Krampus
Southern Tier Brewing Company

3.93/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
by mothmanscott from Georgia

From notes 2/18/14: Pours a clear deep amber (strange for a pilsner, at least in my experience) producing 2+ fingers of off-white, frothy, somewhat lasting head that leaves thick, heavy webs of chunky lace behind. Aroma is sweet bready lager malt, thin grain, fruity with grassy hops and some honey. Taste is sweet, toasty lager malt forward, fruity raisin, dried apple and spice notes with a big hop (Noble?) lemony, grass bitterness kicking in at the finish. Bittersweet aftertaste. Alcohol presence while low in the nose is moderately prominent in the mouth. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with low-moderate carbonation, oddly prickly with pepper spice, somewhat sticky and lightly drawing on the middle and back of the tongue.

Oct 23, 2019

2.3/5  rDev -40.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2
by q33jeff from New Jersey

**
01/08/15

Bottle to glass. Pale yellow orange, medium head. Pine aroma, some barley and hops. A bit . Taste is not great. Just a raw strong, in your face beer.

Nothing special. Certainly not a holiday beer.

**

Aug 05, 2017

3.59/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
by Lone_Freighter from Vermont

This was poured into a pilsener glass. The appearance was a soft burnt caramel to amber color with a one finger white foamy head that dissipated at a nice pace. Clingy white foamy lacing sticks around the glass. The smell started off with sweet bready to biscuity notes sliding over some grassy hops. Light lemon and a little bit of pine rounds out the aroma. The taste was moderately sweet with the bready to biscuity notes gracing all around the flavor. A sweet bready aftertaste runs into the finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a sweet smooth rolling texture over my tongue. Overall, as a Munich Helles Lager, it fits, not sure why it's an Imperial Pilsner on here.

Jun 27, 2017

3.63/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
by Raime from Korea (North)

Another from the neighbors mixed box. A craft beer? Holy shit. Figured they would all be generic and randomized lager brews from here there and everywhere.

Pours an amber to my surprise for being a pilsner. Head is a decently frothy two fingers of off white that linger around for awhile and eventually die down to nothingness. Carbonation appears rather low.

Smell is pretty booze forward which I did not expect. I've never actually had an imperial pilsner so I don't quite know what to compare it to. Not getting the grapefruit rinds mentioned by the previous reviewer. Malty, some pine, but mostly alcohol.

Taste becomes more pine forward and melds pretty nicely with the alcohol giving it that illusion of spiciness.

Feel is thick like a syrup, swallows with moderate alcohol and a lingering finish.

Overall this wasn't too shabby. I definitely don't think it's as bad as the ultra awesome manly man a few reviews below with one review to his handle describing it as a beer for us apparent hipster whom feel vastly superior for drinking ultra hipster beer which is by no means manly man considering it isn't a generic yellow 'Merican swill. Maybe some rocky mountain water as a mass brewing complex will do it some good, right guy?. Haha. Anyway, it's good but I'm not sure id specifically go out and buy it.

Feb 24, 2017

4.09/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by arizcards from North Carolina

Picked up a single from TW Arrowhead yesterday for $5.49. Bottled on 10/11/16.

Beer poured orange with a smaller white head that is leaving some lacing.

Nose is floral and citrus hops, very nice.

Taste is light grapefruit over a huge malt base finishing with a touch of pine.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied but has some definite light and refreshing aspect like a lager would.

Overall this is one fine IPL albeit a bit pricey. Definitely seek it out if you enjoy hoppy lagers!

Jan 29, 2017

1.73/5  rDev -55.5%
look: 5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.25
by Honest_Beer_Drinker from New York

I was really excited to try this. The label says Imperial Helles lager. Which made me interested since it is supposedly lager.
It's not. It's an extra bitter IPA. The label says Pine notes. That's understatement. It smells like pine cleaner and taste like terpentine with bittering agent added to it. the 22oz. bottle was a chore to drink down and was like a visit from Krampus himself in his full anger and wrath.

This is one of those "cool guy" hipster bitter as hell beers that people drink because it's so awful they feel "cultured and defined" drinking it while pretending it taste good. In reality it taste like piss. Kinda smells like piss but if you bottled it with pine cones. It literally had me reaching for my sisters Keystone Ice ( blech) to wash the awful taste of Pine-sol and aspirin out of my mouth. It also gave me and the other person drinking it an awful hops headache.

Have a British guy eat Christmas tree needles for a week and have him urinate in a bucket and you have Southern Tiers Krampus. Again, it literally taste like urine with a pine note and aftertaste.

This beer is a shame on the name Krampus. For starters it taste terrible. Second, it's a British style bitter beer, not a lager by any real definition. Three, Krampus being a Bavarian, Austrian, Alpine character you would think it would be some sort of German style, it's not at all. It's an overly hopped IPA. It's disgusting and I can't stress that enough.

The look, pour, and color are all fantastic. The smell and taste is a big FAIL.

Jan 05, 2017

3.75/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
by FBarber from Illinois

Pours a completely clear burnt golden color. Thick white head dissipates leaving sticky white lacing but no head. Smell is tons of hops - touch of citrus, pine, cracker malts. Taste follows the nose with those flavors - citrus, pine, cracker malts, finishing with some sweet grassy bitterness. Feel is crisp, heavy from the sweetness, yet drinkable. Overall an interesting beer - its well done - but skews very hoppy.

Dec 28, 2016

4.4/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by ordybill from Georgia

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass. The appearance is a clear bright golden orange with a small of- white head. the aroma is full of hops and malt. The taste is floral hops and a nice blend of malt.

Dec 18, 2016

3.93/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 3.75
by BethanyB from New York

Look: A soft, foamy head of light gold holds itself together on top of a clear-as-day body the color of warm honey. A slender tornado of bubbles swirls below the surface.

Smell: Lots of hops, for even an imperial lager. Apricot, tropical fruit, and a smudge of resin mix well with bready malt and sweet orchard fruit, namely golden apples and pears.

Taste: Surprising medium bitterness lasts from sip to swallow, accompanied by a slight overload of resinous and piney hop flavors. The malt makes a fine attempt to soothe and balance the brew, presenting as sweet, sticky, homemade biscuits. In the end, however, the hops win out. Something special waves from the bottom layers, a bit of cinnamon perhaps, as a secret ingredient.

Mouthfeel: Moderate carbonation and a smooth finish counter the bitterness. Alcohol warming is comforting rather than prickly, actually helping to emphasize the beer's gentler, sweeter side. The texture is luxurious, and cozy in its soft creaminess, a satin/cashmere mix.

Overall: Both creative and balanced, this is a pleasing imperial lager which gives a nod to tradition while also presenting some festive surprises. But the bitterness brings it out of balance, making it more difficult to appreciate the melanoidins and malt complexity.

Dec 17, 2016