Southern Tier Back Burner

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

Bottle. Pours a hazy deep brown with a hint of red and a medium, off-white head. Aroma is caramel, a hint of cocoa, minty hops. Taste starts off with a sweet, huge malt back bone with hints of dark fruit and even cocoa, with prickly hops emerging from the very beginning and really taking up residence midway with a prickly, minty, piny presence. The hops perfectly counterbalance the huge sweet malt without dominating. Finish is malt sweetness, drying hop bitterness and definitely a bit of spicy alcohol burn on the finish, complemented by the prickly hops - it’s clear how this beer got it’s name. Mouthfeel is heavy, syrupy, and oily, but with a light, crisp carbonation. Delicious.

Pours a slightly hazy deep red with a medium off white head. Smells of dark fruits, malts, and a little hops come through as well. A little sweet cinnamon is present too. Taste has some good dark fruits, semi-sweet, with a big malt backbone. The hops come into play a little in the end which had some light brown sugar symptoms too. Lively carbonation, but easy drinking brew. Good.

22 oz bottle. Clearish brown with a fluffy balsa head. Nose is caramel, grass and lemon. Almost syrupy with buttery smoothness and a tang. Taste has the typical ST beer candy take on the style. Butterscotch, orange peel and pine. Finishes slightly bitter and dry raw dough. A tad cloying but still a pleasant, sweet sipper.

Poured from a 22oz bomber and served in a snifter. This barley wine poured a dark, copper brown with a short-lived head of fine, tan bubbles. Some spotty lacing was left behind. The aroma of the beer was made up of roasted caramel, sugar, mild alcohol, and some citric hops. The flavor consisted of rich caramel, a hint of chocolate, dark fruits, oranges, caramelized sugar, and a touch of dried apricot. Not really any noticeable alcohol in the taste. The mouthfeel was full-bodied but not overly thick or sticky. Very minimal carbonation. Big and malty, yet quite drinkable. Pretty good.

22 ounce bottle, damn this beer smells good. It immediately grabs your senses with a rich aroma of hops. The color is a beautiful reddish once held up to some light. The taste is more malty than hoppy, but the hops are definitely present. It’s has a sweet malt taste but there is some alcohol as well. This is a solid barley wine. Southern Tier once again does not disappoint. Would buy again

22 oz bomber purchased at Oak Tree. Pours rather good looking for a barley wine with a deep mahoganey brown body and a small to average size frothy light biege head. Sweet aroma with notes of caramel, toffee, honey, citrus and a hint of earthy grass as well. Full bodied with light carbonation and a creamy mouthfeel. Sweet flavor with notes of caramel, toffee and brown bread that is just slightly dry. Once again a very solid offering from what is qucikly becoming my go to brewery from the east coast.

Aroma of a carmel malt with a hint of dried fruit and hopped very lightly. A tan head on top of a dark amber color. It has a very carmel, malty flavor that leads into some hopness and leaves a sugery carmely taste on the palate. Thick body and really smooth with a lot of alcohol.

Pour was very dark amber, almost black, with a thick tan head. Aroma was of caramel malt and a hint of hops. Flavor was more hop dominated with a lot of caramel notes. Thick full bodied brew that was real smooth. Good. Would buy again.