Lively lemon-limed grapefruit souring gets pleasing white-pepperd coriander-rosemary spicing and bitter piney hop linger before herbal white ale finish completes score.
SOUTHERN TIER HARVEST ALE
Brawny straw-hued brew lacks expectant gourd-spiced autumnal character. Soft lemony grapefruit fizz positioned atop herbaceous floral-hopped bed as red apple, pear, and melon illusions add IPA ambience. Fresh-cut grass and wet hay dry out grainy mineral resins.
SOUTHERN TIER GEMINI IMPERIAL ALE
Meritorious citric-soured nickel-hued alcohol-burned strong ale blends floral-dabbed hop tingle and juniper-bitten grapefruit-orange peel bittering into remedial sugar cookie sweetness. Grassy hay-horsehide-barnyard waft matches earthen wheat-straw/ wild oats backdrop aiding intricate concoction.
SOUTHERN TIER CHOKLAT STOUT
Astonishing creamy chocolate malted theme dominates fabulous Imperial stout. Super-sweet milk chocolate-y frontage benefits from residual vanilla, hazelnut, and cherry cordial illusions heightening thickened chocolate cake finish. Compares favorably to Young’s Double Chocolate and Rogue Chocolate Stout.
SOUTHERN TIER BIG RED ALE
Spicy floral hop tingle juxtaposes biscuit-y cereal-grained cornmeal sweetness. Ripe red grape-cherry-nectarine fruiting girded by grassy earthiness. Cracked wheat spine gets cardboard-y and reticent chocolate malting tails off, but pulpy center maintains.
SOUTHERN TIER BELGIAN STYLE TRIPEL ALE
Thin translucent gold flop buries candied Belgian sugar, mild orange-apricot-banana sop, and subdued cracked wheat spine beneath solvent diacetyl grimness. Even its silky hop bittering gets phenol.
SOUTHERN TIER BACK BURNER BARLEYWINE
Clear chestnut-amber hue too tepid for robust barleywine class. Neither chewy nor gooey enough to convince discriminating aficionados. Oaken Chinook hop dryness counters brown sugared molasses fade, reclining red cherry sway, tucked-in peach-pear dash, and finishing bruised orange upsurge. Wispy spiced rum-Courvoisier lilt fails to ignite.
SOUTHAMPTON WINTER WILLIE ALE
Dry fruited prune-fig souring and roasted chestnut dirge override tepid hop bittering. Astringent finish reminiscent of dimmer copper ales, lacking expected holiday seasoning.
SOUTHAMPTON TRIPLE ABBEY-STYLE ALE
Subtle Belgian-styled triple brings lemony orange blossom tang and vanilla-banana-bubblegum sweetness to candi-sugared yeast setting. Clove-coriander spicing and fennel-carrot adjunct sit below latent black-peppered menthol freshness subsuming broadened banana bread buttering. Just a tad unassuming.
SOUTHAMPTON 10TH ANNIVERSARY OLD ALE
Fitting coppery red ale celebrates ’96 commencement with expansive offering. Initial raisin-pecan-date affluence slips into mushy overripe peach, bruised orange, and strawberry-raspberry sanctuary underlined by casual roasted nuttiness. By brawny finish, sinewy molasses malting picks up cask-like rum, bourbon, and whiskey illusions.
SOUTHAMPTON STOUT
Brazenly charcoal-burnt dry stout overhauls black chocolate souring with charred hops, toasted oats, and smoked malts. Anise pleats coffee bean, espresso, and soy milk illusions to increasingly bitter powdered cocoa finish.
SOUTHAMPTON SECRET ALE
Despite deep copper penny hue and lingered honey-maple tease, this busy ‘Dusseldorf altbier’ lets tinny phenol nature override bitter hop dryness, doughy souring and slim rye influence, expelling meager cinnamon-nutmeg postscript.