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Southern Tier Back Burner

Southern Tier Back Burner - Barley Wine

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 Percentile 
96
overall
Brewed by Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine

Lakewood, New York USA

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution
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 Ratings  Average  Score  Seasonal  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in 
4323.76/5.03.75/5.0Special10%83Snifter
View Statistics  P 

Commercial Description:
“first brew of the year” Long ago, British farmhouse brewers made special ales using the first runnings of the mash. These beers, now called barley wine, are brewed in the tradition of days past. At Southern Tier this long awaited brew is placed on the back burner until the start of the new year. Back Burner Barley Wine is a celebration of things to come and things remembered. It’s conceived in three small batches, using voluminous amounts of barley and hops. The process starts early in the morning and ends late into the night. We hope this rare brew reignites your spirit for another trip around the sun. 10% abv. • 15ºL
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 badnewsbeers (1026), Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/103/514/20
Jan 19, 2008  
translucent, reddish brown body with no head..aroma of caramel, alcohol, dark fruit, raison..too much booze in the nose..flavor of burnt toast and bitter, piney hops..alcohol burn in the finish...overall too boozy


 Suttree (2701), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Jan 14, 2008  
Stevofest, courtesy of stevo. At this point, my notes reflect a lot enthusiasm, but not really a lot of description. So, I can say that I thoroghly enjoyed this one, I can’t really say why. I think I’ll need to get some more...


 tytoanderso (1382), St. Louis Park, Minnesota, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/517/20
Jan 13, 2008  
22oz bottle from kryptic. I know it may not do it for everyone, but I am really beginning to enjoy the Southern Tier flavor/hop/malt profile ("house style") that they are aiming for. Excellent balance of sweet sticky (but not syrupy) malt and rich, oily, citrusy hops on the nose. Traces of lightly charred oak and cashew as well. Pours a thick, full dark amber/copper with a creamy, long lasting white head. Excellent mouthfeel for a barleywine. Not too cloying but not overly hopped making it too dry. Maple syrup, sherrywood, slightly resinous hops, toffee and caramel malt. Quite smooth and balanced very well. Not over the top in any way, in fact, quite restrained for a barleywine. Well balanced and well done.


 illinismitty (1790), Nashville, Tennessee, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/515/20
Jan 13, 2008  
Sampled at Stevofest 08, courtesy of Decaturstevo. Yet another beer with illegible notes. Pours dark copper with a beige head. Typical but good rich caramel malty aroma. Flavor of caramel, maple, nuts and ? Can’t read my notes. Tame bitterness. Too much alcohol on the finish which brought this town a tad for me. Still very good, and Southern Tier has been impressing the hell out of me with their big beers lately.


 tronraner (1906), Maryville, Tennessee, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/57/104/515/20
Jan 13, 2008  
Bottle sampled at stevo’s. Pours dark copper with thin beige head. The aroma is sticky caramel and resinous hops. The flavor is maple, caramel, and sticky pine. Plenty of hop flavor without harsh bitterness. Smooth and dangerous.


 TomDecapolis (3130), Skippack, Pennsylvania, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/104/515/20
Jan 2, 2008  
Pours a mostly translucent ruby/orange amber with a larger foamy/creamy lighter tan head that left a bunch of spotty/sticky lacing. Aroma of dark fruits, caramel, touch of vanilla, dried fruits, floral notes, nuts and toasted grains. Flavor was pretty much a match of the aroma with some of the toasted malt and caramel taking a front seat along with the dried and dark fruits. Getting some more hops in the flavor but they seem to be making their way out of this beer at this point. I did not have this one fresh and it’s at least over 6 to 8 months old at this point, which is on the young side for a barley wine, but enough time for the hops to step down. Wishing I tried this fresh now too. At 10% not getting too much alcohol, which is a good thing.


 aracauna (2357), Georgia, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/58/104/515/20
Dec 31, 2007  
There’s a lot of fruit up front in the nose with orange and apricot between the hops and yeast-produced fruitiness. There’s a relatively slight bitterness in the finish. Pretty tasty.


 pantanap (1323), Chicago, Illinois, USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/103/513/20
Dec 31, 2007  
bomber.....pours a dark ruby brown with a thin film of off-white head....caramel malt makes up most of the nose along with a small hop backbone....flavors start off sweet with the chew malts being the main player here. it quickly fades and then an astringent hop surge mixes in and both fight for the attention from there on out. i didn’t think it was a smotth as it could be. the hops leave a bit too much bitte astringency for me to enjoy this more.



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