Southern Tier Brewing Company Compass (Imperial Compass)

Compass (Imperial Compass)

 

Southern Tier Brewing Company in Lakewood, New York, United States 🇺🇸

  Belgian Style - Strong Ale Regular
Score
7.03
ABV: 9.0% IBU: - Ticks: 47
We rely on age-old tools in the brewery despite being surrounded by high technology. As a sort of compass, we use the six pointed brewer’s star to help navigate uncharted brews. The cardinal points of water, malt, grain, yeast, hops and a brewer make the baseline. From there anything goes. Sometimes the journey is as important as the destination.
You’ll notice a slight bitterness in Compass derived from our use of rose hips accentuated by high effervescence. Drink it cold from a fluted or tulip glass. And by all means, avoid sea serpents.
 

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7.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Bottled. I didn’t really get the rose hips thing. Whatever. Golden pour, big head. Hops grapefruit etc. On the less harsh side of the spectrum for iipa

Tried from Bottle on 20 May 2025 at 01:26


6.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Wow, this is an out of left field belgian ale. Clear copper pour, with a medium white head. Sweey malty aromas, lots of bready sweet malts, with some distinct tropical fruit aromas, with some piney, citrus zesty hops. Very lively carb, and viscous mouth feel. Finish is quite sweet, notes of candi sugar, and yeast, bready malts. The rose hips are kinda there in the finish, but other than that, i cant find them. Medium bitterness, with a solid hoppy, pine resin after taste. A cross between a belgian ale and a double ipa.

Tried from Can on 28 Feb 2025 at 06:02


7
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

A hazed amber ale with a thin white head. In aroma, nice musky fruity malt with light resinous floral hops, light citrus pulp, light caramel, nice and herbaceous. In mouth, a nice sweet fruity caramel malt with loads of citrusy pulp, light tropical fruits, resinous floral hops, oily mouth feel, nice and pleasant. Bottle from LCBO, bottled 04/23/14.

Tried from Bottle on 25 Sep 2016 at 14:10


7.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

This was poured into a tulip.
The appearance was a glossy pale/burnt orange color with a thin white foamy head that quickly dissipated. A one ring lacing clings nicely around the glass.
The smell takes the rose hips, mostly dry and quite floral with some slight earthy, grassy and piney hops. Some sweet Belgian malt, bready yeast and subtle Belgian spice slide in underneath. Light banana.
The taste favors the previously mentioned flavors and definitely has the dry floral to banana aftertaste. Quick dry floral to piney finish.
On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a good sipping quality to it due to the dryness. Since I’m thinking because I’m having this a bit aged, ABV most likely has dropped so I’m not feeling the effects.
Overall, as a Belgian Strong ale, it definitely works. I’d have this again, nice one.

Tried on 06 Apr 2016 at 15:51


6.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6.5

Pencil shaving, lemon zest, grass aroma. Hazy amber, medium head. Malt and lemongrass, lightly sweet, lagery. Medium body, warm, spritzy. Drinks like a moderately hoppy bock, not a lot of Belgian character.

Tried on 05 Oct 2015 at 20:23



5.5
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

On tap at Hopjacks. Pours a cloudy orange with medium frothy off white head that lasts. The aroma is belgian yeast and grain. Medium mouth, fruity malt, strong yeast, light booze, decent.

Tried from Draft on 17 Jun 2015 at 11:54


7.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

22 Oz bottle pour shared. Pours a cloudy yellowish color with a floral hop aroma. Flavor is lemon, floral hops and some grassy hints. Pretty good beer here. Interesting. Tasty.

Tried from Bottle on 31 May 2015 at 23:46


7.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Crisp, very hazy golden and light copper coloured body with a very thin, single centimetre tall pure white head. Aroma of alcohol, belgian yeast, light spices, some grass and hay and a touch of curacao and fruit sweetness. Full-bodied; Dense yeastie flavour with hints of biscuits and bread, some subtle grass and floral notes, a little sugars from apricots and curacao and a nice rich malt note on the end with a complex flavour. Aftertaste is relatively complex with most of the changes coming during the yeast portion and only a touch of sugars making it through the end, with the large alcohol presence. Overall, a nice and robust beer with a complex flavour profile and some nice tastes along the way, but not amazing and not worth doing stupid things for. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased from Total Wine in Chantilly, Virginia on 31-January-2015 for US$7,49 sampled at home in Washington on 12-April-2015.

Tried from Bottle on 13 Apr 2015 at 01:11


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

bottle - Pours hazy gold with a big, billowy, off-white head. It has a citrusy, floral aroma. It’s well balanced with very tasty citrus accented hops bitterness coupled with smooth, sweet malt. Easy to drink and so good.

Tried from Bottle on 18 Jan 2015 at 22:35