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Phin & Matt's Extraordinary Ale
Southern Tier Brewing Company


Beer Geek Stats
| Print Shelf Talker
- From:
- Southern Tier Brewing Company
- New York, United States
- Style:
- American Pale Ale
Ranked #1,153 - ABV:
- 5.2%
- Score:
- 80
Ranked #27,655 - Avg:
- 3.53 | pDev: 13.88%
- Reviews:
- 627
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jan 04, 2023
- Added:
- Oct 29, 2004
- Wants:
- 22
- Gots:
- 147
SCORE
80
Good
80
Good


Notes:
None
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by CBlack85 from South Carolina
3.71/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.71/5 rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
on tap at 4001 Yancey an imperial pint glass
the beer pours a crystal clear golden orange color with about two fingers worth of foamy white head that slowly recedes leaving behind a fair amount of lacing.
The aroma is fairly light and consists mainly of lemony citrus hops and bready, biscuity malts. Pleasant and inviting but fairly muted.
Similar to the aroma, the taste is well balanced between the bready/grainy malt and citrusy hops, but fairly mild and understated. Medium/light bodied and very drinkable
Overall I still think this is a good beer, a little light but good none the less. I also think it suffers from being a recipe from another era, with modern examples of the style trending more and more into IPA territory.
Jan 04, 2023the beer pours a crystal clear golden orange color with about two fingers worth of foamy white head that slowly recedes leaving behind a fair amount of lacing.
The aroma is fairly light and consists mainly of lemony citrus hops and bready, biscuity malts. Pleasant and inviting but fairly muted.
Similar to the aroma, the taste is well balanced between the bready/grainy malt and citrusy hops, but fairly mild and understated. Medium/light bodied and very drinkable
Overall I still think this is a good beer, a little light but good none the less. I also think it suffers from being a recipe from another era, with modern examples of the style trending more and more into IPA territory.
Reviewed by EMV from Pennsylvania
3.69/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.69/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a Dogfish Head tulip. Probably past its 'best by'.
L: Nearly clear golden pour. 2 fingers of foamy white head... nice rim of lacing.
S: Lemony citrus and light grains. Nose somewhat muted.
T/F: Crackery grains... light bodied with zesty carbonation. The hop profile tends towards the citrus. Lemon and orange peel. Mild pine. Smooth and clean. Modest bitterness.
O: A solid pale ale. Nothing earth-shattering but a well made beer. A good 'intro' pale ale for someone new to the style/craft beer.
Mar 03, 2018L: Nearly clear golden pour. 2 fingers of foamy white head... nice rim of lacing.
S: Lemony citrus and light grains. Nose somewhat muted.
T/F: Crackery grains... light bodied with zesty carbonation. The hop profile tends towards the citrus. Lemon and orange peel. Mild pine. Smooth and clean. Modest bitterness.
O: A solid pale ale. Nothing earth-shattering but a well made beer. A good 'intro' pale ale for someone new to the style/craft beer.
Reviewed by Handsome_Steve from North Carolina
4.07/5 rDev +15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
4.07/5 rDev +15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
One of my personal favorites. Very smooth and tasty with coppery color. Needs to be poured into a chilled mug.
Doesn't have that much of a sharp bite like some IPAs.
Oct 11, 2017Doesn't have that much of a sharp bite like some IPAs.
Reviewed by Ob512316 from Pennsylvania
3.74/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.74/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
12oz bottle poured into glass.
Look: Copper with thick head that dissipates into thin white head.
Smell: buisciits, toffee, caramel, hint of floral notes.
Taste: floral notes and citrus at first, then caramel, toffee.
Feel: easy to drink, for an IPA drinker. Might be challenging for a non IPA drinker.
Overall: good not great. I would buy again.
Oct 06, 2017Look: Copper with thick head that dissipates into thin white head.
Smell: buisciits, toffee, caramel, hint of floral notes.
Taste: floral notes and citrus at first, then caramel, toffee.
Feel: easy to drink, for an IPA drinker. Might be challenging for a non IPA drinker.
Overall: good not great. I would buy again.
Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont
3.5/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.5/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured into a nonic pint glass, the appearance was a soft copper color with a slight transparency about it. Carbonation could be seen rising at a good pace. Just a cap of a little white foamy swiftly dies off. Stringy lace. The aroma had some soupy sweet fruity hops, slightly bitter, but having a balancing malt bill. The flavor was moderately sweet through the blend. Caramel malts sturdy themselves a bit further down the lane to follow through on the aftertaste and ride into the finish. The palate was about medium bodied with a fair sessionability about it. Carbonation felt fine. ABV felt fine. Overall, pretty good APA, a bit old school, but I’d have again.
Jun 27, 2017Rated by dfconnor from Pennsylvania
3/5 rDev -15%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
3/5 rDev -15%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Pleasant flavor, but it finished very flat and watery.
Mar 29, 2017Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado
2.89/5 rDev -18.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
2.89/5 rDev -18.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Brief initial impressions from a sixer purchased in Brooklyn:
Pours a clear gold of average vibrance with a fluffy-off-white cap.
Hop profile is floral, a bit bubblegummy, and slightly oily & resinous. Pale malts keep it balanced. No notes are particularly vivid or expressive. As a whole, it's balanced but the build is uninteresting. Hop selection isn't stellar, nor is hop pungency/depth of flavour.
Drinkable somewhat refreshing fare, but forgettable. There's nothing here that separates it from the pack, and that's a problem in a style as saturated in the U.S. market as the American pale ale. I'll enjoy polishing off the 6 pack I bought, but this is unimpressive work from Southern Tier.
C / AVERAGE
Nov 17, 2016Pours a clear gold of average vibrance with a fluffy-off-white cap.
Hop profile is floral, a bit bubblegummy, and slightly oily & resinous. Pale malts keep it balanced. No notes are particularly vivid or expressive. As a whole, it's balanced but the build is uninteresting. Hop selection isn't stellar, nor is hop pungency/depth of flavour.
Drinkable somewhat refreshing fare, but forgettable. There's nothing here that separates it from the pack, and that's a problem in a style as saturated in the U.S. market as the American pale ale. I'll enjoy polishing off the 6 pack I bought, but this is unimpressive work from Southern Tier.
C / AVERAGE
Reviewed by YoungMtn52 from New York
3.52/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.52/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Has a nice bold pour with a decent head...has a crisp piney taste that starts off like an IPA without the bite....nice flavor but not sure I would not call it 'Extraordinary'...however, I would buy this again...a good brew
Jun 12, 2016Reviewed by Rock_Glenn from New York
3.82/5 rDev +8.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.82/5 rDev +8.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
My goodness, whatever you do, decant into a glass per the label. Drinking this straight from the bottle it tastes like your favorite IPA mixed with Coors Light. Pour it into a frosted glass and it blooms into a very enjoyable light bodied Pale Ale. The term extraordinary might be a bit over the top, but the Jekyll and Hyde trick is pretty cool.
May 29, 2016Rated by Walsh62783 from Georgia
3.62/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
3.62/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Good beer for summer day drinking. Not a bad after taste and continues to go down with little effort.
May 15, 2016Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada
3.04/5 rDev -13.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
3.04/5 rDev -13.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
So I guess this is ST's attempt at making a BMC ale? Ok. Pours yellow, leans orange, lots of clarity like you would see from BMC. Aroma was mute.
Taste, wow, this is really plain, grain jane. This is like the opposite of extraordinary, its mundane. Almost a light beer. But with slightly more malt, alcohol etc. . . ale yeast. Would not bang again.
May 11, 2016Taste, wow, this is really plain, grain jane. This is like the opposite of extraordinary, its mundane. Almost a light beer. But with slightly more malt, alcohol etc. . . ale yeast. Would not bang again.
Reviewed by maddogruss from New Jersey
3.45/5 rDev -2.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
3.45/5 rDev -2.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
A: pours straw yellow body with small white head with some retention and lacing
S: earthy, citrusy smelling beer with some honey, malty notes
T: earthy, rindy taste with some earthy, slight toffee aftertaste
M: medium bodied and fairly smooth
D: nice mouthfeel and taste combo; decent overall
May 01, 2016S: earthy, citrusy smelling beer with some honey, malty notes
T: earthy, rindy taste with some earthy, slight toffee aftertaste
M: medium bodied and fairly smooth
D: nice mouthfeel and taste combo; decent overall
Reviewed by CHickman from New York
3.62/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.62/5 rDev +2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours very hazy gold color with a 2 finger white frothy head that was full of tiny bubbles and dissipated very slowly, leaving excellent spotty foamy lacing and rings as it went down.
Smells of wheat or dry malt, lemon zest, light grapefruit, yeast, bread crust, caramel, biscuit, faint pepper and citrus notes. Very basic with an even split of malts and hops in the nose.
Tastes similar to the nose in that it's pretty basic with an almost even split of malts and hops, in this case it seems like the hops eke out the malt with some orange peel and clementine sweetness from the 3 hops used. Flavor also includes graham cracker, hints of coriander and fresh cut grass to go along with the dry or toasted malts, lemon zest, grapefruit, yeast, bread crust, caramel, biscuit, peppery spices and citrus notes.
Balance is nice with a slight bitterness, a light and crisp body which slides down easy. A well balanced APA that is not the most dynamic or flavorful, but it is very well constructed and quite session-able.
Feb 27, 2016Smells of wheat or dry malt, lemon zest, light grapefruit, yeast, bread crust, caramel, biscuit, faint pepper and citrus notes. Very basic with an even split of malts and hops in the nose.
Tastes similar to the nose in that it's pretty basic with an almost even split of malts and hops, in this case it seems like the hops eke out the malt with some orange peel and clementine sweetness from the 3 hops used. Flavor also includes graham cracker, hints of coriander and fresh cut grass to go along with the dry or toasted malts, lemon zest, grapefruit, yeast, bread crust, caramel, biscuit, peppery spices and citrus notes.
Balance is nice with a slight bitterness, a light and crisp body which slides down easy. A well balanced APA that is not the most dynamic or flavorful, but it is very well constructed and quite session-able.
Phin & Matt's Extraordinary Ale from Southern Tier Brewing Company
Beer rating:
80 out of
100 with
1505 ratings
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