Southern Tier Un*Earthly

3.9/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20

22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled 1/4/2012. Finally found one dated, so I picked this up. Pours very clear golden orange color with a great dense 2 finger light khaki head with incredible retention that reduces to a thick cap that lasts. Some decent lacing on the glass. Aromas of big grapefruit, orange, caramel, mango, pine, and herbal. Nice and well balanced aromas; quite sweet and hoppy. Taste of big orange, grapefruit, herbal, pine, caramel, tropical fruit, and spiciness. Nice amount of bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of herbal, pine, caramel, and citrus for a while. Medium carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a creamy and slick mouthfeel. Drinkability is limited; this is definitely a sipper at 9.5%. Some great balance of flavors with plenty of citrus hoppiness. Alcohol is fairly well hidden with only a warming on the finish present. Overall this is a very nice DIPA. Nice hoppy flavor balance and very enjoyable to sip on. This improved substantially as it rose above the recommended 42F temperature.

Very nice; but a bit boozy and a slow drinker. Definitely improves the more it warms up.

Southern Tier 2XIPA

4.2/5

AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

12 ounce bottle into tulip, bottled 12/15/2011. Finally picked one up because they date bottles now. Pours a nice crystal clear golden orange color with a nice 2 finger dense white head with great retention that reduces to a thick cap that lingers. Some nice soapy lacing on the glass as well. Aromas of huge grapefruit orange, pine, herbal spiciness, floral, lemon zest, caramel, and light breadiness. Fantastic aromas here, plenty of citrus. Taste of big pine, grapefruit, herbal spiciness, orange, biscuit, caramel, and floral notes. Good amount of bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of pine, grapefruit, herbal spiciness, orange, and caramel. Fantastic malt balance in this, bitterness is not overwhelming at all like some DIPAs. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a lightly creamy mouthfeel. Very smooth drinking, but it is still a bit of a sipper. Alcohol is nicely hidden with only a warming after the finish. Overall this is an exceptional DIPA. Great citrus flavor, malt balance, and smooth drinking.

Definitely one of the better DIPAs I have ever had. Thank goodness for ST bottle dates now! I shall be picking this up again in the future.

Southern Tier Cherry Saison

3.4/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 12/20

22 ounce bottle into tulip, no bottling date. This could be pretty old since it is retired now. Pours extremely hazy orange amber color with a fairly dense 2 finger off white head with good retention; that reduces to a thin lacing cap that lasts. Fair amount of lacing clings to the glass as well. Aromas of big tart cherries, apple, lemon zest, grass, candi sugar, spices, bread, and a bit of funkiness as well. Surprisingly nice aromas with good strength and balance. I like my saisons funky. Taste of big bread, pepper, spices, banana, wood, candi sugar, cherry, and some tart graininess in the back. No bitterness; with lingering notes of tart cherry, pepper, bread, and spices on the finish for a bit. The wheat malt is definitely more noticeable on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a fairly creamy and slightly syrupy mouthfeel. Alcohol is well hidden with only a warming on the finish noticed. Fairly smooth drinking, but this is still quite a sipper. This is not cloying surprisingly, but i would have liked a better flavor balance. A little difficult to drink at times because of the flavor balance. Overall a fairly enjoyable saison, but it needed better flavor balance with a bit more cherry in the taste. Overall I say it was worth a try.

Not what I was hoping it to be, but it was worth trying since it is not produced any more.

Southern Tier Choklat

4.3/5

AROMA 10/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

22 ounce bottle into snifter, no bottle date. Pours opaque black color with a fairly dense 1 finger tan head with good retention, that reduces to a thin lacing cap. Not much lacing clings to the glass. Aromas of huge milk chocolate, roasted malt, rich caramel, toffee, butterscotch, vanilla, and a bit of spicy hops in the background. Absolutely incredible aromas here, unlike anything I have ever had. Taste of big milk and dark chocolate, caramel, vanilla, cream, bitter espresso, and spicy hops. Fair amount of bitterness noticed on the finish with lingering notes of dark chocolate, vanilla, rich caramel, bitter espresso, and toffee. Medium carbonation and full body; with a creamy and slick mouthfeel that is very nice and smooth. Alcohol is well hidden for 11%, only a warming after the finish noticed. Great drinkability for 11%, but is a sipper for sure. Nice balance of bitterness and sweetness, so it is not overly sweet at all. Overall this is an outstanding and highly enjoyable imperial chocolate stout.

A fantastic imperial stout from Southern Tier as I would have hoped. The whole Blackwater series is amazing.

Southern Tier Pumking

4.1/5

AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

22 ounce bottle into tulip, bottled 09/09/11. Pours crystal clear orangish golden amber color with 1-2 fingers of a fairly foamy head with decent retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap. Not much lacing clinging to the glass. Aromas of huge pumpkin, pie crust, ginger, nutmeg, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a bit of butter going on as well. Outstanding and strong aromas here with great balance. Taste of big pie crust, nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin, spices, brown sugar and clove. Fairly dry finish, but there is some lingering notes of crust, spice, pumpkin, and brown sugar. A tiny bit of spicy bitterness noticed on the finish as well, and the sweetness is not cloying at all. Medium carbonation and body, with a smooth mouthfeel for the alcohol level. Alcohol is very well hidden, with only a slight warming on the finish noticed. Overall this is definitely an excellent pumpkin ale with great balance and smooth drinkability.

Another re-review with this years batch. A little less alcohol this year(8.8% vs 9% last year). Fantastic aromas with overall nice flavor and smoothness.

Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout

4.4/5

AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20

22 ounce bottle into snifter, bottled 7/22/11. Pours opaque black color with a small fairly dense light tan head with nice retention. A small amount of lacing clings to the glass as well. Aromas of HUGE caramel, toffee, roasted malt, vanilla, butterscotch, and more caramel! Excellent strong and sweet aromas here; very dessert-like. Taste of big caramel, vanilla, toffee, butterscotch, custard, and cream. Decent amount of bitterness noticed initially on the finish; overshadowed by big sweetness of vanilla, custard, caramel, and toffee flavors that linger on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied. Very creamy, slick, and smooth mouthfeel on the finish. Alcohol is extremely well hidden with nothing noticed except for a slight warming on the finish. Sweetness in this stout is not cloying at all and is extremely well balanced. Overall, this is an outstanding dessert stout. If you are in the mood for sweets this will not disappoint.

Re-reviewed this one finally. Definitely a love it or hate it beer, but I was in the mood for a sweet stout so it was a big winner in my book.

Southern Tier Back Burner

4.2/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

22 ounce bottle into snifter, 2011 bottle(I think). Pours crystal clear dark reddish-brown color with a dense 1 finger khaki colored head with nice retention, that reduces to a thin lacing cap. A small amount of lacing clings to the glass as well. Aromas of big caramel, toffee, molasses, bread, citrus, spice, light fruits, and a bit of honey and booze. Very nice aromas here, with good strength and complexity. Taste of huge caramel sweetness, molasses, toffee, citrus, apple skins, toast, light spices, and a bit of pine. Small amount of bitterness present on the finish with lingering notes of caramel, molasses, and citrus flavors. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied. Very creamy and slick mouthfeel that drinks smoothly, though it is a sipper. Nice balance as well, being slightly more malt forward because of the age. Surprisingly the alcohol is almost invisible, only a bit of warming present after the finish. Overall, I really have no complaints. They have done a fine job with this barley wine. Excellent stuff.

It seems like I am a big fan of the entire Imperial series beers thus far. I don't think I have even tried any of the regular lineup yet.

Southern Tier Jah-va

4.3/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20

22 ounce bottle into snifter, re-review after a year since I had it last. Pours opaque black color with a 1 finger dense tan head with good retention, that reduces to a fairly thick lacing cap. Some decent lacing is left on the glass as well. Aromas of huge espresso, roasted malt, dark chocolate, caramel, and a bit of spicy hops. Fairly strong aromas, with good balance. Taste of tons of chocolate, espresso, roasted malt, caramel, and a small bit of spicy hops. Huge notes of bitter coffee, roasted malt, and chocolate on the finish that linger for a good period of time with some spicy hops. Slick and creamy mouthfeel with nice smooth drinkability for the high gravity. Alcohol is nicely hidden, with only a small warming on the finish noticed. Medium carbonation and full bodied. Overall, this is an outstanding coffee stout, and this is much better than I remember it the first time around.

Definitely way more impressive this time around. An outstanding stout.

Southern Tier Mokah

4.5/5

AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20

22 ounce bottle into snifter. Pours dark brown with a fairly dense 1 finger tan head with good retention that reduces to a thin lacing cap. Small amount of lacing on the glass Aromas of big milk chocolate, caramel, toffee, and a small bit of coffee. Very nice aromas here, smells like tootsie rolls. Taste of strong milk chocolate, caramel, toffee, roasted malt, and light coffee. Light amount of bitterness on the finish, but big lingering tastes of milk chocolate, caramel, and roasted malt. No alcohol noticed in taste at all and a very small warming on the finish. Insanely smooth and creamy body with low-medium carbonation. Insanely drinkable for being 11% as well, goes down easily. Overall an incredible Imperial Stout from Southern Tier, can’t wait to have Choklat.

This is definitely the best Southern Tier beer I have had yet. Will definitely keep an eye out for it again.

Southern Tier Imperial Oat

4.2/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

22 ounce bottle. Pours a thick very dark brown color with a dense 1 finger tan head with great retention that reduces to a lacing cap that lasts for the remainder of the glass. Some fairly nice glass lacing as well. Aromas of chocolate, coffee, oat, caramel, roasted malts and some light citrus notes and dark fruits. Also some very light alcohol aromas were detected. Some fairly strong aromas here. Taste of strong oats, chocolate, and roasted malts on the front with some espresso afterwards; with a fairly well noticeable bitterness on the finish that lingers for a brief period with chocolate and roasted flavors. No alcohol noticed in the taste, but there was a very slight warming after the finish, but otherwise very well hidden for the alcohol level. It has a full creamy body with medium carbonation. Overall this is definitely a great Oatmeal stout and is highly enjoyable!

Definitely a good one. Southern Tier has been hit and miss with me, but I will continue to try them. Also may retry some of the ones I did not like as well, I may have just gotten bad or really old bottles.

Southern Tier Hoppe

4.1/5

AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20

22 ounce bottle. Pours clear amber color with a thick 2 finger white head with good retention, good lacing. Aromas of caramel, citrus, and floral. Taste is almost identical to the nose with a very nice bitterness on a crisp finish. Medium body and carbonation. Decent balance, and nice alcohol warming on the finish. Very tasty beer, despite the fact I am not a huge fan of wheat in beer.

This would be one of the very good Southern Tier beers. I have heard that most of their hoppy bitter beers are very good. I found this at Giant Eagle.