Southern Tier Brewing Co.
Lakewood, NY
Available: NY
The tap handle for this American-style India pale appeals to the already converted: “The iso-alpha acid experience,” referring to the bittering components in hops.
Alcohol (wt.): 5.2
Alcohol (vol.): 6.5
Color: n/a
Bitterness: 50
Gravity: 1064
Assertive, floral, slight musty nose, with hints of newly mown hay. Respectable creamy tan head dissipates a little too quickly leaving minimal lace. Mouth feel is round and full bodied. With emphasis on hops, it is beautifully balanced with bread-like malt. The palate is clean and satisfying with a delicious herbal lasting aftertaste. Delightful for lunch, with chilled heirloom tomato gazpacho, a smoked shrimp salad and fresh organic Rainier cherries.
Crystal clear, tawny and amber, it appeals and invites. Spectacular hop aroma continues with flavor and pleasantly titillating bitterness. A slight brewer’s-imperfect grassiness is actually quite welcome, adding to the complexity and conjuring up the passion of very small microbreweries. Then the second wave of hop experience rolls over the senses: floral, fruity, sweet, spicy, continually followed by a ballet of bitterness. An IPA that entrances me. I like it.
Big fluffy collar of foam sits atop a bronze beer with a hint of red in the color. Superb aroma of spicy, peppery hops and rich biscuity malt. There’s a brilliant balance of hop bitterness, tangy fruit and ripe, juicy malt in the mouth. The finish is long and lingering, with a late hint of toffee from the malt and finally an overwhelming dry and bitter hoppiness with a tart iron-like note. Think IPA and spicy sausage with English mustard.
Founder of Merchant du Vin and the Pike Brewing Co., Charles Finkel is a pioneer in the marketing of craft beers in America.
Author of the New Complete Joy of Homebrewing, founder of the Great American Beer Festival and a Beer Examiner at www.examiner.com, Papazian is a leading voice in beer and brewing.
Roger Protz is the author of Complete Guide to World Beer and 300 Beers to Try Before You Die. He is a respected beer authority and editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
