Back Burner (-2015)
Southern Tier Brewing Company

Back Burner (-2015)Back Burner (-2015)
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From:
Southern Tier Brewing Company
 
New York, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
ABV:
10.5%
Score:
90
Avg:
4.02 | pDev: 10.2%
Reviews:
514
Ratings:
944
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 01, 2021
Added:
Apr 02, 2007
Wants:
  76
Gots:
  129
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by ghonickel:
Photo of ghonickel
Rated by ghonickel from Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +11.9%

Feb 21, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

4/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
650 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 10.0%. Copper coloured beer, big to moderate off-white head. Lovely aroma of fruity and piney American hops, some sweetish malty notes too, but not too much. Rich flavour of copious amounts of American hops and sweet malts, nicely balanced. Some vinous notes, also resin, caramel, oak and dark dried fruits. Definitely one of the better barleywines I’ve had.
May 01, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by brittanylicious from Indiana

Aug 06, 2019
 
Rated: 4.5 by Reggie_Dunlop from Pennsylvania

Dec 15, 2018
 
Rated: 4.24 by MutuelsMark from Kentucky

Jan 28, 2018
 
Rated: 3.96 by Jonathan-Morgan from Florida

Aug 21, 2017
 
Rated: 3.93 by Taphouse_Traveler from Florida

Aug 21, 2017
 
Rated: 4.74 by golf4collet from West Virginia

Feb 20, 2017
 
Rated: 4.25 by nitter from Ohio

Feb 05, 2017
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3.44/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Man I scored one of these for the first time way back in the day when I was in Yakima, WA for the fresh hop festival.

Its mostly a mixture of the colors brown, dark red and some black. Thin head, beige in color, 1/5". Aroma was roast and booze. Seems almost like a black barleywine, like a mix of a stout and barleywine. The best black and tan there is.

Dark fruit, roast, toffee, caramel, booziness, mild citrus hop quality to it. Actually a lot more dark fruit than I would expect in the mouth feel.
Feb 03, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by VaporDome from New York

Dec 31, 2016
 
Rated: 4.13 by fx20736 from New York

Dec 16, 2016
Photo of StoutHunter
Reviewed by StoutHunter from Michigan

3.51/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
I picked up a bottle of Southern Tier's Backburner at Boyne Country Provisions. It's a little cold tonight and I'm in the mood for a Barleywine, so lets see how it goes. 2016 Vintage. Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a snifter.

A- The label looks nice, it goes well with the name and it's a little eye catching. It poured a brown and red color that takes on more of a ruby and crimson color when held to the light with a little over a fingers worth of creamy tan head that died down to a thin ring that stayed till the end and it left a little bit of patchy lacing behind. This is a good looking beer, I have no complaints.

S- The aroma starts off with a lower amount of high sweetness with a candied sugar aroma being the first to show up and it goes right into some fruity aromas which impart some nice dark fruit aromas that when mixed with the candied sugar it becomes a nice candied fruit like aroma. Up next comes a slight alcohol aroma that goes into the malts which impart some caramel, toasted, brown bread and lots of sweet malt aromas. This beer has a nice aroma, but I wish it was a little more complex.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma and it starts off with a higher amount of medium sweetness with the dark fruits still being the first to show up this time it has a nice juicy aspect to it and the sweetness makes it a little bit like candied fruit. Up next comes a little bit of alcohol that goes into the malts which impart all the aspects that they did in the aroma, but this time more caramel aspects come through with a little bit of toffee. On the finish there's hardly any bitterness with some sweetness taking it's place and it has a nice dark fruit and malty aftertaste. This is a nice tasting beer, but for a barley wine I wish it was bolder and more complex.

M- Smooth, pretty crisp, not too boozy, on the thicker side of being medium bodied with a higher amount of medium carbonation. The mouthfeel is decent, but I wish it was thicker with less carbonation.

Overall I thought this was a nice beer and decent example of the style, to me it was more like a lighter version of a barleywine and I was kind of missing some of that complexity and intensity, but the flavors and aromas seemed to be pretty inline with the style. This beer had ok drinkability, I think one is enough for me, it might start to wear on me after that. What I like the most about this beer is the appearance and that the alcohol was well hidden, those are the highlights to me. What I like the leas about this beer is the mouthfeel, I wish it was thicker with less carbonation. I don't think I would buy this beer again, but I wouldn't turn one down. I would only recommend it if your looking for something on the lighter side of the style. All in all I liked this beer, but I didn't love it and in some aspects it was a little rough around the edges, but it's not a bad beer. It's not a favorite Southern Tier beer and it's just a little above average for the style. Solid job guys, but with a little more work this could be a pretty good beer.
Nov 09, 2016
Photo of fscottkey
Reviewed by fscottkey from New York

4.03/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: [3.75] The bottle lists the ABV (10.5%) and there is a bottled date (01/05/2016). The beer is a coffee colored brown. It has 1 finger of khaki head with medium bubbles to large chunky bubbles.

S: [3.75] Black strap molasses, worn leather, plums, figs.

T: [4.25] Highlights from the nose figs, plums, currants, molasses hints of cocoa. The flavor is really good.

M: [4.00] Its got some boldness to it. You feel it in the back of the throat. It is lower in carbonation and the only real lingering flavor is some sticky sweetness of molasses.

O: [4.00] This is really nice. At 10.5% I expected some heat from the alcohol but there is none. The beer has a unique flavor profile like a dark fruit dessert. The striking thing is the "bite" in the back of the throat. I am not sure what causes it but it is not unpleasant. I am not always a Barley Wine fan but this is a winner.
Oct 05, 2016
 
Rated: 3.92 by Dmecca from New Jersey

Sep 15, 2016
 
Rated: 4.71 by CDBeerDisappear from Ohio

Sep 08, 2016
 
Rated: 3.71 by lochef81 from Michigan

Aug 23, 2016
Photo of LiquidAmber
Reviewed by LiquidAmber from Washington

4.18/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured into a Reuben's Brew small snifter. Properly cellared 2009 bottle. Pours a medium to dark, clear reddish orange with a fine half finger light khaki head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, dark and light dried fruit, a hint of orange, slight oxidation. Flavor is caramel malt, dates, figs, a hint of plum and peach, brown bread and a hint of rye (without any rye tartness). Finishes very smooth with dry caramel malt, figs and dates. Nice medium creamy body. I was not sure what to expect from this, especially after such a long aging. I had put this down to try after a few years with a fresh bottle, but this was discontinued until a new version came out in 2016. Although I expected an odd comparison since they adjusted the recipe for the new version, I'm pleasantly surprised to find I like both of these very well. This aged one is very mellow, very well integrated with no hops noticeable. It's a little muted, but like the fresh version, the strong presence of date and fig over lighter stone fruits is different, well done and appreciated for a change. I thought the fresh one was date/fig forward, but this aged one is like the essence of those fruit extracted and melded, mellow and pleasant. Although there was a light oxidation in the aroma, it is absent in the flavor. This has aged like a champ. Very good.
Jul 21, 2016
Photo of schoolboy
Reviewed by schoolboy from Ohio

4/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I set one of these up for a couple years in my aging bin. It came out smooth and mellow, as one might expect. I see they are making a new batch. I will grab one of those for consumption much later.

Recommended.
Jul 05, 2016
 
Rated: 4.13 by PackenGreen from Michigan

Jun 06, 2016
Back Burner (-2015) from Southern Tier Brewing Company
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 944 ratings