Southern Tier Cuvée Series 1

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

22oz bottle from BOTW. Pours a bright orange with not much head. Just wisps of white. Aroma is candi-ish aroma with the honey and coconut presence. Flavor is upfront sweetness with a bit of pepper in the middle with a dry and lingering finish. Definitely a sipper. Better than I expected.

Pours a hazy copper orange with thick cream-colored head. Aroma is caramel, brown sugar and malts. Flavor is brown sugar and bourbon. Undertones of nuts. Body is creamy with medium carbonation.

Bottle shared by JCB. This is pretty disgusting. Is this really a beer? Lots of fusel alcohol all over this beer. I think I am just not a fan of S.T.’s brewing style.

22 oz bottle. Pours a dark amber/orange color with a small slightly white head. Aroma is sweet, vanilla, and teeming with alcohol. Flavor is oak barrel vanilla, alcohol. Quite a warming beverage, given the alcohol content. Certainly not as special as their Choklat or Gemini, though since it was a gift, I’m not complaining.

Rich gold, maybe a hint of red in there. There is a white head that fades relatively quickly, leaving no lacing. Nose is honey, clay, a bit of oxidation, alcohol, vanilla, toffee & plasticy orange. Flavor is orange, tingly hops, vanilla, alcohol, pear, honey. Finish is strongly bitter with a decent amount of honey & alcohol. Way too viscous - the mouthfeel would be appropriate for an extremely sweet mead - here it’s just a turn off. Competes w. Creme Brulee as Southern Tier’s weakest offering.

22 oz bottle **Summary** - Once again I was tempted by what Southern Tier put out and once again I was let down. At $12.99 this should have been much better than it was; had it been half the price I probably could have let it slide. Do not be fooled by the packaging - this is not what it suggests and should be avoided. **Aroma / Appearance** - Mildly carbonated and dull orange, the body did not offer much in the way of incentive. This was due to the weak blend of oak chips, chocolate syrup, and orange floor polish. A whiff of ethanol capped an otherwise boring aroma. **Flavor / Palate** - The mouthfeel was little improvement over the aroma. Oak, cherry pie filling, and vanilla formed a syrupy concoction which was soon gone. A definite miss this time Southern Tier has gone way off the mark. It will be a while before I pick up another special from their line though I may revisit the regular offerings.

Poured a lightly hazed glowing orange-amber color with a small off-white head. Aroma of fruity esters, light wood and light spice. The flavor has some honey, fruit, spice, wood and hop bitterness and earthiness. Could be good but it doesn’t blend well for me. I also am not a fan of honey. Nutty and floral aroma when warms. Dry mild-moderate earthy bitterness on the finish. Full bodied. Warming in the chest.

Tasting - Perfect Pour. Clear sparkling coppery orange, white creamy head. Soft honey floral nose warms to light swirls of vanilla wood and almond brandy. Sweet honeyed dried citrus and light oak flavors round with touch of floral vanilla. Light to medium bodied with soft carbonation. Some intricate little complexities throughout, but not nearly as good as the rest of the big beer lineup...