Southern Tier Jah-va

Brewed by Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Lakewood, New York USA

Black bodied, brown head. Chocolate and strong coffee aroma. Alcohol is noticeable in the nose. Flavor is thick and chocolaty with a strong backbone of coffee and an alcohol burn on the tongue. A very nice but predictable offering.

22oz bottle brewed Winter 2008 purchased at Spirits RB. As soon as I sniffed this beer I thought it was young, yup actually reading the bottle would have confirmed it. Lots of hops coming through on the aroma for an Impy Stout with notes of coffee, roasted malts, coffee, dark chocolate, burnt coffee beans and perhaps some more coffee. Pours an average shade of black with lots of visible carbonation and a small beige head. Slightly thin palate with lots of carbonation and well hidden alcohol for a 12% monster. Flavor is similar to the aroma coffee, raosted malts, slight chocolate and a bit of hops. Good beer but like most high school seniors still needs some serious age to hit it’s peak.

Shared by Robert at SL. Color was dark brown. Smelled of coffee, roasted nuts, chocolate. The flavor was coffee, burnt sugar, chocolate. A good amount of alcohol was noticable. Good texture to it. Personally I dont like coffee, so I dont know what I was expecting. I love Southern tier, but, this one just wasnt for me. Thanks again Robert!

A nice but typical coffee themed imperial stout. Aroma was weak for the style but had a vinous background underneath the obvious coffee. Pour was a flat black with no head. Taste was a little thin and not very carbonated. Strong coffee and roasted malt with a red wine-like aftertaste. Alcohol is big in this one. Not bad.

Poured from a 22oz bomber and served in a snifter. This beer poured a dark brown with some mahogany highlights around the edges of the glass. A flimsy head of short lived tan bubbles left a small amount of lace. The aroma of the beer was made up of coffee, mild chocolate, roasted nuts, and some alcohol. The flavor consisted of fresh coffee, burnt sugar, nuts, a light chocolate note, and earthy yeast. A healthy amount of alcohol was also present. The mouthfeel was full-bodied but felt a bit thin and watered down. The carbonation level was moderate. I usally enjoy most offerings from ST (I loved both Oat and Choklat), but this was not one of their finer moments.

Decided to have some fun and do a side by side tasting with Lagunitas Cappucino stout. Why not. Abysmal black with a brown head that reminds me slightly of O.B’s Ten-Fidy. The aroma is hard for me to peg. There is something synthetic about it. That’s not good. There’s just a hint of alcohol in the aroma. Flavor is absolutely loaded with coffee. Rich, creamy and dense with a nice bitter and slightly astringent finish that literaly makes my mouth water. Slight burn but not bad at all. I suspect this is a very well made coffee Impy but it’s just not my thing. I can not wait to get my hands on some Stone RIS!

Pours dark brown with small tan head. Aroma of roasted barley, dark chocolate, coffee, and a bit of alcohol. A fairly simplistic Imperial Stout with heavy emphasis on coffee and chocolate notes with nice hop bitterness at the end. Some vanilla and toffee notes are also present. I prefer the Choklat and Oat Imperials from Southern Tier to this one, but that is not to say that this isn’t a well done I.S. Nice full body to this one but slightly sticky.

On tap at Map Room, Chicago. I’m so far off of the standard deviation on this beer, I’m now wondering if I got a dirty glass or if my palate was already fried. Anyway-- I just thought it had a very rough, almost oxidized flavor. The coffee was a little bitter in flavor. But the aftertaste just turned me off-- almost skunky or soapy-- not sure. I just can’t believe all the other great reviews-- I might need to try this one again. All I kept thinking while drinking-- boy this is not even close to Founders Breakfast Stout.