Southern Tier Back Burner

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

22oz - Normally, barley wine disgusts me, so I approached this one with some dread. From the first pour I was relieved. The nose was wonderful, a rich malty, creamy, hoppy perfume. The color was great, a lovely hazy amber with a small tan head. There was also some pleasant carbonation here, compared to some of the nearly flat barley wines I’ve tried. Lots of structure on the palate, malt with a healthy dose of hops. I enjoyed this greatly.

Got this bomber in a recent trade with kirok1999. The bottle says it was the first beer of 2007 so it must be about a year old now. Dark red color that is almost brown but not quite. The flavor smells great, hoppy, toffee, West Coast. The flavor follows up with a chewy, hop-laden taste. Lots of hops in this one and that is how I like it. Given how good this tastes now I bet a couple years will treat this beer well. Best beer I have had from Southern Tier but I’m biased toward barleywines. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 03-24-2008 03:38:08 id: 646809

I love me some Southern Tier and this offering was exceptional. A mix of red, orange, and light brown created a great looking body. Filmy, swirling head looked like the Milky Way on top of the beer and it left tight, stringy lacing on it’s way to the bottom. Deep complex aromas or rich malts and Cheerios. Flowers and light perfume permeated the air with an accent of evergreen. A blended, smooth feeling from a thick, malty body. There’s a friendly hop bite that accompanies the aftertaste. The taste starts out with citrus and evergreen hops. A wave of bread, cereal and doughnuts soon follow backed up by a green "wet hop" layer which sneaks in and lingers. Crackers, pears, and pine.....yes there’s more complexity involved but it’s beyond my description. A bountiful barleywine that was extremely enjoyable.

Candied fruit-citrus aroma apparent on pouring this rich brown beer with a short-lived of white head. Sweet roasted caramel predominates over an alcohol spiciness. Mouth is dense and creamy. Immediate port and oak with caramel and bittering. Quite a punch, but not over the top, a’la DFH Olde School or Avery’s the Beast. Well balanced adn earthy with a nice beery finish, not too sweet - holds the malt flavor. Definitely worth a second bottle!

Yet another big winner from Southern Tier. A nice hoppy barleywine. Good feeling roasted taste to it. A touch darker than most of the style, that must contribute to the burnt taste. Only one bottle of this makes for a happy night at a tasty price.

Bomber shared at the Butters’ 1500 tasting. Clear ruby red pour with great light tan head for a BW. Nose of raisins, cake, plums, and boatloads of sweet maltiness. Flavor loses the cakiness, but retains all the other sweet dark fruit. No trace of such a high abv. Great sipping barleywine.

Bottle 2008. Pours Medium dark amber/red with a thin head and decent lacing. Smells wonderfully of piney hops and caramel, with hints of a dark fruit such as prune. Very smooth mouthfeel with nice carbonation. Has a very good taste of piney hops and roasted caramel malts. Man , this is good stuff! Gives me the invariable warm fuzzies. Might be upfront in taste and not very complex but who the hell cares!Definitely going to be aging a bottle.

Pouring a deep red its aroma mirrors its flavor; heavy maltiness with a nice balance of hops. A good example of the style.