Oak Aged Unearthly (Imperial India Pale Ale) | Southern Tier Brewing Company
Brewed by:
Southern Tier Brewing Company
New York, United States
stbcbeer.com
Style: American Double / Imperial IPA
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 9.90%
Availability: Rotating
Notes / Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.
Added by ClockworkOrange on 01-09-2009
This beer is retired; no longer brewed.
HISTOGRAM
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Ratings: 1,122 | Reviews: 568
Reviews by hophead247:
4.2/5 rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a bomber into a pint glass..Pours deep caramel with a minimal tan head that quickly dissapates into lacing. Looks delicious. Aroma has heavy oak, with additional notes of caramel, pine and grapefruit. Oak is pretty dominant. It's pretty dominant in the taste too. Initial taste of oak is followeed by earthy hops and sweet malts. The finish is oak and bitter. Very thick mouthfeel and fairly decent carbonation. Very drinkable for 11%. After the first few sips, it tasted like Hopslam to me, but with oak flavor. Very nicely done IIPA
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a bomber into a pint glass..Pours deep caramel with a minimal tan head that quickly dissapates into lacing. Looks delicious. Aroma has heavy oak, with additional notes of caramel, pine and grapefruit. Oak is pretty dominant. It's pretty dominant in the taste too. Initial taste of oak is followeed by earthy hops and sweet malts. The finish is oak and bitter. Very thick mouthfeel and fairly decent carbonation. Very drinkable for 11%. After the first few sips, it tasted like Hopslam to me, but with oak flavor. Very nicely done IIPA
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More User Reviews:
4.03/5 rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured with great clarity into a imperial nonic a deep burnt orange color with a frothy two finger slight off white head atop,a mix of vanilla/oak and big citric hop with the hops given the slight edge,a tinge of alcohol comes thru as well.The oak isnt to big wich is a good thing for me leaving the great complex hop profile that I love about the standard version to be the main component of the beer.Big citric piney hop with some herbalness,the oak flavors come in the finish.Everything seems to be getting oaked these days not sure if a DIPA should be oaked,this was still pretty damn good.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured with great clarity into a imperial nonic a deep burnt orange color with a frothy two finger slight off white head atop,a mix of vanilla/oak and big citric hop with the hops given the slight edge,a tinge of alcohol comes thru as well.The oak isnt to big wich is a good thing for me leaving the great complex hop profile that I love about the standard version to be the main component of the beer.Big citric piney hop with some herbalness,the oak flavors come in the finish.Everything seems to be getting oaked these days not sure if a DIPA should be oaked,this was still pretty damn good.
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4.22/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Split a bomber with my dad after sealcoating the driveway. Pours a deep red/orange that's nice and bright with a quarter inch of foam on top. Aromas of juicy hops off the top with lots of citrus, grapefruit and resinous accents. Sweet malts along with some oak in there as well. Sweet hop candy.
First sip brings a melting pot of sweet malts, caramel and big hop flavors with lots of citrus and herbal resiny goodness. The woody oak tones work in and add a wonderful dimension to the brew. Flows down with a good bit of sweetness and lingering blasts of hop bitterness. Alcohol shows up on the tail end, this one will warm ya up!
Mouthfeel is medium bodied and a bit slick. The big combo of malt, alcohol and sweetness makes it a bit hard to drink too much of it, but overall it's damn good. The oak really works well and I enjoy the fact that it is just oak and not a used spirits barrel.
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look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Split a bomber with my dad after sealcoating the driveway. Pours a deep red/orange that's nice and bright with a quarter inch of foam on top. Aromas of juicy hops off the top with lots of citrus, grapefruit and resinous accents. Sweet malts along with some oak in there as well. Sweet hop candy.
First sip brings a melting pot of sweet malts, caramel and big hop flavors with lots of citrus and herbal resiny goodness. The woody oak tones work in and add a wonderful dimension to the brew. Flows down with a good bit of sweetness and lingering blasts of hop bitterness. Alcohol shows up on the tail end, this one will warm ya up!
Mouthfeel is medium bodied and a bit slick. The big combo of malt, alcohol and sweetness makes it a bit hard to drink too much of it, but overall it's damn good. The oak really works well and I enjoy the fact that it is just oak and not a used spirits barrel.
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1.99/5 rDev -51.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 4 | overall: 1
A_Pours hazy orange with a fluffy bone white head. Thick lacing.
S_Oak,vanilla,overbearing sweet malt.
T_Way too sweet.Extreme sweetness, oak, caramel, vanilla. This is a dumper for sure.
M_Thick and full bodied but flat. Very flat which is contradicting to the appearance.
D_If there was a lower score than one this would be a candidate.
Just a flat overly sweet mess.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 4 | overall: 1
A_Pours hazy orange with a fluffy bone white head. Thick lacing.
S_Oak,vanilla,overbearing sweet malt.
T_Way too sweet.Extreme sweetness, oak, caramel, vanilla. This is a dumper for sure.
M_Thick and full bodied but flat. Very flat which is contradicting to the appearance.
D_If there was a lower score than one this would be a candidate.
Just a flat overly sweet mess.
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4.47/5 rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
What a swell beer. I liked Unearthly, but this oak aged one was even better. In a tulip it was an amber color with a good-sized tan off-white head.
A mostly floral aroma, some citrus. The oak was noticeable, as compared to Unearthly, but subtle.
Pine taste, some lemon, fairly strong malt presence.
Really smooth. You would never guess that this was 11% ABV.
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look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
What a swell beer. I liked Unearthly, but this oak aged one was even better. In a tulip it was an amber color with a good-sized tan off-white head.
A mostly floral aroma, some citrus. The oak was noticeable, as compared to Unearthly, but subtle.
Pine taste, some lemon, fairly strong malt presence.
Really smooth. You would never guess that this was 11% ABV.
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3.19/5 rDev -21.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Bottled 3/1/12, poured into a tulip
A - Pours a beautiful clear copper with one and a half fingers of tan head. Head doesn't last that long. Only small spots of lacing left behind.
S - Oak is very prominent in the aroma. Otherwise big sweet malty aroma with some piney hops.
T - Initially sticky sweet (seems to be a common theme with Southern Tier) and malt heavy. Eventually, some hop bitterness comes through and the oak really starts to ramp up. The bitterness is no match for the sweetness. There seems to be some IPAs that have a smell/taste that reminds me of bolonga, and this is one of them (granted, I've been vegetarian for almost 20 years, but I ate a lot of the stuff as a kid, so take that with a grain of salt). Not necessarily good or bad, but a bit distracting. Stays sweet throughout. The hops and oak are no match for the sweetness. Decent, but not really what I look for in a DIPA.
M - Full, sticky sweet mouthfeel with some bitterness on the finish.
O - Can't help but wonder how I would review this if were listed as an American Strong Ale. As a DIPA, it is too thick and sweet, with a less than assertive hop presence. Doesn't taste too bad though.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Bottled 3/1/12, poured into a tulip
A - Pours a beautiful clear copper with one and a half fingers of tan head. Head doesn't last that long. Only small spots of lacing left behind.
S - Oak is very prominent in the aroma. Otherwise big sweet malty aroma with some piney hops.
T - Initially sticky sweet (seems to be a common theme with Southern Tier) and malt heavy. Eventually, some hop bitterness comes through and the oak really starts to ramp up. The bitterness is no match for the sweetness. There seems to be some IPAs that have a smell/taste that reminds me of bolonga, and this is one of them (granted, I've been vegetarian for almost 20 years, but I ate a lot of the stuff as a kid, so take that with a grain of salt). Not necessarily good or bad, but a bit distracting. Stays sweet throughout. The hops and oak are no match for the sweetness. Decent, but not really what I look for in a DIPA.
M - Full, sticky sweet mouthfeel with some bitterness on the finish.
O - Can't help but wonder how I would review this if were listed as an American Strong Ale. As a DIPA, it is too thick and sweet, with a less than assertive hop presence. Doesn't taste too bad though.
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4.32/5 rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Presentation: It was poured from a brown 650ml bottle into a tulip glass. The bottle has a nice description of the beer along with a list of ingredients and its abv (11%). There is however no freshness date listed on the bottle.
Appearance: The body has a deep amber color which has good clarity and visible carbonation. On top sits an average off white colored head that slowly fades and makes some cool lace rings on the glass after each sip.
Smell: In the nose I pick up an intensely rich mix of malt and hops. There are deep golden raisin and caramel notes from the malt and deep resiny pine like hops back by some citrus notes and hints of oak wood.
Taste/Palate: On the tongue there is a mixing of sweet caramel notes, raisin bread, resiny hops, pine, citrus, orange peel and in hint of oak. Hop bitterness slowly builds more and more towards the finish but still brings some sweetness to keep things juicy. It's full bodied, bold and heavy or chewy on palate. Carbonation is soft and just keeps things from getting too sticky.
Notes: Excellent.
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look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Presentation: It was poured from a brown 650ml bottle into a tulip glass. The bottle has a nice description of the beer along with a list of ingredients and its abv (11%). There is however no freshness date listed on the bottle.
Appearance: The body has a deep amber color which has good clarity and visible carbonation. On top sits an average off white colored head that slowly fades and makes some cool lace rings on the glass after each sip.
Smell: In the nose I pick up an intensely rich mix of malt and hops. There are deep golden raisin and caramel notes from the malt and deep resiny pine like hops back by some citrus notes and hints of oak wood.
Taste/Palate: On the tongue there is a mixing of sweet caramel notes, raisin bread, resiny hops, pine, citrus, orange peel and in hint of oak. Hop bitterness slowly builds more and more towards the finish but still brings some sweetness to keep things juicy. It's full bodied, bold and heavy or chewy on palate. Carbonation is soft and just keeps things from getting too sticky.
Notes: Excellent.
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4.3/5 rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
$8.99 for the bomber from Deciccio's Ardsley, NY. No freshness info to be had. Pours pretty clear, medium apricot infused amber, slight and off white head and not leaving fine, splattered lacing upon a medium swirl. I get some wood and citrussy hops in the nose. Love the style, typically love the ST offering, so this one was a cinch to please my palate. Big, hoppy and bold. Hops, oak and a malty underblanket to smooth things out. Simply lovely stuff and well worth seeking out and enjoying.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
$8.99 for the bomber from Deciccio's Ardsley, NY. No freshness info to be had. Pours pretty clear, medium apricot infused amber, slight and off white head and not leaving fine, splattered lacing upon a medium swirl. I get some wood and citrussy hops in the nose. Love the style, typically love the ST offering, so this one was a cinch to please my palate. Big, hoppy and bold. Hops, oak and a malty underblanket to smooth things out. Simply lovely stuff and well worth seeking out and enjoying.
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4.22/5 rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Bottle provided by slasher007.
Pours an orange color with a white head. The smell is somewhat resiny with some hop bitterness and some flavors that I associate with barrel aging. The oaked aroma gets stronger as the beer warms. There is definitely some piney and citrus hop flavors but the oak aging takes the edge off of them, mellowing them out. You also get some oak character in the flavor. The beer has a medium mouthfeel and the oak aging makes it very drinkable. We tried this after drinking some other big IPAs and DIPAs and I would like to try it again when my palate was fresher.
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look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Bottle provided by slasher007.
Pours an orange color with a white head. The smell is somewhat resiny with some hop bitterness and some flavors that I associate with barrel aging. The oaked aroma gets stronger as the beer warms. There is definitely some piney and citrus hop flavors but the oak aging takes the edge off of them, mellowing them out. You also get some oak character in the flavor. The beer has a medium mouthfeel and the oak aging makes it very drinkable. We tried this after drinking some other big IPAs and DIPAs and I would like to try it again when my palate was fresher.
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4.01/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
22oz bomber poured into an 8oz Rock Art snifter.
Pours a nice deep dark amber with tons of beautiful bubbles constantly coming up to a small one finger slightly yellow creamy head. Nose isn't super pungent and hoppy, but there's a nice light malty sweetness to it with some lice floral notes.
First off the mouthfeel is a bit light, very high attenuation on this beer, it makes it really crisp and smooth though. Carbonation is a bit sharp, but it'll fade as it warms a bit. The hops are subtle in this - for an IIPA anyways. The oak adds a nice balance to it without dominating the flavor, it's a bit of a nutty caramel to it. Nice finish that leaves a bready taste on your tongue.
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look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
22oz bomber poured into an 8oz Rock Art snifter.
Pours a nice deep dark amber with tons of beautiful bubbles constantly coming up to a small one finger slightly yellow creamy head. Nose isn't super pungent and hoppy, but there's a nice light malty sweetness to it with some lice floral notes.
First off the mouthfeel is a bit light, very high attenuation on this beer, it makes it really crisp and smooth though. Carbonation is a bit sharp, but it'll fade as it warms a bit. The hops are subtle in this - for an IIPA anyways. The oak adds a nice balance to it without dominating the flavor, it's a bit of a nutty caramel to it. Nice finish that leaves a bready taste on your tongue.
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3.63/5 rDev -10.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Beer pours a gorgeous amber with a good inch plus solid white head.
Smell is reminiscent of Seagrams 7 whiskey.
Taste again is headed by the whiskey, followed by a smokey vanilla.
Mouthfeel is smooth with a slight alcohol bitterness on the finish
Drinkability, well I drank one over a 4 hour period. I much prefer the original un-oaked version.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Beer pours a gorgeous amber with a good inch plus solid white head.
Smell is reminiscent of Seagrams 7 whiskey.
Taste again is headed by the whiskey, followed by a smokey vanilla.
Mouthfeel is smooth with a slight alcohol bitterness on the finish
Drinkability, well I drank one over a 4 hour period. I much prefer the original un-oaked version.
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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.
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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.
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5/5 rDev +22.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Awesome beer to enjoy on Lake Chatauqua! Purchased a 1/4 Keg for the weekend at the lake and several to take back to PSU! If you are looking to get hammered and play a rough game of pond hockey this is the beer for you. The keg was killed in a few hours and kept me loose for the game. Hoppy, citrus-filled deliciousness in a bottle, growler, or keg.
amen
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look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Awesome beer to enjoy on Lake Chatauqua! Purchased a 1/4 Keg for the weekend at the lake and several to take back to PSU! If you are looking to get hammered and play a rough game of pond hockey this is the beer for you. The keg was killed in a few hours and kept me loose for the game. Hoppy, citrus-filled deliciousness in a bottle, growler, or keg.
amen
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4.35/5 rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a Surly Darkness chalice glass.
Appearance: Pours a deep copper golden orange with a moderate amount of bubbles. Solid two fingers of off white head that recede into a thin creamy layer. Leaves a decent amount of lacing.
Smell: A dank hoppy aroma with big hints from the barrel aging. Barrel characteristics upfront with big hints of oak and wood as well as a little vanilla. Big earthy hop aroma with lots of dank and spicy pine resin and grass. Herbal and floral hints. Also hints of citrus grapefruit, orange peel, mango, and lemon. Bready malt background with hints of biscuit, sweet caramel, grain, and yeast. Pine and oak stand out the most. A very solid smell .
Taste: Like the smell, a grassy and spicy hop driven taste with a big oak barrel profile. Big notes of oak and wood along with a little vanilla. Big taste of hops leaning to the dank and spicy side. Notes of pine resin and grass as well as some floral notes. Citrus notes of orange, grapefruit, lemon, tangerine, and mango. Solid bready malt backing with notes of biscuit, caramel, toffee, yeast, and grain. The oak notes play off well with the piney hops. A pretty good taste.
Mouthfeel: Body is on the heavier side of medium. Carbonation is moderate. Juicy and fairly oily. Drying finish. Alcohol is masked by the hops.
Overall: A very good aged IPA. The oak adds a good and interesting kick.
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look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a Surly Darkness chalice glass.
Appearance: Pours a deep copper golden orange with a moderate amount of bubbles. Solid two fingers of off white head that recede into a thin creamy layer. Leaves a decent amount of lacing.
Smell: A dank hoppy aroma with big hints from the barrel aging. Barrel characteristics upfront with big hints of oak and wood as well as a little vanilla. Big earthy hop aroma with lots of dank and spicy pine resin and grass. Herbal and floral hints. Also hints of citrus grapefruit, orange peel, mango, and lemon. Bready malt background with hints of biscuit, sweet caramel, grain, and yeast. Pine and oak stand out the most. A very solid smell .
Taste: Like the smell, a grassy and spicy hop driven taste with a big oak barrel profile. Big notes of oak and wood along with a little vanilla. Big taste of hops leaning to the dank and spicy side. Notes of pine resin and grass as well as some floral notes. Citrus notes of orange, grapefruit, lemon, tangerine, and mango. Solid bready malt backing with notes of biscuit, caramel, toffee, yeast, and grain. The oak notes play off well with the piney hops. A pretty good taste.
Mouthfeel: Body is on the heavier side of medium. Carbonation is moderate. Juicy and fairly oily. Drying finish. Alcohol is masked by the hops.
Overall: A very good aged IPA. The oak adds a good and interesting kick.
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Oak Aged Unearthly (Imperial India Pale Ale) from Southern Tier Brewing Company
Beer rating:
4.07 out of
5 with
1,122 ratings
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