Brewed By: Southern Tier Brewing Company in Lakewood, New York
Purchased: 6-pack bought at in Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2012
Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 8.2%
It's been a pretty suckass week or two in terms of my own person health. I've had a pretty nasty head cold that has inhibited any enjoyment of beer. On the plus side, we have been seeing record breaking warm temps in Chicago. I think we hit 86 degrees one day this week. The best part is this warm weather is during spring break, so all those suckers that paid for their expensive vacations to go experience warm weather could be experiencing warm weather here, for free. Obviously you can't blame them though...typically it's like 10 degrees outside with 5 inches of snow on the ground this time of year. I guess what I'm saying is bring on the global warming.
Being that I'm feeling a bit better, I figured I'd think out loud over Southern Tier's 2XIPA. Southern Tier Brewing Company is based out of Lakewood, New York. The brewery was founded in 2002 by Phineas DeMink and Allen "Skip" Yahn. Using equipment purchased from the old Saddleback Brewing Co., the company began production with the vision of reviving traditional small batch brewing to the region. By 2003, the brewery was distributing their small batch ales, and by 2005 their sales covered New York and Pennsylvania. Before the brewery had any seasonal beers, it produced a Pilsner, Mild Ale, and IPA. Due to popularity, in 2009 a 20,000 square foot facility was built to allow for the brewing of large-scale beers. Since then, Southern Tier has continued to expand, and continued to invest in better equipment to keep up with the increasing demand for their beer. You can read more about Southern Tier's history on their history page.
Today's beer is an Imperial IPA. According to Southern Tier's beer page, the 2XIPA is not quite an Imperial, but not a standard IPA. The beer is brewed with 4 types of hops, and 3 types of malts. According to the BJCP, an Imperial IPA clocks at 7.5-10% ABV. At 8.2% ABV, the 2XIPA certainly has the alcohol to contend. The question is how do the hops, fruity bitterness, and IBUs hold up. Let's pop 'er open and find out.
The beer pours with 2-fingers of foamy, slightly off-white head. The head is very fine, and made up of tiny bubbles packed closely together. The body of this beer is a golden-amber color in low light, and a golden-yellow color in bright light; it almost looks Lager-like. There is definitely a bit of carbonation, as evident by small bubbles rising upwards. There is a nice centimeter of head hanging around, and there is lacing being left on the glass from where the head was. This beer is totally transparent.
The aroma on the 2XIPA is sweet, sticky, bright, and slightly fruity. I'm picking up some sweet notes, and some hop notes: sweet tangerine, sweet orange, sweet hops, sugars, orange candies, and honestly even some bready malts. Maybe a touch of caramel? This is bright and light, and reminds me of Spring.
The taste is a nice follow-through of the nose, with lots of sweet fruit notes. Right up front I get sweet grass, lawnmower, sweet tangerine, some booze, and a layer of malts that are sugary/caramel/and hinting towards bread. I'm picking up tangerine, orange, some orange rind, sweet/sticky/sugary bitterness, and a hint of some nice bitterness towards the back.
This definitely isn't an Imperial IPA relative to many of the frequently cited Imperial IPAs. This beer has a large malt presence. This is perfectly carbonated, with medium carbonation. It drinks very smooth for a 8.2% ABV beer, and has a medium-light mouthfeel. Palate depth is great, and complexity is moderate. Up front you get carbonation, sugary malts, sweet hops, and some hints of bitter; this rolls into citrus hops, some grass, more bitterness; the finish is sweet and bitter with some hints of bread; the finish is sugary, pungent and dry.
This is not a bad beer at all. But is this an Imperial IPA? I dunno. The folks at Southern Tier call specific attention to the fact that this beer is not quite an Imperial IPA, but more than an IPA. I almost feel like this beer is an Imperial Pale Ale, or a Double Pale Ale. This beer reminds me of an amped up Pale Ale, with those grassy hops and those sweet/bready malts. I would totally unwind with one of these beers after mowing my lawn on a summer day, for example.
So what we have here is a beer with an unfortunate identity crisis. The good news is that even with the identity crisis, I feel like my rating stands. This is an Above-Average beer. Especially when you consider that you can pick up a 6-pack of this stuff for 8 or 9 bucks, and it clocks in at 8.2% ABV! That's a killer dollar vs. ABV ratio. I'm really digging the warm, bright, and sweet notes you get in this beer. The finish trails off with some cloying bitterness and sweetness, but otherwise there isn't much to criticize. And the carbonation is literally perfect. I would definitely recommend trying this beer, and this beer is a steal when you consider the price that it is sold at. Recommended, at least once.
It's been a pretty suckass week or two in terms of my own person health. I've had a pretty nasty head cold that has inhibited any enjoyment of beer. On the plus side, we have been seeing record breaking warm temps in Chicago. I think we hit 86 degrees one day this week. The best part is this warm weather is during spring break, so all those suckers that paid for their expensive vacations to go experience warm weather could be experiencing warm weather here, for free. Obviously you can't blame them though...typically it's like 10 degrees outside with 5 inches of snow on the ground this time of year. I guess what I'm saying is bring on the global warming.
Being that I'm feeling a bit better, I figured I'd think out loud over Southern Tier's 2XIPA. Southern Tier Brewing Company is based out of Lakewood, New York. The brewery was founded in 2002 by Phineas DeMink and Allen "Skip" Yahn. Using equipment purchased from the old Saddleback Brewing Co., the company began production with the vision of reviving traditional small batch brewing to the region. By 2003, the brewery was distributing their small batch ales, and by 2005 their sales covered New York and Pennsylvania. Before the brewery had any seasonal beers, it produced a Pilsner, Mild Ale, and IPA. Due to popularity, in 2009 a 20,000 square foot facility was built to allow for the brewing of large-scale beers. Since then, Southern Tier has continued to expand, and continued to invest in better equipment to keep up with the increasing demand for their beer. You can read more about Southern Tier's history on their history page.
Today's beer is an Imperial IPA. According to Southern Tier's beer page, the 2XIPA is not quite an Imperial, but not a standard IPA. The beer is brewed with 4 types of hops, and 3 types of malts. According to the BJCP, an Imperial IPA clocks at 7.5-10% ABV. At 8.2% ABV, the 2XIPA certainly has the alcohol to contend. The question is how do the hops, fruity bitterness, and IBUs hold up. Let's pop 'er open and find out.
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| Southern Tier 2XIPA |
The aroma on the 2XIPA is sweet, sticky, bright, and slightly fruity. I'm picking up some sweet notes, and some hop notes: sweet tangerine, sweet orange, sweet hops, sugars, orange candies, and honestly even some bready malts. Maybe a touch of caramel? This is bright and light, and reminds me of Spring.
The taste is a nice follow-through of the nose, with lots of sweet fruit notes. Right up front I get sweet grass, lawnmower, sweet tangerine, some booze, and a layer of malts that are sugary/caramel/and hinting towards bread. I'm picking up tangerine, orange, some orange rind, sweet/sticky/sugary bitterness, and a hint of some nice bitterness towards the back.
This definitely isn't an Imperial IPA relative to many of the frequently cited Imperial IPAs. This beer has a large malt presence. This is perfectly carbonated, with medium carbonation. It drinks very smooth for a 8.2% ABV beer, and has a medium-light mouthfeel. Palate depth is great, and complexity is moderate. Up front you get carbonation, sugary malts, sweet hops, and some hints of bitter; this rolls into citrus hops, some grass, more bitterness; the finish is sweet and bitter with some hints of bread; the finish is sugary, pungent and dry.
Rating: Above-Average
Score: 78%
This is not a bad beer at all. But is this an Imperial IPA? I dunno. The folks at Southern Tier call specific attention to the fact that this beer is not quite an Imperial IPA, but more than an IPA. I almost feel like this beer is an Imperial Pale Ale, or a Double Pale Ale. This beer reminds me of an amped up Pale Ale, with those grassy hops and those sweet/bready malts. I would totally unwind with one of these beers after mowing my lawn on a summer day, for example.
So what we have here is a beer with an unfortunate identity crisis. The good news is that even with the identity crisis, I feel like my rating stands. This is an Above-Average beer. Especially when you consider that you can pick up a 6-pack of this stuff for 8 or 9 bucks, and it clocks in at 8.2% ABV! That's a killer dollar vs. ABV ratio. I'm really digging the warm, bright, and sweet notes you get in this beer. The finish trails off with some cloying bitterness and sweetness, but otherwise there isn't much to criticize. And the carbonation is literally perfect. I would definitely recommend trying this beer, and this beer is a steal when you consider the price that it is sold at. Recommended, at least once.
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