Expressive dry-bodied dark brown porter stays chewy, if not particularly rich. Charred hop roast affects oily burnt coffee dryness countering caramelized black chocolate-y cocoa malting. Sour espresso bean finish overrides earthen minerality and wood-charred tobacco chew tarring. Black cherry and cola nut illusions waver. Sticky lace coats glass and smoky ash aroma persists.
SOUTHERN TIER PILSNER
Tantalizing grapefruit whiff hits nose before sharp fruited hops and grassy wheat merge for grain-deepened midst. Sunny grapefruit-lemon rind tartness and toasted almond respite loom at busy finish, helping fabulous straw-hued medium body compete favorably with bitterer New York competitor Brooklyn Pilsner.
SOUTHERN TIER PHIN & MATT’S EXTRAORDINARY ALE
Noble tropical fruited coppery pale ale tickles tongue as prickly carbonation awakens candi-sugared peach-banana-mango tropicalia and secondary bittersweet orange-grapefruit tang dotting piney hop resin. Wildflower honeyed cracked wheat base fortifies bottom.
SOUTHERN TIER OLD MAN WINTER ALE
Non-traditional penny-coppered seasonal deepens persuasive dry-spiced Scotch malt richness, dewy tea-like resonance and resinous spruce-maple sappiness with mildly embittered hop char. Aromatic wheat wafer surge increases caramel sweetness, putting this closer to toasted lager than winter-spiced ale. Tapped version, 2011, confirmed toasted malting, but drier fig-date spicing and sweeter marzipan reminder felt.
SOUTHERN TIER OAT IMPERIAL OATMEAL STOUT
Intriguing black velvety oatmeal stout with 11% alcohol perk juxtaposes hop-charred oat-toasted graining against milky chocolate-cocoa malting up-front. Brown sugared Baker’s chocolate illusions rise above tertiary vanilla bean, anise, molasses, tobacco, and tar notes as well as black cherry puree tartness. Dry espresso coffee informs oncoming fudge cookie finish ’til warm bourbon aftertaste beckons.
SOUTHERN TIER MILD ALE
Toasted barleymalt sweetness counters grassy nose, earthen grain compliance, and gentle herbal spicing. Sour fruitiness beckons cinnamon-spiced caress to red ale-like finish.
SOUTHERN TIER JAH-VA IMPERIAL COFFEE STOUT
Fulsome ink black bitter with sierra head and nicely disguised 12% alcohol range provides bountiful dry-roasted coffee theme. Burnt caramel, black chocolate, vanilla, and bourbon sweeten rich espresso sequel. Charred hop spicing bolsters ashy charcoal and soil-y peat corners as well as latent dusted floral illusions. Sticky anise, maple sap, and molasses viscosity thickens sludgy viscous nature. A perfect nightcap.
SOUTHERN TIER INDIA PALE ALE
Bold fleshy-headed tawny amber from Adirondack Mountains. Grassy-hopped wheat chaff receives lemony grapefruit-mango tang over sweet yeast affluence. Herbal peppercorn, floral rosebud, and tinny copper ale illusions arrive midway. Sour-fruited respite deepens backend piney bitterness.
SOUTHERN TIER IMPERIAL PUMKING ALE
Wondrous autumnal ale soaks brown-sugared gingerbread cookie entry with penetrative pumpkin pie spicing. Floral white-peppered cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg seasoning speckles cornbread-buttered pumpkin muffin midst. Vanilla-glazed sweetness endures above cotton candy, rum raisin, banana bread and apple butter illusions. At busy pie-crusted pumpkin-pureed pastry finish, alcohol-burnt Amaretto, almondine and hazelnut coffee adjuncts rise to creamy top. On tap at Blue Ribbon Tavern (2014), heady cinnamon-toasted pumpkin pie theme picked up refreshing fern-like minting.
SOUTHERN TIER KRAMPUS IMPERIAL HELLES LAGER
Unconventional rocky tan-headed amber-hazed medium-bodied Munich-styled helles lager (nicknamed after Krampus, a fanged Christmas devil) reveals ambitious moderate-bodied India Pale Ale character hop-heads will find unexpectedly profound. Brashly inventive, its woody Chinook hop bittering, usually reserved for dryer pale ales, adds wintry evergreen pining to floral fruited frequency of inventive hybrid. Sugared malts sweeten apple-candied peach-pineapple-melon tang and juicy grapefruit sourness girding boozy 9% alcohol whir. Herbaceous white-peppered ginger-spearmint reminder adds further depth. ‘Diabolical,’ indeed.
SOUTHERN TIER IMPERIAL CREME BRULEE STOUT
Unrivalled lactose stout (brewed with vanilla beans) retains intimate creme brulee warmth, replicating a Sugar Daddy candy bar at its opulent butterscotch finish. Syrupy dark caramel malting bulks up liqueur-like Sambuca, Kahlua, bourbon and Bailey’s Irish Cream sweetness as well as tertiary cappuccino, rum raisin, Black Forest cake, bananas foster, and French vanilla ice cream illusions. Maple-sapped chocolate pecan, white chocolate, and cocoa creaminess reinforces cumulative mocha theme. A relaxing nightcap with mind-bending 10% alcohol amplification. On tap at Andy’s Corner Bar, luscious creme brulee creaming thickened while caramel-burnt toffee follow-up and bourbon whiskey spell get heightened.
SOUTHERN TIER IMPERIAL CHERRY SAISON
Complacent golden-bronzed candi-sugared Belgian-styled saison (aged with French oak staves) retains abstract spicy fruiting, dismal acidic souring, and cork-y residue. Submerged oak-aged cherry tartness puckers tenuous dry hop bittering to unstable cereal-grained base. Indirect lemony orange-peeled grapefruit modesty lacks aggression. Distant cranberry, banana, and clove illusions fall away as cotton-candied cherry jubilee illusion beckons.