Southern Tier Back Burner

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

Bomber I picked up at the brewery.... one of my favorite barleywines.... caramel and hop flavor has a medium body, well balanced

On tap at Capital Ale House - Downtown on 03/02/2009. Clear deep amber body with ruby highlights and a medium creamy off-white head. Sweet caramel and fruit aroma with a bit of alcohol. Sweet caramel flavor with some sugary hints and lots of fruitiness. Medium full body with moderately low carbonation and a somewhat syrupy finish.

Pours a ruby brown color with a pretty thin white head that leaves a good lacing behind on the glass. Aroma is very strong and hits the nose as you open it and once pours, fills the room. Lots of grassy and floral hop notes, some molasses/brown sugar hints and a light, sweet malt character are present in the aroma. Flavor is grassy bitter up front moving into a slight citrus hops flavor quickly moving into a pretty toasted malt flavor, similar to a red, and finishes with a very nice taste bud puckering semi-pine bitterness. Density of the beer is pretty good and seems lighter than what it is measured at but still a great level for the style. Overall this barley wine was pretty good for the price (paid 5.50 for a 24oz bottle) but I enjoy some of their other beers much more than this one.

On Draft at Rattle and Hum in NYC. Pours a brown hazy body. Aroma is hops and vanilla. Taste is sweet, the best barley wine I’ve ever tried.

Pour is a dark red with a large tan head. Aroma is excellent with a strong dose of hops followed by some vanilla and oak. Flavor is brown sugar and citrus fruit with some aggressive hops. This is a very well made barley wine with a big hoppy profile.

I love me some Southern Tier and this offering was exceptional. A mix of red, orange, and light brown created a great looking body. Filmy, swirling head looked like the Milky Way on top of the beer and it left tight, stringy lacing on it’s way to the bottom. Deep complex aromas or rich malts and Cheerios. Flowers and light perfume permeated the air with an accent of evergreen. A blended, smooth feeling from a thick, malty body. There’s a friendly hop bite that accompanies the aftertaste. The taste starts out with citrus and evergreen hops. A wave of bread, cereal and doughnuts soon follow backed up by a green "wet hop" layer which sneaks in and lingers. Crackers, pears, and pine.....yes there’s more complexity involved but it’s beyond my description. A bountiful barleywine that was extremely enjoyable.

Been putting this one off for a while. Pours mahogany with a thin white head. Smells of sweet malt, molasses, maple syrup, some citrus fights its way through. Tastes Sweet with brown sugar, molasses, and perin at the forefront before giving way to some subtle earthy qualities. All in all a nice brew.

22oz bomber served in a snifter. Poured a brilliant reddish copper with a quickly dissipating head. Malty aroma with some burnt sugar. Some citrus hop aroma comes out as it warms. Definitely on the malty side. Full bodied and rich mouthfeel. More burnt sugar flavor, medium hoppiness. Hops come out more in the finish with a drying finish. Also a bit of smoke flavor in the finish. Pretty easy drinking for 10%, but I found it a little lackluster.