Southern Tier Harvest Ale

Brewed by Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Lakewood, New York USA

Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a dark golden color with a small white head. The aroma was dryish fruity hops with a touch of nut. The flavor was tart, bitter and dryish with a crisp floral and fruity hop presence. The finish was medium length bitter fruity hops. The body was a bit thin. Ok.

From a bottle poured a hazy orangish color with a fair amount of head. Malty sweet flavor with a quick finish.

Boy was this one helluva surprise. I saw the name Harvest Ale and right away thought of semi malty caramel beers with a bite. Oktoberfest is one of my least favorite styles. Now knowing S.T I figured they added some hops to balance it out. What I got was one of the best IPA style beers I have had to date. Like someone mentioned earlier the color looks like typical macro beer. That is where it ends. Huge billowing head. Killer clinging lacing. Citrus hops. Little bit of pine. Full bodied mouth feel and $9 a six. You NEED this.

Bottle. Pours a slightly hazy light golden color with a two finger white head. Heavy citrus aroma with some earthy tones. Moderate hoppy initial flavor mellows out with a smooth, citrusy finish. Sticky texture with good carbonation. Well worth a try if your a fan of Fall seasonals.

Pours gold into a shaker. Bright white head quickly recedes to hug rim leaving spotted spider lacing. Grapefruit and resin aromas. Fresh summer pit fruits upfront with a lasting sweet grapefruit finish.

Sampled at Bruegala. Clear light amber with a spare white head. Average grapefruit nose with a little fresh peach, something akin to body odor and sawdust. Moderately sweet, moderately bitter flavor though the body is a little too thin. Somewhat metallic aftertaste.

Appearance: Pours a deep yellow gold with a 1/8 inch of dense white foam. You can see a good amount of rising bubbles in the body as you hold it up to the light. Aroma: Slight amounts of citrus, pear, bread notes mixed with some sweetness. Taste: Light amounts of lemon and bready dry malt. Finishes with a decent amount of clean bitter Euro hops. Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and creamy. Overall: A nice showcase of European hops. I can’t say this beer blew my mind, but it’s solid to above average in my book.

aroma of huge hops: pine, lemon, soap, and near candy sweetness all fleeting through and mixing at once. appearance is straw yellow and quite translucent with nice carb but film head. flavor is strong grapefruit hop note usually only found in an IIPA but without the alcoholic burn or extreme bitterness associated with that style. huge toasty malt comes through late. its easy to be distracted with the fruity hops but the malt character and the balance it lends is what makes this a superstar. palate is wet but enjoyable. one of few flagship (non-22oz) ST beers that is worth its while, disappointed in myself for passing on this last year.