Southern Tier Brewing Company Big Red

Big Red

 

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

  Amber / Red Ale - Imperial Special Out of Production
Score
7.12
ABV: 8.4% IBU: - Ticks: 58
Inspiration can sometimes be found in the strangest of places. This eccentric brew started with a single flower from a hop named Hallertau. The delicate and spicy aroma present in the flower has been responsible for generations of great beers. Hallertau hops are to a brewer what an old tractor is to a farmer: reliable. Big Red expresses the nobility of Hallertau by placing it at the forefront of this Imperial Ale. Pour it into a snifter. A swirl allows the spicy aromas to come forward as a taste to the lips reveals the complex balance between sweet malts and the bitterness of hops. Big Red’s ability to please is as dependable as your grandpa’s old tractor. Please consume wisely.
 

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7.2
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Back from retirement in time for me to get a bomber from Liz. Pours hazy dark amber with a slight creamy beige head. Aroma is herbal with sweet malt. Spicy - but not in the Belgian yeast sense. Full bodied. Foamy carb. Flavor is sweet malt with a lot of herbal hop. Not grassy. Or maybe it’s earthy. Definitely not grassy. Makes me think of a heavily hopped pilsner where the malt ran amuck. Finishes on the non-dry side, but the flavor combination is so tasty that I don’t mind. Great beer.

Tried on 11 Jul 2012 at 17:04


5.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 4

Bottle @ home, courtesy of jcnielsen. Thanks Jetson! Hazy dark orange appearance with a fairly small, cream colored head. Rich caramel malty, somewhat boozy, toffee, very rich, spicy, herbal, a bit hoppy aroma. Rich, boozy, toffee flavor with a lot of spicy hops and some notes of flowers and soap. Probably a bit old but this is too strong. Like some other Southern Tier brews, this has not held up at all.

Tried from Bottle on 20 May 2012 at 00:00


7.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating(but this is definitely fairly aged, it is in a twist off bottle). Pours hazy reddish orange color, with a small 1 finger off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Some decent spotty lacing on the glass. Aromas of big caramel, biscuit, floral, toffee, pine, light chocolate, toast, and herbal spiciness. Some pretty good aromas here, with big caramel sweetness noticed. Taste of big caramel, chocolate, toffee, biscuit, grapefruit, toast, herbal, floral, and light pine. At 93 IBU, there is a surprisingly tame amount of herbal bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, toffee, chocolate, citrus, biscuit, floral, herbal, and light pine on the finish for a bit. Big sweetness over the hoppiness, but it is not cloying at all. Nicely balanced and smooth flavors. Medium carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a nice creamy, slick, and slightly sticky mouthfeel. Alcohol is extremely well hidden at 9.5%, with only a small warming after the finish. Very smooth to sip on as well. Overall this was a damn nice imperial red, despite being pretty old. Great flavor balance, and very smooth for such a big beer.

Tried from Bottle on 28 Apr 2012 at 19:26


7.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5

After my victory over the hurricane it ws time for Sunday afternoon brew. This pours a bright amber with nice head. Nose is floral and hoppy. Taste is crisp, caramel, hops, orange peel, some spices. Finish is dry and this quite enjoyable drinking although not all that red.

Tried from Can on 28 Aug 2011 at 15:19


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

Pours a deep orange/red with a thinnish white head that dissipates to only wisps clinging to the surface. Smells of pine and resin, certainly hoppier than I expected. Caramel brown sugar malt sweetness round out the nose. Reminds me of a barleywine in the nose. Taste is caramel sweetness with a touch of alcohol, an earthy spiciness, and almost enough hops to cut through the brown sugar. Medium body, thick almost syrupy mouthfeel, light carbonation. This one was good, I think it is a little sweet. I could see this one getting cloying with some age as the malt is pretty thick in there with barely enough hops to keep the sweetness in check.

Tried on 27 May 2011 at 18:41


4.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4

Awesome label, led me to buy the bottle. The taste will keep me from a second one. Much more of a big, fat Irish Red than a hoppy American Red, this beer features a thick, funky malt center that is only accentuated by a warm liquor finish. You’ll feel every bit of the 9.5% ABV, and the Hallertau hops provide a cloy bitterness that makes the fade annoying. (2/22/09)

Tried from Bottle on 17 May 2011 at 14:23


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

0.65l bottle. Pours a semi clear copper body with a thin sidesticking off-white head. Aroma is burned caramel, fruity, citrus, hops and a thin hint of chocolate. Body is full-bodied and the carbonation is medium. Good caramel sweetness from the malts, fruity hops with notes of raspberries and grapefruit, a slight peppery spiciness and some booze in the end. The whole thing is rounded off with a nice and really longlasting bitter flavor. All in all this is a really nice sipper and another one of those dangerous beers.

Tried from Bottle on 12 Apr 2011 at 23:18


8
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

650ml bottle, alc. 9% by vol., from Vika-polet in Oslo. Pours a golden-brown body with a very slight haze. Topped by a solid, off-white head that stays well and leaves a fine lace trail at the glassware. Spiced, mid-dried fruits to the nose. Orange shells and caramel malts in flavour along with figs and apricot accomplished by a long, rounded bitter tail. Well bodied and quite easy to drink. A consistently made brew, perfectly balanced and a pleasure to drink (Tromsø, 23.02.2011).

Tried from Bottle on 28 Feb 2011 at 11:36


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

Bottle. Hazy amber, creamy golden head. Nice aromatic Hallertau notes, very good hop profile well integrated onto cracker malt, dry chewy, spicy finish. Dangerously drinkable. Grassy aftertaste. For someone used to the conservative use of Hallertauer hops in Bavarian beers this is quite impressive - flavorful but neither cloying nor one-dimensional. Bravo!

Tried from Bottle on 08 Sep 2010 at 19:19