Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Bottle Pours a clear redish brown witha modest sized but dense and cramy off white head. Malt aromas are woody and earthy. Roasted. Hops are there but only just. Flavors are stronger and more bitter than I expected. Like a dark IPA. Rather sharp bitter long lasting trailer. Thanks to Kramer1781 for this one
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle Pours a hazy orange, light amber. Nice fluffy off white head and blocky lacing. Aroma is very much citrusy, orange peels. Flavor is not so fruity, but mainstream moderatley hoppy. Nicely ballanced and tasty. Mild carbonation and a nice dry bitterness at the end, but not overpowering. Very tasty IPA. Thanks to Shady for this one
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5
2005 bottle, big thanks to Shadey for the bonus! Consumed on 12/27/2005. Pours a glassy amber-brass, clear and filtered with a fleeting white head that sits at a light cover and eventually recedes to ring. Signature Southern Tier hops blend in the aroma, cascades and centennials being quite distinct, giving it a grapefruity, and lightly floral element, while there is a touch of fruitiness and green leafy fuzziness. Light papery crystal malt hardness in the nose, with a touch of light biscuits. Flavor is quite hoppy, moderately acidic and drying, though lightly fruity as it warms, with an herbal note to it as well (dill and wintergreen mixed). Hard crystal malts, exacerbated by lots of filtration and artificial carbonation. Light toasted grains, more in texture than in real flavor. Very low malt sweetness, mostly attenuated and no alcohol apparency. Flawless and well-made, but I can’t get through the lack of comforting malts. Just too dry, papery and grainy.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5.5
2005 bottle hot off the shelves (Mass just got the IPA, Old Man and Phin and Matt’s). Drunk on 12/16/05.
Pours a clear mahogany-chestnut brown with copper tints. Beige head immediately recedes to a very thin cover and then ring. No lacing. Smells of really hard crystal malts, pungent alcohol interlaced with sharp and citric hops (resinous at times too). Very dry overall. Perfumey and lightly phenolic, with even some wintergreen esters as well as a dry, earthy sort of note. Flavor is a very drying mix of hard crystal malts and bitter pine and citrus hops. Eye-openingly bitter for what I was expecting to be a soothing, rich, malty winter ale. Hops flavor is grapefruit, oranges, and pine as well. Light hints of toasted grains and a very caramelly/crystally sort of malt that is quite dry overall. Light suggestions of coffee seem out of place with the citric/resinous hops. My second Southern tier bottle, and while the rather high level of filtration didnt seem to affect the Hop Sun, it really affects this one. The already medium to medium-light body and dry, hard crystal malts go nowhere in conjunction with this thin, at times papery texture. Moderate to high carbonation as well, but no sign of the alcohol. Hops linger on sharply, with a fair amount of acidity.
jhaase (14816) reviewed IPA from Southern Tier Brewing Company 20 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle - Thanks to Super Secret Santa Nat!
Orange amber, low creamy tanned head. A whif of resiny hops reach me even before I try to smell it - when I do I get a good puch of pine and aromatic peachy hop notes, wooden resin too. Fruity base (grapefruit, peach) flavor, flowery notes - exits on a light wooden note, but wellbalanced and by no means overhopped. Fairly lightbodied - lacks maltbody like so many IPAs out there, sparkly mouthfeel. Nice.
Appearance - 3 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 3 | Overall - 17
nteresting balance of malts and hops provide a unique taste. Strong aroma of hops — grapefruit, pine — supported by malts. The flavor opens with hops that carry through to the finish. At the same time, sweet and roasted malts are intertwined within the bittering hops. Full body with thick, syrupy mouthfeel. Alcohol presents itself in the finish.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Clear, dark reddish amber color with a medium foamy beige head and sticky lacing. Sweet aroma of brown sugar, caramel and malt. Medium-bodied and very representative of the season, with lots of malts and spices in the flavor. A very pleasing character all around. The finish is short but tasty with malt and dark fruits primarily. Not as bold as some of the better winter seasonals but enjoyable all the same.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
I had this one a few times on draft a couple of years ago and remember really being impressed with it - but that was before I was rating beers. Sampled now for the first time since then my opinion has diminished. Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer pours a chestnut color with a medium sized tan head that faded quickly. The aroma was strong with floral hops and a moderate sweet fruityness underlying. The flavor was entirely dominated by the hops. There was a strong and sharp floral/fruity hop presence with a malty base that was too subdued to really add much to the overall flavor. I will have to make a point of getting it on draft to see if that improves things. Interesting.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Clear amber color with a medium light beige head and thin patches of lacing. Aroma of malt, fruit and hops. Medium-bodied and nicely balanced but the flavor is a little weak. Mild hops, sweet malt and some tropical fruit flavors are there but are subdued. The finish is clean and sweet, making this beer really easy to drink from start to finish. Extraordinary? No. Above average? Yes.
Appearance - 3 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 3 | Overall - 14
Strong aroma of citrus, mainly orange indicating lots of hops, but there are also hints of sweet, bready malts. The taste seemed to lean more toward the malts than the hops. Perhaps this particular bottle had some age to it. Nonetheless, there was a slight bitter aftertaste. Medium to heavy body. Enjoyable enough, but not great by any means.