Southern Tier Oak Aged Un*Earthly

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

Very aromatic citrus aroma. Transparent orange color with a slight brown hue. Looks good with a thin head sitting on top that eventually fades away into a thin head. Looks damn good. Very aromatic citrus aroma that is unmatched by any imperial/double that I have ever tried. Awesome syrup/creamy palate. Simply an amazing palate. Huge blast of citrus hops in the flavor. Slight sweet almost vanilla type flavor coming from the oak aging (if you’re English ageing). A very nuanced flavor. A very delicious beer. Overall, think floral citrus with some amazing hop flavors. Cheers!

I sampled this with 22oz bottle, and I wish I had more. I’ve sampled some really exellent California-style IPA’s in the past few weeks, and this offering is defintely comparable. The nose features that sweet and floral tone, and the beer pours that signature copper color. The head on this double IPA, though, is pretty minimal, with only a sliver of an off-white head. The head didn’t last long, though, and didn’t leave much lacing around the glass. The aroma featured that aforementioned sweet and earthy tone with hints of spicy hops, grass, pine and a hint of almonds. The flavors were very well-rounded, with notes of bready and caramel malts, along with the dry and spicy tones of grassy and fruity hops. The finish was a little bready, with more notes of spicy hoppiness, grapefruit, pine and bread. This double IPA is very enjoyable and drinkable.

Talk about one hell of a beer. Pour is a beauty...deep clear gold with a thick, creamy, foamy white head that has a tint of gold with a nice lacing. Aroma is lovely hops of pine, earth, floral and a little lemon zest. Malts of caramel and roasted notes also noticeable. Flavor is bitter with a sweet balance that just marries. Palate is almost perfect but on the thin side but still a very nice mouthfeel...great carbonation, clean and has a nice bite of spiciness from hops. This is fantastic stuff.

Bottle. Golden orange colour with an off-white head. Aroma: Sweet, malty, spicy, oaky, notes of perfume, vanilla, thai food spices, fruit, cocos. Taste: Sweet, spicy (thai food), lemon grass, toasted oak, perfume, vanilla, alcohol, hops in background. Not very drinkable at all.

Bottle (22oz). Shared with blankboy, garthicus and tupalev. Clear amber with an average diminishing off-white head. Sweet, boozy and floral aroma - some pine but more sweet green oak resin. The taste follows, same element, but what was mildly enjoyable on the nose is just a mish-mash of conflicting strong element on the tonge - boozy, sweet, oaky, green - neh. Slick, boozy astringency is the impression this one pushes, and it stays a long, long time. I really want to like this, but I just can’t. Oak-aging IPAs just doesn’t seem worth the time; I give this "marriage" six months, tops.

Bomber thanks to Mrchopin. Pours clear orange with off-white head. Aroma is pine, grapefruit, hops and oak. Flavor is heavy of hops and oak with citrus, pine, vanilla and caramel. Oak adds nice complexity to a real good DIPA. Makes me want to go out and buy regular Un*Earthly again. Though this was pretty well balanced for the high ABV. Good stuff.

Bottle. Pours clear orange with a small off-white head. Huge nose of boozy oak, pine, grapefruit, pineapple, and lemon. Caramel and vanilla smooth out the taste, especially after it warms up. Nice mouthfeel, pleasant warmth from the alcohol, pine/grapefruit hop finish.

Many thanks to HogTownHarry for sharing. I’ve been looking forward to this version for quite a while. Appearance: Cherry/orange with a small white head. Aroma: Sweet pineapple, mango, citrus and lemon, no wood detected. Flavour: Sticky sweet hops, pineapple, a HINT of wood, pine, apples. Nice but I can’t help but prefer the regular Un*Earthly. Thanks for sharing Harry :-)