Southern Tier Oak Aged Un*Earthly

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

Yeah, I’m going to be in the minority on this one... Pours a crystal clear burnished copper color with a small, quick head that clears to leave some wispy lacing. Aroma pushed the oak agin right in one’s face, with woody, boozy vanilla oak aromas dominating the nose. Flavor has the dominant Oak flavors crashing right into an aggressive hop character that winds up making a confusing mess. Each one perfectly balances the other- meaning, not enough woodsy flavor to be very interesting and a hop profile that gets buried under the boozy oak flavors. Finish is decently crisp and balanced. Oak Aging a DIPA seems to not work well in this case.

Bottle. Pours a pale orange color, very minimal head that dies down to nothing as it warms. Flavor is earthy malts, a bit of caramel, followed by the smack upside the head of Northwestern hops. Prominent notes of oak barrels throughout the palate, manifesting in massive oak dryness towards the finish. Medium bodied, a bit syrupy, the oak dries it out nicely. Overall a pretty damn nicely done beer, who doesn’t love an oak aged IPA?

On tap at Allen St Hardware, Buffalo NY. Phenominal. Pours a orangish typical IPA color; nothing real special here. Aroma is full of sticky hops & oak. Taste is maybe my favorite IPA. The oak just cuts the bitterness enough to make this insanely drinakable. Sticky hops abundance but the oak mellows out a 11%er to easy drinking trouble. Awesome.

20090331 Bomber from Spirits in Red Bank. Usual DIPA appearance--lightly hazed dark golden with medium, lasting off white head. Maybe a bit more hazed than you’d expect from a ST brew. Aroma is overall pretty mild with floral notes, some vanilla, apricot, tropical, and light white pepper notes. Medium to full bodied, a bit sweet, never really drying or astringent. Flavor is sweet like a young barley wine, some sweet tart or lemon PEZ, mildly herbal, a good bit of vanilla oakiness, light bubblegum, lingering citrus manifests as tangerine and pink grapefruit juice. Surprisingly nice, interesting, and balanced for a ST big beer; I wish this was a regular release and less than nine bucks because at that price I doubt I will try it again.

Thin head form a vigorous pour. Nice hoppy and sweet aroma. Some strong pine and candy sugar with only a hint of woodyness. Little cherry cordial in there also. Color is a crystal clear bright orange. Soft and smooth in the mouth. But WOW, the alcohol slams you hard. Not quite as bitter. The oak aging has mellowed the hops and makes the malts more pronounced up front. Some vanilla late swallow and some lingering pine again. Damn, I am really digging this brew.Well balanced and super smooth and velvety in the mouth. A world class brew that is fantastic withthe subtly oak aging.

Pours a mostly clear orange, with a minimal head - the vanilla and coconut imparted by the oak hit the nose first, followed by fairly strong sweetness, potent hops, and some mango and apricot - alcohol on the tail end of the aroma - my major criticism on the regular unearthly was its strong sweetness - this one is fairly sweet, too, but the added qualities somehow make it less of a hindrance - starts with pineapple and other tropical fruits, as well as coconut and toasted oak - kind of reminds me of a tropical cocktail, actually - the hops come on strong to help balance out the sweetness, and the beer remains nice and bitter - the bitterness doesn’t work as well with the oak as I had hoped, but it’s still pretty tasty - the alcohol is kind of strong in the finish, especially as it warms - better than regular unearthly

Orangey gold, white head w. nice lacing. Nose is piney hops, vanilla, wood. Flavor is minty hops, a bit of vanilla, very bitter. Honey & some caramel too. Long finish with more caramel, vanilla & minty/piney hops. Way better than expected!

Pours a reddish amber with a two finger, frothy, choppy head that leaves chunks on the side of the glass. Nose is floral and pine along with some woodsy aroma. The flavor is bigger and smoother with caramel and vanilla with wood in addition to the influences in the nose. Creamy mouthfeel.