Southern Tier Back Burner

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

The pours is nice and burgundy brown with a one finger creamy tan head. The nose is malty, sweet, raisiny, caramel, mild phenolic character, some alcohol, pungent, some fruit. The flavor is malty, some caramel, alcohol, fruity, mildly spicy, some citrus hop character. The palate was thick and warm with a nice mild carbonation.

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22oz bomber bottle a darker amber color with a nice head. lacing just lazily slides down the glass. chilled and the flavor is of fruit and malt. almost has a hoppy grapefruit flavor but its a barley wine and not suppose to go that far. just a smooth flavor that warms the throat. nice alcohol feel.

Bottle 2008. Pours Medium dark amber/red with a thin head and decent lacing. Smells wonderfully of piney hops and caramel, with hints of a dark fruit such as prune. Very smooth mouthfeel with nice carbonation. Has a very good taste of piney hops and roasted caramel malts. Man , this is good stuff! Gives me the invariable warm fuzzies. Might be upfront in taste and not very complex but who the hell cares!Definitely going to be aging a bottle.

Courtesy GMCC2181 via sweet trade bonus, thanks Gabe. Pours clear crisp amber with thin tan head. The aroma is musty dark fruity esters, some pine and grassy hops followed by a note of alcohol heat. The taste actually feels a bit thin to start flowing into notes of prunes, raisins, followed by pine and grassy hop bitterness. Some moderate alcohol rises up toward the finish as a tasty roasted malt note brings this to closure. Feels like more age might help this some.

(22 oz. bottle (2008) from Julio’s Liquors, cellared for 8 mos. after purchase) Hoppy and sweet...Pours dark, slightly reddish amber with a thin light amberish-biege head. Aroma initially quite hoppy - sweet grapefruit. Later sniffs reveal some caramel, perhaps toffee and candyish malt. Mouthfeel is sticky and a little thick, light carbonation. Syrupy film coats inside of snifter as well as very light rings of lacing that quickly melt away. Flavor is hoppy with grapefruit and a bit of pine overlaying some candyish malt and light caramel. A hint of fruitiness. Pretty hot, esp. on the back end. Also finishes fairly bitter and leaves a lingering bitter aftertaste. All in all a pretty nice barleywine but not real complex.

22oz bottle from Swolf3, thank you Steven. Poured dark amber with an off-white head. Rich malt aroma. Sweet flavor, nice complexity. Very good brew.

Bottle. (2007 vintage). Pours a medium brown that only lets a bit of reddish light through. Head dies to a film fairly quickly. Aromas are fairly fruity (figs and dates with maybe some plum or prune) and have a bit of a citrus/pine edge. First sip reveals that this is one of the better barley wines I’ve had... don’t know if this is because it has a little age on it or what. Fruit and hops blend together in a sticky sweet maltiness that just brings a smile. Alcohol is present and fairly obvious, but doesn’t punch or distract... it seems like a natural part of the equation. There is a bit of a graininess to Back Burner, though... which I’ve not run across in a BW before and I’m not sure quite whether it is an asset or a liability. I’d drink this again... sure!