Southern Tier Krampus

Brewed by Southern Tier Brewing Company
Style: European Strong Lager
Lakewood, New York USA

22 oz bomber from the Four Firkins. Dark golden color, hoppy fruity aroma. Flavor is also hoppy & pretty bitter & a bit fruity. Sharp bitter finish.

Pours from the bottle a very clean, copper-red color with a very big, fluffy off-white head. Carbonation is a modest rate and really helps to retain the head through the tasting as well as provide a great deal of lacing rings on the glass. Aroma has a very strong Chinook presence - slightly piney with a nice rounded grapefruit citrus note, a very mild black malt note, some sweet caramel tones under the hops. Flavor starts off very sweet of caramel and Munich malt toastedness, the Chinook hops piny and citrus notes come out in the middle of the tasting with a very crisp but sugary ending. Alcohol is only slightly present at the very end. A moderate to heavy body with a very crisp creamy feeling. Overall the combination strong hoppy presence within this lager really makes it a fantastic brew.

Bottle Pours a clear amber with a deminishing thin off white head. This one laces quite well. Has a nice hoppy aroma. Balanced though becuase some malts come through. I get nice muted pine, some spices, a touch of citrus, and some grasses. Has a good carbonation. The flavor is good. Good bitterness. A real hop presence with out being to harsh. Blended well. Has a good balance. Has a syrupy texture. Has a good hearty medium body. This one has a great finish with a wonderful aftertaste. It lingers quite well. I really like this one.

22oz bottle. Pours a crystal clear, copper-orange colored body with a finger-width, creamy, off-white head that dissipates slowly and leaves a good amount of lacing. Aroma is quite flowery and piney with a good amount of citrus hops. A light spice accompanies a light malty sweetness along with some mint leaves and resin. Zesty and perfumey. Flavor is a bit sugary and somewhat syrupy citrus up front. Lots of pines and florals come in along with a touch of spice, sweeter caramel, brown sugar, and some berries. Finishes with a moderate floral, piney bitterness with some sugary resins that dry and linger for a long duration. Light bodied, somewhat syrupy, and a soft carbonation. Overall, lots of floral and piney hops all-around. The flavor was a little too sweet and sugary with a bit of a syrupy taste/feel, but it was still fairly tasty. Definitely an imperial beer with almost no recognizable lager characteristics.

Poured from the bottle into a tulip glass to sample. The beer had a clear, light ruby-redy color with a tinge of orange and a very small, foamy white head that had little cling and even less retention. Its aroma had some features of sugar, yeast, and malt and candy. The beer tasted sweet and full with a good bit of bitterness and some sour effects too. It was a thinner, low carbonation beer, that had a lighter mouthfeel, but a good bit of liveliness on the palate. Overall it was a solid beer, but seemed to be lacking a discerning feature.

Amber lager, darker than other lagers of its kind, kind of surprised me at first. Head dissipated quickly but stuck to the edges with each sip. Alcohol is present in aroma and taste, I also taste a hint of caramel and yeast. It’s a kitschy beer, purchased solely because my lady is hosting a Krampus themed party, at $7 a bottle I wouldn’t mind drinking again but won’t go out of my way to pick it up.

Sampled on draft at Fat Head’s in Pittsburgh PA this beer poured a dark caramel-amber color with a medium sized cream colored head. The aroma was alcohol, sugar and ripe fruits. The flavor was tangy, bitter and tart with notes of candied pears, apples and light floral hops. The alcohol shows through again. The finish was long, sugary and fruity. Full boded. Too boozy for my taste. Decent.

Amber colored pour with a dense, foamy, white head. The aroma is loads of piny, floral hops with sweet cereal like grain background. The flavor is dry, sweet and grainy with a blast of bitter floral hops on the finish. This almost doesn’t come off as a lager. There is sort of a crisp finish, but the abundant hops impart a bit of fruitiness and mouth coating that seems more like an IPA. The mouthful is nice and full and creamy with gentle carbonation. Overall it’s a really nice drinking beer. It’s just not anything that really stands out.