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I'm genuinely stunned I've never had the IPA from Southern Tier. I searched. I searched more than once. I have had plenty of double IPAs and lots of other beers from Southern Tier, but this is the first time I will be trying their IPA. I'm really looking forward to it, as I think of them as a particularly adept brewer. I still don't really know why a company from New York is called Southern pretty much anything, but I'm not really invested enough to go find out. Also, don't tell me, as I really don't care.
The color is a brassy gold, and it is as clear as the driven snow. I don't actually think snow is clear, so let's just go with it's clear. The head is very nice and rocky-topped, and when it boils down, it still leaves a good quarter to a half inch of bubbles across the top of the beer with lots more coming up from underneath. It isn't leaving any lacing, but I'll be enjoying looking at the beer, either way. The aroma is pine over caramel and a little bit of toffee. I don't know why I expected this to have a more citrus or tropical flavor to it, but pine is what I smell, and pine is what I got.
First sip is clean and the malt is heavy. I know that this is relatively dominated by hops, and the pine and flowers are enjoying themselves, but the heaviness of the mouth is really the thing that is striking me. I would expect this kind of flip in a DIPA, but this is happening in a regular IPA, and that strikes me as odd. That said, the sip still tastes good, but it's a bit heavier than I would probably have liked this evening. I think this would be good on an evening where I was anticipating a double IPA, but I only wanted something at 7% ABV. I realized 7% seems high, but I don't know what to tell you.
Tip-in is a delightful balance of pine and flowers atop a sea of caramel and bread crumbs. The middle becomes caustic as the carbonation hits the roof of the mouth and the pine needles drag across the tongue. The finish is a hit of bitterness as the malt lets go and leaves pine and flowers alone for the trail off.
Bottom Line: It could be worse.
2.5/5
