Southern Tier Gemini

Brewed by Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Lakewood, New York USA

Orange pour with a thin, white head. Big, citrys, resiny hoppy aroma, some malt. Flavor is very hoppy and tastey, albeit a bit sweet. A pretty impressive bitterness, with a slightly sweet finish. Pretty impressive, much better than the two other beers.

2008 bottle. Looking back at my notes, I found Hoppe to be pretty good and UnEarthly to be okay, but with a weak finish. This blend pours clear copper with a thin white head. Piney hop aroma with a touch of malt. Grassy hop flavor with a decent hop balance and a medium finish. Good stuff, and better than either of these beers by themselves.

Bottle from Beer Run on 01/18/2009. Slightly hazy golden amber body with a medium creamy off-white head. Sweet citrus, floral and slight resiny hop aroma with a bit of caramel. Big floral and resiny hop flavor, some light caramel with some light fruity hints and a nice bitter finish. Medium full body with moderately low carbonation and a very smooth finish.

On tap at The Gate. Golden orange with no head, some lace. The beertenders there were trying to be nice by filling everyone’s glasses to the rim, but this didn’t allow for the beer to aerate or a head to form. Sweet syrupy and citrus orange and pine aroma. Sickly sweet orange cough medicine fruitiness with bitterness and cloying plus alcohol. Very full body. Too much.

Bottle nabbed at Friendly Mini Mart in Lakewood. Pour is a slightly cloudy amber with a nice 1 cm cream head on top. Aroma is bursting with hop grapefruit, pineapple , more citrus, acidic bittering flower blossoms and a little bit of pine. The flavor is surprisingly not dominated but overpowering bitterness. I expected from the aroma that this would melt my face off, and I might lose the ability to speak from tongue disintegration. However this really has a very viscous palate, medium in the bitterness department, allowing the rich citrus, pine and floral flavors to develop. The viscous nature of the beer allows the flavors to really sink into the mouth so it just keeps getting better.

bomber from total wine in norfolk. i can honestly say i was unexpectedly blown away by this brew. pours a gorgeous honey gold with a long lasting, bubbly white head a great lacing. the aroma literally jumped out of the glass as i started catching whiffs before it left my table. scent is huge hops but unique in it’s composition of peach, mango, pineapple, pink grapefruit, and candied sugar. aroma gets it sweetness from scents of tulips and dried red berries. my first reaction to the flavor was "whoa". honestly one of the most unique beers i’ve ever tasted and not what i had expected, but simply fantastic. flavors of fresh picked hops, peach, apricot, passion fruit, and a spiciness that emerges during the sip. a light, malty sweetness peeks through late followed by more grassy and piney hops. palate is smooth, slightly sticky and chewy and the 10.5% is hidden deviously well. overall, wondefully unique the best southern tier brew out there.

22oz bottle. Pours clear amber in color with thin white head which does not last long. Aroma strong grapefruit, citrus hops and sweet. Taste grapefruit, bitter, hops, hops and hops with bitter finish.

Lots of hops in the aroma. Intense in your face aroma. First sip is full of hops, citrus, and alcohol. To me, ST has become the nouveau-fusion brewer. It challenges you. Whether it’s beers are great is another story. They are different and unique in their imposed extremeness.