Oak Aged Unearthly (Imperial India Pale Ale)
Southern Tier Brewing Company

Oak Aged Unearthly (Imperial India Pale Ale)Oak Aged Unearthly (Imperial India Pale Ale)
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From:
Southern Tier Brewing Company
 
New York, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
ABV:
9.9%
Score:
91
Avg:
4.07 | pDev: 12.53%
Reviews:
569
Ratings:
1,124
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 01, 2021
Added:
Jan 09, 2009
Wants:
  64
Gots:
  75
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Gueuzedude:
Photo of Gueuzedude
Reviewed by Gueuzedude from Arizona

3.11/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
A solid pour into my New Belgium globe glass produces a fat-three-finger thick, nicely tan looking head. The beer is a concentrated amber color that shows a brilliantly clear, copper-amber color when held up to the light. Up front the beer smells of pungent hops with notes of pine, herbaceous hemp oil (with a certain dankness to it), candied citrus fruit (grapefruit, tangelo and bergamot) as well as some bright tropical fruit notes that remind me of lychee, kumquat and a sort of floral, super-peach note. The oak integrates very well with the hop character; it naturally accentuates the herbal notes with a spicy, buttery, woody oak aroma. As the beer warms the alcohol becomes a touch hot.

The beer feels a touch lighter than I was expecting from the viscous looking pour, but it is still fairly full bodied. The hop flavor is a bit reduced from what one would expect from the expressive aroma. The oak character might actually be a little more present, or at least more on par with the hop flavors. The oak and green hops combine to contribute a sort of raw, menthol-like, spicy, dank-buttery-almost-cheesy herbaceous quality that is the dominant note here. Supporting flavors of ruby-red-grapefruit, tangelo and lychee are noticeable in the middle, while the finish has a pronounced green, peppery note that lingers on the palate for quite some time. Speaking of the finish there is an oak derived astringency that couples with the hop-bitterness, as well as the previously mentioned peppery note, to produce an almost harsh finish to this beer. The malt character plays a definite supporting role, but is a bit too crystal malt focused with some intrusive hints of sweet-tea and caramelized, toasted grain that clashes with the hop / oak combination instead of smoothing them out. The sharp / harsh finish is exacerbated as it warms by a hot-alcohol presence.

An interesting beer, despite really being in the mood for something hoppy, this didn't really quite work for me. The oak provides a certain astringency, as well as accentuating a bit more of the herbaceous hop qualities that I would prefer. This is certainly not a bad beer though, and I can see some really enjoying it, but it really just isn't quite for me. My final assessment is that the oak and hops combine to create a flavor that reminds me of raw, herbaceous, citrus infused, dank, slightly ripe cheese and menthol, crystal malt laden tea.
Jun 28, 2010
More User Ratings:
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.25/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Bottle, 11% ABV, as Southern Tier Oak Aged Un*Earthly India Pale Ale, RBNAG 2009 in Vatlandsvåg. Deep golden colour. Intense aroma of alcohol, American hops, oak and malt sugar. The flavour is too sweet and alcoholic with loads of American hops, notes of oak too. Overkill.
May 01, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by brittanylicious from Indiana

Apr 20, 2019
 
Rated: 3.92 by SpaethJam from New York

Dec 03, 2016
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

4.12/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Those orange color liquids, they always clean up well in the appearance category, this one is no different. Aroma was very nice, a good mix of both oak and hops, this was the first beer I came across able to accomplish the feat.

Taste and aroma did well hiding the 11%abv. This has loads of hops in all different stages, many different varieties. You get almost all the hop flavors except for tropical. Pine, floral, green, bitter, citrus, fruity. I'm not a fan of the bomber format, but this was a decently priced option at an abv that made sense to have a share kind of format.

Probably my favorite hoppy ST offering. Where I'm gonna be, ST, where I wanna be, ST.
Sep 12, 2016
Photo of Thrifty101091
Rated by Thrifty101091 from Florida

4.75/5  rDev +16.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Served on cask at WoB
Mar 17, 2016
 
Rated: 4.04 by sposter4 from Pennsylvania

Jan 10, 2016
 
Rated: 4.11 by DASA10 from New Jersey

Dec 25, 2015
 
Rated: 3.79 by Kevin79 from Wisconsin

Dec 12, 2015
 
Rated: 4.25 by Futbolmanby from Michigan

Sep 14, 2015
 
Rated: 3.73 by mltobin from Connecticut

Aug 23, 2015
Photo of pat61
Reviewed by pat61 from Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
L: Brilliant amber pour crowned by a lacy white foam collar that recedes moderately fast. S: Alcohol and hop aromas backed by rich malt. T: Big malt and big alcohol meet big hops with fruit, melon, citrus balancing malty caramel. F: Creamy smooth, full bodied, soft palate. O: This is really an excellent Imperial IPA.
Aug 09, 2015
Photo of SPLITGRIN
Reviewed by SPLITGRIN from Kentucky

4.48/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours to a golden orange amber body that almost glows when held to light. It hosts a full two inches of off white head that has excellent retention and leaves pillars of lace as it slowly fades. Oak is soft and silky but very attractive on the nose. Resiny vanilla and back ground citrus based hops come through nicely. With first sip the hops have turned a bit caramelized by the oak, kind of what happens to an onion when cooked in a pan. The oak is rich and almost buttery. The citrus and oak work very well together with out either one being to dominate. 11% alcohol is very well hidden. Mouthfeel is full but not thick and cloying. Exceptional drinkability.
Jun 24, 2015
 
Rated: 4.5 by aussiebeer from Illinois

Jun 03, 2015
 
Rated: 3.62 by the_alec from Georgia

May 24, 2015
 
Rated: 4.75 by hophead123 from New York

May 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.84 by DeutschesBier from Maryland

Apr 29, 2015
 
Rated: 4.09 by BillCheck from Pennsylvania

Apr 04, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by jgunther71 from Illinois

Mar 28, 2015
 
Rated: 4.15 by enelson from Illinois

Feb 10, 2015
Oak Aged Unearthly (Imperial India Pale Ale) from Southern Tier Brewing Company
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 1124 ratings