Southern Tier Back Burner

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

Pours from the bomber a deep garnet-mahogany color. Pour creates a thin bone white head which fades to faint wisps of foam and some spotty lacing. Sweet, but moderate aromas of figs, raisins, prunes, dark caramel candy, toffee, vanilla bean and dark brown sugar are intially appreciated with some faint secondary whiffs of piney/citrusy hops and a touch of alcohol in the background. Full, sticky and slighty oily mouthfeel with a subdued carbonation level fits the big Barleywine style. Flavor profile is a hybrid of an English and American Barleywine in that it starts out sugary sweet with notes of dark dried fruits, toffee, brown sugar and dark rum but assertively finishes with a firm hit of Chinook hop citrus rind bitterness. The 10% abv is subtle and nicely warms up the finish. All in all an interesting and fairly complex BW that is certainly worth seeking out.

Dark ruby color with a big tan head. Aroma of caramel malts, fruit and citrus hops. Flavor is very sweet, with flavors of berries, raisons and some hops.

Poured a mostly clear amber color with a ruby tint. Full fruity malt aroma. Moderate amount of hops come through. Citrus and earthy with some alcohol. The flavor was malty with some fruitiness. Mild to moderate bitterness, Lightly sweet finish. The alcohol is pretty well hidden.

Bottle... This beer rocks!... Clear, brilliant copper ale with a small, creamy, white head. Fantastic retention. The aroma is an almost holy union of caramel, black tea and earthy, fruity hops. Full-bodied with a creamy mouthfeel and dancing carbonation. Sweet caramel flavor with adequate black tea and earthy bitterness to provide a semblance of balance. Finishes rich, caramelly and moderately bitter. One choice beer! Kudos to scraff for floating this one my way!

Date: 05/08/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

clear dark amber, wispy beige head, drops of lace, big sweet dark caramel malt aroma with earthy hops, creamy body, rich dark caramel flavor, sweet dark fruit character, light balancing bitterness adds some balance but lets the sweet fruit dominate, a bit of piney sweetness in the background, light warmth, upon warming the flavors meld really well,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Clear, transluscent dark amber, mahogany colored body, with barely a head at all. Sugary-sweet aroma, with a full nose of sweet plums, and mild malts and sugar cane. Brightly flavored. Mostly a pleasant earthiness coupled with smooth vanilla notes and lots of strawberries, plums, figs (m favorite!). Quite good, and very easy to drink.

This barleywine pours a deep amber color from a 22oz bottle. Small to medium sized beige foamy head. The aroma is caramel, dark fruit and earthy. A medium to full bodied barley wine. The malts are caramel and sweet. The hops are earthy. This BW is very much in the English style, malty sweet and earthy, with a touch of toffee at the finish. Nice balance. The carbonation is a touch low. Hides the alcohol very well. Nice beer. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet with a hint of toffee.

Deep ruby tinted copper coloured body with a thick tan head - beautiful. This is how a barley wine should look! Aroma of perfectly fresh hops, pine cones, alcohol, malt and oak - very nice. Full-bodied; Strong assertive piney and citrusey hops noticeable up front with alcohol, pit fruits, caramel, oak and more hops tucked in. Aftertaste is well-balanced with a lot of malt for all the hops in the mix. Overall, a good and actually mild barley wine - the alcohol definitely comes out, but it isn’t horribly warming and shows well. I’d recommend this one without a secound guess, except for one thing. I hate American brewers only making certain beers available in 65 cL bottles - ESPECIALLY big beers. I think it’s a stupid enough thing to boycott certain beers - but I obviously have purchased this one. I’d rather have this in a 33 cL bottle at MAX, preferably a 25 cL bottle. Aside from that, it’s a good beer by a fairly consistent brewer! I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased from Whole Foods in Clarendon (Arlington), Virginia on 06-February-2009, sampled at home in Washington on 20-April-2009.