Southern Tier Back Burner

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

[726-20071001] 650mL (w/ jerc, Radek Kliber). Malty dough and Belgian yeast aroma. Clear, dark dark red body with a medium foamy off-white head. Dark roasted malt is not too heavy. Medium-full body is a little astringent. Nice and drinkable, therefore a "dangerous beer."
Overheard: "It’s not often you get a 10% beer that is that drinkable."

NorCal December ’07 - Another fine beer from the guys at Southern Tier. This time they deliver in the style of barleywine, a beer near and dear to me. I never can get enough of this style of beer, so when the opportunity is there to have a new one I savour it. The beer pours out a deep garnet red, clear with a nice one-finger thick head. Aromas are apples, caramel, grapefruity hops and a touch of molasses. Flavor profile is pretty much on par with the nose. Caramel, vanilla, toffee, light fleshy fruits and a bit of hops. Excellent barleywine. Hope to have this one again.

Poured a clear red amber color with a medium sized, light tan head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of pine, caramel, citrus, light floral, and dried fruits. Taste of caramel malts, some toffee, pine, resin, citrus fruits, grapefruit, and a moderate alcohol kick in the end.

This seemed to match my pumpkin soup very well with its clovey sweet malty character which is well balanced by the hops to create a very drinkable barley wine. I’m not used to barley wines that are easy sippers and the alcohol is well hidden. Medium finish. Its a solid beer which would probably be a good starter for one who never sampled a barley wine before.

aroma is dominated by malt, although some hoppines shines through. Dark reddish brown with a small tan head.Sweet and smooth. Nicely rich with a mild to moderate bitterness throughout. Finishes sweet/caramel. Overall a a very well balanced BW.

Gorgeously dark and deep burnt orangey brown. Firm smallish capping of lightly yellowish foam sits for good length before settling to a soild skim and a big bubbly collar. Tons of thinly placed sheeting which breaks apart into some webby strings and moth holes. Lofty aroma of big caramel malts parched with orangified piney hops and toasted breads. A bit of soft berries, molasses, raisin, and fig grows as it sits. Taste is just as good if not better and carries a very fine complexity to its flavor profile. Big on malts with some soft, soothing caramel mixed with alot of dark fruity acsents of fig, raisin, and berries. Semi tangy and sweet with a soft, silky, smooth body that’s delicately malty rich and thick with just the perfect amount of warmth off the end to round it off as a partial hop tone comes into play. Only a slight bittering bite of orange peel and pine nudges at the palate as it maintains its big malty profile and deep richness settling into the finish. Quite complex with some hints to brown sugar, vanilla, pear, and a whole lot of raisinyness. A bit of toasted grain moves across the finish as it warms with just right kind of Barleywine ABV hint as it finishes. Soft, full, rounded, thick, and rich body, not overly hefty nor hoppy and keeps a nice tone and malty creamyness and chewyness the whole way through. Oh, and the finish is just as soft and alluringly delicate as the rest of its nature with its small amount of warmth floating in over the maltitude of sweetness. Nice... A pretty fuckin’ solid Barleywine by Southern Tier. This will age well for those of you who do that sort of thing. But I found this fairly fresh bottle of Backburner to be dead-on, super nice, and yummalishious!! Brings memories of Old Guardian...when I can get it?!

22oz. Bottle: Medium sweet aroma. Smells of caramel malts, resin hops, bread, and pine. Poured copper with a hint of amber in color with a small, tan head that lasted throughout. Clear. Slightly sparkling. Medium sweet, lightly bitter flavor. Tastes of caramel malts, resin, syrup, sugar, and a little fruit. Medium body. Sticky texture. No carbonation. Cloying sweet finish.

22 oz bottle thanks to eyedrinkale in Denver. Nice brown with little head. Aromas of classic barley wine. Dark fruits. raisin and plum. Molasses. Flavors were similar with some alcohol on the finish. Pretty good.