Southern Tier Big Red

Brewed by Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Lakewood, New York USA

Poured a clear amber with a thick white head. Aroma of floral and spicy hops. Bitter bite with spices and caramel. Well balanced and drinkable.

Spicy hops are well noted in this amber pour. Nice frothy head allows the aroma of hops to burst forth. Taste is malty with a definite hops bite. Very drinkable.

Poured a clear amber with a nice finger of white head. Head left a nice lacing on the glass. Smelled vaguely floral and malty. The taste has an interesting up front bite that is quickly mellowed by spices and that flowery vibe. The malts and hops balance nicely in the mouth. Really a good beer, it actually improved a bit as it got warmer, the hope losing a bit of their up-front impact. Serving type: bottle

I remember buying a 22oz bottle of this at wegmans. Nice copper color/tan head. Had a good hoppy and caramel flavor with a nice clean finish that was bitter. Decently balenced throughout.

22 oz. bottle. A clear copper pour with a thick light-tan head. A subtle floral aroma with hints of caramel and pepper. Medium-bodied and nicely balanced. Lots of caramel and roasty qualities throughout. Starts with a good deal of sweet caramel and finishes with a hoppy bitterness. The 9.5% ABV is very well-hidden.

22oz bottle. Poured a clear medium orange color. Head was off white with an orange tint and retained its height for a good while. some sticky lace was left behind on the glass. Sprucy hops, caramel, toffee, alcohol, and a dash of brown sugar came out in the aroma. Sweet with mild hop bitterness and smooth mouth feel. Medium to full bodied. There was a good balance between malt and hops with pine resin, cotton candy, and dark caramel flavors. There was also a warming alcohol effect and an earthy, woody note at the end. Pretty good.

650 ml bottle via Bieropholie, served at cellar temperature in a tulip glass.

App.: Deep amber, clear, fair off-white froth. Aroma: Resinous, slightly piney and quite spicy hops, light cherry and cranberry in behind, a whiff of apple juice, a hint of caramel. Palate: Medium body and almost no carbonation with a little astringency. Flav.: Floral and peppery hops that touches on resin and pine, a bit fo the fruit – pears and apples, hints of berries, just a bit of caramel; off-dry with fair bitterness and a lingering floral maltiness.

This beers seems to be maligned for not meeting expectations. I enjoyed it because it brings American hop aggressiveness, but leaves the C-hops behind. Well done.

22oz bomber. Served at 54° in a chalice. Pretty reddish copper color with a smallish head. Aroma is toasty, bready, chocolatey, with a nice spicy, and to a lesser extent, flowery hop aroma. The hops are very pleasant in this, they are very delicate but with an intoxicating aroma. I was thinking typical American amber ale in the aroma, but the flavor is much different. Almost immediately the flavor is somewhat harsh and over the top bitter. As I grow accustomed to the bitterness, the malt flavor seems to peek out from behind the hops, but only briefly. I get a little biscuit here, a little caramelly malt sweetness there, some chocolate as well, but as soon as I swallow, the bitterness seems to step on the malts throat, asserting its dominance. I guess this is an imperial ipa with German hops and a little extra character malt base. Maybe I am just not being open minded, but I found this to be a little much and the harshness was detracting. The 9.5% is evident when you are 2/3 of the way through the bottle. Southern Tier seems to make some really great beers and some ones that seem to miss the mark, I guess when you aim for the stars, you fall short sometimes.