Southern Tier Back Burner

Brewed By: Southern Tier Brewing Company in Lakewood, New York
Purchased: Big ol' 22oz (650ml) bottle bought at World Market in Illinois; 2012 (this has to be a 2011 bottle)

Style/ABV: Barleywine, 9.6%

Reported IBUs: ?

Fuck me, it's been a long week. Tonight is one of those nights where you need a bottle of wine, or a bottle of Jack, or two 40s. I guess it depends on how long your beard is, and when the last time you took a shower was. Dear alcoholism, you win. Seriously though, if anyone wants to donate part of their liver, hit me up. About Southern Tier:

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.

Tonight's beer is a big Barleywine, brewed in the spirit of the original British farmhouse ales/brewers that pioneered the style. This is a winter seasonal, and has been brewed since 2007. Clocking in at 9.6%, this beer is brewed with pale and caramel malts; and Chinook and Willamette hops. This is also dry hopped with Amarillo and Centennial hops. This beer is supposed to feature big brown sugar, raisins, caramel malts, molasses, and hops; and should have big malt sweetness and big hop goodness. Let's glass this up.

On a totally random note...I bought this beer in August of 2012. So given that this is a winter seasonal, I'm assuming this is a 2011 bottle. So at this point in time, this beer has almost a year on it. 

Southern Tier Back Burner

This pours a lovely caramel/brown/amber color, with a finger's worth of caramel-tinted head. There's plenty of visible carbonation in this, but the body is murky as hell. When held to a bright light, the beer takes on a murky orange color, the head remains orange/amber-tinted, and lots of tiny carbonation bubbles can be seen streaming upwards. There are big alcohol legs on this, and solid head retention, with nice pull on the glass.

The aroma on this is really nice...you can smell sticky caramel and malt sweetness, which is manifesting as raisins and molasses. There's also a lot of sticky dry hop aromas in here, although they have started to fade into the malts a bit. I'm getting a minty/lemon/cough drop aroma, herbal hops, grass, lawnmower, and orange/resin-sweetness. The malt backbone is big. There's just a touch of maple and smoke.

I'm fairly confident this has mellowed out...this is really smooth and nicely carbonated, and features a fat malt body with mellow hops woven throughout. At least, that's how this beer tastes right now, at this point in time. Big maple syrup, raisins, molasses, and hints of brown sugar are present in this. There's nice grassy and bright hops in here; I'm getting grass, lawnmower, light hop bitterness, and some resiny citrus on the back end. I don't know how bitter this is, but it's not drinking very bitter. 

'Dis is good. This is very mellow and balanced, with alcohol that is largely undetectable minus some slight alcohol complexity in the aroma and finish, and a warming feeling in my tummy. That's the best, right? This is smooth as hell, and features moderate and supportive carbonation. This is very drinkable for 9.6%. Mouthfeel is medium-full, complexity is low to moderate for the style, and palate depth is outstanding for the style. Up front is smooth carbonation, big malt sweetness, raisins, maple syrup; this rolls into malts and pleasant grassy hops; the back end is lingering molasses, elusive dark fruits, and a mini blast of resiny hop stickiness. It finishes sticky and dry (that's what she said). 

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this, with the small disclaimer that I'm reviewing a beer that has mellowed out for a year. I'm guessing the dry hopping really amps up the aroma on this when fresh, and there's probably a lot more noticeable hop kick. Right now, the hops and malts are jamming in harmony...and yeah. This is nice. At least check this out, and try to grab two bottles so you can age one. Food pairings? I'm about to go eat some chili with this...you could pair this with pecan pie, sweet desserts, a cigar, a really fatty meal (like meat with lots of cheese or supporting fat). This would go well with strong cheeses. This is actually a really solid beer, especially since it only costs 8-10 bucks a bomber. 

Random Thought: This summer really shook my foundation with regards to comic book movies. I mean...everyone needs to have a top 5, and my top 5 hasn't really changed all that much. I have Sin City, Hellboy, and The Dark Knight. But man, the considerations for those other two spots....you have Iron Man, The Avengers, X-Men 2, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight Rises...and I'm sure I'm forgetting a few right now. Having said that, go see Hellboy if you haven't seen it before. Thank me later.