Southern Tier Back Burner

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

22 oz bomber. Dark brown brew with a fast-fading white head. Lovely aroma with a sweet rich maltiness. Strong citrus and a biscuit/cookie dough maltiness. Aroma is quite hoppy but this shows good balance as well. Flavour shows sweet toasty/cookie dough maltiness and sweet grapefruity/orange citrus. Light cherry as well. Slight chewy but nowhere near cloying. Surprisingly drinkable for a such a big beer. Rich and sweet with an orange marmalade flavour. Nice smoky caramelized brown sugar on the back behind all the citrus and biscuit. A lovely elegant beer.

Bottle. Clear dark rusty red and brown colored body, very sharp hoppy, stenchy, sweaty Bigfoot-like nose of musty red wine, caramel and sugary, dense hops. Coarse and meaty mouthfeel and flavor, with meaty bacon and maple in the finish. Turns to sweet residual sugars later. God overall but a little too sweet and a bit too sweaty.

Very nice to behold, a clear garnet body with a bubbly ecru head that leaves some fine lacing on the glass. This is a well balanced barley wine style ale, possessing a strong bitter side matched by sweet, soothing malts. Fairly complex aroma, although I made mistake of reading other reviews before I sat down to script this and they gave me the feeling that either 1) the beer was too strong for some reviewers, 2) there is no #2, or C) the reviewers each got a sturdy conk on the skull. The aroma that I got was fruity on two levels, the first being the sweetness of dark cherries and other stone fruit (such as plums), the second being a sharp citric bitterness. Accompanying these sensations were a sweet molasses scent, a dollop of melted caramel, alcohol, pine needles (Scotch Pine, methinks), a hint of berries, and a daub of midwestern honey. The flavor neglects to favor any of what is gathered by the nose, blending all together smoothly. The result is sweet malts and fruit, bitter hops and fruit, and a steady alcohol burn. This is definitely worth picking up some more bottles to lay down for a while. Very nice.

Note: I was on my way to the can to do a number two after imbibing a bomber of this ale when I stumbled and conked my head on a bookshelf near my cats’ litter box. They both kick-scraped litter on me as if I was a misbegotten turd........

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First Brew of Two Thousand & Eight, per the bottle. Light brown with orange and ruby colors sparkling through when held to the light. Minimal head, with a ring of tight light tan bubbles and a few small isles of lace. Thick malt and hops aromas. Caramel, figs and hint of dates. Barley Wine, IIPA, Imperial Double Red; I think I would go with the later. While simple, I do like the scent, a nice balance of malt and hops in an evidently strong brew. Toffee, caramel, grapefruit are all there in the front. This dries out significantly as it moves to the linger. Mild nuttiness in the middle; and light pine and oak in the finish. Dry grain linger along with a touch of alcohol and grapefruit zest. I seem to catch Hop Whompus and Double Bastard in this one. Not as flavorful as the Hop Whompus and not quite as strong feeling as the Double Bastard. Perhaps not a barley wine, but I like it.

Bottle@Home. Loads of hop in the aroma, light fruity. Chestnut colour, beige small head, good lace. Sweet, very bitter, nutty, raisin, pine, heavily hopped. Full and hop dry finish. Although lots of bitter hop and alcohol still good drinkability.

Bottle: Thanks BuckeyeBoy! Pours a dark mahogany color with a nice head and lacing. Nose of sweet fruit, some chewy caramel and a huge berry waffle note. Good chewy dough and savory biscotti or scone. Lovely large mouthfeel. Mellow impact. Not much in the alcohol department, smooth with light sherry.

Bottle from Rivers Bend. Poured clear dark brown with an average fizzy off-white head that mostly diminished with fair lacing. Heavy dark tart fruit and alcohol aroma. Medium to full body with a tingly texture. Heavy complex balanced flavor with a medium bittersweet finish that was long lasting. This is a standout complex out of the box beer.

Bottle @ Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Pours a dark amber color with an off-white head. Sweet malty hoppy caramel flavor. Sweet malty caramel flavor with some hoppy hints. Sweet malty finish with a long bitter aftertaste.