Crème Brûlée
Southern Tier Brewing Company

Undated bomber at 45 degrees into shaker
Aroma of burnt sugar and vanilla
Head small (1.5 cm, aggressive pour), light brown, creamy, slowly diminishing to 6 mm ring and 1 mm layer
Lacing excellent – complete rings of tiny bubbles
Body dark brown, opaque
Flavor begins very sweet with vanilla and cream, bitterness of burnt sugar rolls in for the finish. No hops, no alcohol, no diacetyl
Palate full, creamy, soft carbonation

Appearance 4.25, Aroma 4, Flavor 3.75, Palate 4, Overall 4

 

Dark brown color. Thin and weak head. Aroma of milk chocolate and creme brûlée. Very sweet, though not cloying, taste with roasted bitterness at the end. Good, dessert beer.

Very rich and sweet.
Not my favorite stout by a long shot.

Bottled in 2014 tasted in February, 2025.
Black as coal with a tan to darker brown head. Nose is super sweet and yes just like a Creme Brulee. Taste is also sweet, coffee like flavors with a latte aftertaste with a dark chocolate bitterness. Really fine beer even after

Note: I am in the process of moving all of my ratings from other beer sites to here, so that all of my ratings are consolidated in one place. The review below is an exact copy of my original RateBeer review from 12/03/2023.


12 oz. bottle, 10.0% ABV, Best by: 10/10/24

AROMA: I'm first hit with strong scents of vanilla, custard, toffee, and caramel. After that I get just a hint of booze. The aroma levels are strong and stay with the beer all the way to the end.

APPEARANCE: Pours an opaque black with a thin, dark-tan head that dissipates at a moderate pace. Surprisingly, for such a thin head, it has pretty darn good lacing.

TASTE: Sugary sweet with lots of vanilla and custard flavor. I don't really get any hint of booze until the finish. Which is a bit dangerous given its high 10% ABV level.

MOUTHFEEL: Full-bodied with a smooth texture and above-average carbonation. Overall, a really nice mouthfeel.

OVERALL: The high sweetness level drowns out almost all of the "beer" flavor of the base Stout. Which is a shame, because I think the flavor profile would greatly benefit from the diversity of the flavors from your typical Stout. While the flavors and aromas are quite delectable at first, I did find that after about 1/2 a beer my taste buds could no longer stand being hammered by the over-the-top sweetness. Which made the last 1/2 of the beer a bit of a "chore" to finish.

 

 

 

 

 

Very good, I miss this beer not being sold as not nitro. I'm sure that is still an option in Buffalo, but locally that is all I get. Texture, flavor, abv, head, all exceptional. Highly recommend.

That said, Southern Tier in my opinion is one of the few breweries in the US that I trust to pump out impeccable imperial / sweet stouts. Flavors are spot on and they don't push 15%ers that taste like whisky and chocolate syrup.

 

Slight tan head that's gone quick. Strong vanilla/caramel smell out the bottle, almost coconut-ty. Not quite as thick a feel as I like, but close, and not sticky for all the sweet. A bit boozy, but not badly. Pretty tasty. Custard and coffee and a shot of firewater in the cup, lol!

 

 

 

 

Bottle
L- dark, nearly black. Tan head is minimal
S-plenty of caramel but not much else
T-caramel, some nondescript sweetness that lacks any type of candi sugar
F-smooth and without any bite to suggest its 10abv
O-a bit one-note as it delivers on the caramel, but is a very drinkable, high abv specialty beer that matches the label.