Southern Tier Back Burner

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

Intense flavors. Sweetness. Malt. Alcohol While not on the level of Behemoth, a nice barley wine that gives that late night kick..

Bottle thanks to Tweety. Was in the mood for a barley wine, and this hit the spot tonight. Year-old bomber. Copper pour and generous beige head when poured into a tulip ... decent lacing, too. Great mix of hops and malt. Nice caramel and toffee notes and fruity bitter hops. Long finish. Tasty.

Humorously enough, I cannot read my notes on this beer at ALL. I do have my numbers however. I can sort of make out "fruity honey hop monster"...but could have been describing my wife at this point of that evening.

22oz bomber, aged a year in a dark closet. Murky amber brown color. Big liqueur like aroma, very nice. The carbonation had probably smoothed a touch, but the taste is still right on. Rich toffee notes, slightly piny and syrupy. You know this one packs a punch when you drink it, but the alcohol merges well with the other flavors. Great Barleywine, worth a try for enthusiasts.

Bomber from Wine Merchant Findlay, OH. Pours opaque caramel brown with an off-white head. Nose is caramel, booze, sugar, and citrus with slightly piney hops. Flavor is lots of caramel up front smoothing the way for the hop bouquet coming through. Those fade and then the caramel and booze come and leave their impression. Hops kill softly, not like a battering ram. Very smooth, medium-bodied barley wine with lingering caramel and hops.

Hoppy aroma with a nice sweet malt scent. Dark reddish brown with a medium head that laces. Medium palate. Nice roasted malt righ away that then quickly gives way to the hop attack. Big hop aftertaste as well.

Poured a cloudy mahogany with a fizzy off-white head. Rich aroma of ruby-red grapefruit, pine forest, sweet wildberries, a bit of cinnamon. Taste is very well balanced with some citrusy hops nestling against some sweet and tart fruitiness, toffee, and a touch of brown sugar. A bit of tartness as well as some earthy hoppiness and some slight dryness, though nowhere near indicative of 10% ABV. A bit of hoppy tartness remains at the back of the palate after the swallow to serve as a reminder of the delectably balanced strong ale you have just enjoyed. I can’t completely put my finger on it, but everything here just really clicked. An excellent barley wine.

(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.