Southern Tier Big Red

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

Pours amber with a nice foamy tan head. Strong aroma of caramel and resiny/piny sweet hops, and a slight undertone of herbaceous hops. Flavor follows the aroma nicely with lots of roasted caramel malt and resiny hops, just a hint of brown sugar, and a slight note of alcohol that seems to hint at anise. Palate is medium/full, slightly spicy, with a bit of sweet caramel, an overtone of anise, and some warming alcohol. Not overly complex, but a damn fine balanced brew. Very enjoyable offering from ST.

initial burst of metallic was due to some serious carbon dioxide. That went away thankfully, and this developed into a nice little beer. Malty, boozy, with some nice hop flavor- spicy, with some earthy undertones. Would pick up again.

Bottle. Clear reddish amber body, dense off-white head with good retention and lacing, hoppy nose with alcohol. Body was sweet and malty with spicy hops and finishing bitterness. Does not hide alcohol particularly well.

22 oz. bomber consumed 3/24/2008. Pours a clear amber with a moderate linen white head that lasted through about two-thirds of the glass and left partial lacing. In my original rating, I thought the flavor was stronger than the aroma. I got the opposite impression with this bottle. The aroma was huge and was totally dominated by the scent of spruce trees. Even when I was sipping the beer, I could actually taste the aroma, if that makes sense. The flavor was light malt with a bit of citrus, and definitely spruce. This bottle was not as well balanced as I recall and was definitely more tilted towards the hops. Lots of hops bitterness at the finish. A very good beer, but different than the one I sampled six months ago.

Original rating 9/6/2007. 22 oz. bomber. I picked this up while on a reent vacation to the Finger Lakes. Pours a slightly hazy amber with a moderate, foamy, off-white head that lasted almost to the bottom of the glass and left very nice sheets of lacing down to the bottom of the glass as well. Aroma is malt, citrus, and a bit of brown sugar. The flavor is a bit more intense than the aroma with malt and citrus both nicely balanced. Just a bit of brown sugar sweetness as well. Light hops bitterness at the finish. Medium-full bodied and smooth on the palate. The alcohol was well hidden and provided gentle warmth at the swallow. A nice surprise! 7-5-8-4-16=4.0

Bottle: Deep orangish caramel, fairly hazy, moderate foamy off-white head, fairly nice lacing.   Candied citrus peel and hops on the nose.   Huge sweet sugary citrus peel start, with a whole boatload of tea leaves.   Subtle hops, fairly decent malt base.   Somewhat thick, but moreso smooth.   Best served at 42F?!   I think I know why, as it warms the alcohol becomes more noticeable.   As is, its somewhat warming but not really alcoholic.   Not overly hopped like most Red Ales.   Focus here is on the sweet citrus aspect and the malts.   Not as Imperial as I would have thought tho, but good nonetheless.   Clean, very clean.   Soft lingering citrusy sweetness with an ever so soft hop bite.   Oh yeah, I can really dig this.   Wished I had a keg of this for my staple beer.   Great stuff!   Thanks to Jah Noth for the bottles!

Date: 07/27/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

dark red, creamy thin fine beige head, nice lace, big earthy hop aroma, solid body, big carmel flavor with lots of hop flavor and a long bitter finish,
-------- /> Date: 09/15/2007
Mode: bottle
Words: cellar stock

rich caramel malt aroma covered over with earthy hops, creamy body, nice sweetness along with the rich caramel, the earthy bitterness keeps it well balanced,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Bottle pours a redish amber with a tal light tan head and thick heavy lacing. Sweet woody malt aroma with some notes of brown sugar and citrus zest. Flavor was a rich caramely swetness and barely enough IBUs to compete for the bill. Decent all around and a hefty ABV. Thanks Jake65

Dark amber orangy colour with large off white head. Stonge malt aroma caramel like. Robust flavour with strong malts and a slight alcoholic hint. Dry bitters on the back of the tongue