Southern Tier Back Burner

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

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 from Capone’s. Clear ruby copper pour with 2-finger khaki head. Aroma of caramel malt, brown sugar, figgy fruit, slight nut and port notes. Medium to dense palate heft, with flavor notes of caramel malt, brown sugar, and mid-palate figs, plums, port, slight cognac, and slight oaky earthy notes. I consider this one a very good barleywine.

Bottle at 5 O’Clocks in Stevensville, MI. Hurrah, they finally offer a few decent beers here. This ambiguously colored beer (reddish brown / copper / mahogany / red) seems to change with the lighting. It poured with a decent beige/tan head and a toffee and plum aroma. The flavor is rich and sweet, and features dark fruit, roasted malt, a few spices and a light alcohol trail. I certaintly enjoyed it.

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.

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.

Deep ruby copper color. Nice khaki colored head and lace that clings to glass throughout. Aroma of caramel, sour/dried fruits, citrusy hops, bit of pine. Medium-full chewy body, carbonation carries the brew well, flavor is alot like the nose, got some hoppy bitterness but also has a very good hop flavor as well. Balanced, cool hop burps and a nice kick. Kinda like a cross of big foot and foghorn (when it was good in small bottles) Good BW.

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.

Bottled. A deep red beer with a thin off-white head. The aroma is sweet matly with strong notes of berries, medium notes of alcohol, and light notes of cinnamon and ginger. The falvor is sweet malty with notes of ginger and caramel as well as light notes of other spices, leading to a dry bitter finish.