankfully) with just a hint of brightness and bitterness and very light lingering raspberry that fades to a little malt that fades to nothing.

Done right, fruit with stout or porter is a real treat. This is a touch lean, but it works fairly well.