Southern Tier Oak Aged Un*Earthly

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

Spicy resiny hop aroma with some wood coming through. Clear golden with frothy white head. Caramel and oak with some nice warming. Creamy full mouth feel. Finish is sweet warm and spicy resiny. Almost has a bit of whiskey in the finish. Very nice.

Bomber shared with my girlfriend - she is starting to "like" IIPA’s. I think she just likes the fact that she can drink a pint and be drunk. Wish the same could be said here. Really interesting aroma. Lots of fresh oaky notes, almost like furniture or something combined with a great hop nose of citrus fruits, oranges, and floral/piney notes. Pours a hazy orange color with a wonderful head and sticky lacing. Initial hoppy burst in the flavor some citrus and floral bitterness followed by long sticky sweetness which turned me off a bit. All the while oak is making its presence felt with a lingering woody flavor. The finish is somewhat dry but somewhat sticky sweet. Creamy smooth body with almost no detectable heat. More hop bitterness would have probably made me enjoy this one a bit more.

I wasn’t entirely sure what to think about the idea of an oak-aged DIPA, but was certainly intrigued enough to grab this bottle. Pours a hazy orange, with a smallish white head. Really nice aroma. A blast of citrus hops, mellowed by a rich, earthy, oaky malt. Like a good standard DIPA in the aroma, but the oak really shines in the flavor. The hops and the oak are really a great combo, and the aftertaste here is just delicious - reminiscent of the aftertaste from an oaked stout, even. It’s almost a bit too sticky sweet, though - I wish it were a bit drier. Big, thick mouthfeel and a really rich flavor hides the 11% very well. Still odd to find oak in an IPA, but I’m a fan - this is really good stuff!

220z bottle from Bottleworks. Pours a clear deep golden with some orange tint to it. Good size off white head that settles down to a thin layer on top that leaves some lacing as it goes down. Nose is peachy sweet with hints of malt and hop resin. I do pick up some faint wood deep down, but by in large a balanced nose. Not picking up the big ABV that is often present in the ST beers. Taste is a bit bitter up front, then into a combo of malty/fruity/slightly floral and then some oak on the end. I pick up some peach and orange hints, but this is really a balanced tasting oaked DIPA. Decent stuff.

bomber from grape & gourmet. pours a clean, ligter side of amber with a thin, eggshell head and wonderful lacing. aroma is amazing and unique with a big oak and vanilla presence adding a sweet background to the fresh, citrus and tropical fruit hop scents with just a touch of pine. flavor is delicious as well. citrus hop notes of orange zest and lemon initially with sweeter, candied fruit notes of pineapple and peach coming through. the oak and vanilla notes are subtle but add a perfect mellow balance to the big hops. finish is mildly bitter with a slight, dry oak sweetness. palate is slightly sticky/sweet with good carbonation and no hint of the 11%. overall, a brew that showcases how oak aging can take a good beer and make it a great one.

Orange-brown with a thin white head. Aroma of oak, vanilla, and grapefruit zest. More oak-vanilla flavor is accompanied by caramel malts, light citrus notes and a moderate pine like bitterness. Finishes on the dry side. I was impressed that the oak worked so, well with this style of beer.

Definately one of the more interesting IPA’s I have had. Unfortunately when I tried it, it made my stomach a little uneasy. But I could stomach a second. Very oaked out. Balanced, nothing takes over except the oak flavor which seems out of place but also very nice.

22 oz. bomber from Grape & Gourmet. Reddish-orange pour with a white head. Aroma of pineapple and tangerine. Definitely smell the oak as well. The taste is of pineapple and citrus but the oak aging gives the beer an almost whiskey-like character. Not sure that I really enjoy that. A good beer but no where near as good as Unearthly in my opinion...Since, in general, the reviews for this beer were far better than my review (and because I had an extra bottle) I have decided to give this beer another try. The bottle I am reviewing was purchased 7 months ago. The aroma is spectacular this go round; wonderful mango, peach, pineapple, and tangerine hops. I would say closer to an 8 or 9 on the rating scale. Unfortunately the wood is a still a bit too pronounced on the palate. While I am not getting the whiskey flavor I got from my initial rating I am still getting a flavor that does not enhance the original Unearthly. After tasting Great Divide’s 15th Anniversary beer (which is just spectacular) and Cigar City’s Jai Alai Cedar Aged IPA I am a bit spoiled as to what wood aging can do to an IPA. While I do think that aging this bottle has helped it still falls short of what I had hoped for and my rating would still be far below the general average.