Strawberry Shortcake
Southern Tier Brewing Company

L - Golden, hazy with an off-white head that dissipates quickly, leaving behind no real lacing
S - sweet, faint strawberry, vanilla cake, but it's very artificial sweet/sugary
T - follows the nose - artificial strawberry, sugary vanilla, buttery cake
F - medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Somewhat creamy?
O - the flavors are there. It tastes like strawberry shortcake, but it just tastes to artificial and way too sweet to work.

 

Two brown bottles containing 12 fluid ounces each were emptied entirely into a clear glass liter mug. Whether artificially enhanced, or not, there's plenty of strawberry aroma to be had. Outside that, it looks like a typical ale, just a mildly cloudy, brightly amber color, with a modest off-white head. But, to taste, this seems artificial, whether it is, or not. Whatever is supposed to mimic vanilla shortcake falls well short of the mark. Even if the strawberry flavor is natural, it tastes far less than fresh. There's a hop bite that's appreciated because it governs the overall sweetness of the concoction. The alcohol is present to taste, doing a duplicitous duty of adding sweetness and some bitterness with its bite. That assists the flavor, but hurts the mouthfeel, which already runs thinly. Overall, it's a reasonable way to get something with an 8.6 % ABV into a bloodstream, but it falls way short of taste, especially when measured by what it aspires to be.

 

On tap at Epcot. Strong strawberry flavor with an even stronger strawberry aroma. A mildly bitter finish and aftertaste counters the high sweetness. High ABVis not hidden.

 

 

I like Southern Tier as a brewery, but I don't share their attraction for "dessert" beers. I should have stayed away from this terrible beer. It smells like strawberries, or perhaps strawberry bubble gum, and even tastes like. Can't say I wasn't warned. But it's too sweet the first time, and then has this weird aftertaste that is supposed to dry it out. But it's just an odd taste. This was hard for me to finish.

Pours clear, gold in color with one quarter inch head. Taste is strawberry aspartame, vanilla and toasted malt. Medium body, moderate carbonation, sweet. Tastes like Walmart fizzy water and imperial kolsch. I have a four pack but this one is not up to typical Southern Tier standards. I generally feel their beers Taste natural and have a beer taste. They are one of the few breweries I just instantaneously buy.
This is not that....this tastes like a beer with a water additive. Not horrible but not on Southern Tier level....nope. barely drinkable....if only I could exchange my remaining three for their chestnut beer.

 

 

Taking a break from their Blackwater ways, Southern Grist dips their toes in another type of pastry- blond.

Deep blond and carrying a slight blush twinge, Strawberry Shortcake carries a tepid from and an appetizing scent of true shortcake, vanilla, strawberry, candied perfume and floral aromas. As its shortcake sweetness hits the tongue it sets a malty sweet tone.

All wrapped in strawberry, the middle palate shows the bold berry flavors expected from the dessert before a sharp bitterness rounds out the session unbalanced and interrupted.

Full bodied but reasonable in its drinkability, the session concludes with the disruptive bitterness that seems iike chewable vitamins and aspartame.

 

Poured cold from a bottle into a 16oz pint glass. Appears medium amber. No head whatsoever, no lacing. Some carbonation bubbles working their way up thru this concoction.
Aroma is sweet strawberries, malt, and distant hops.
Taste is super sweet strawberries and like a few of their other brews (Irish Cream Stout, Chestnut Praline), a medicinal and very artificial vanilla flavor that takes over the taste. It has sort of a cough syrup taste to it both the flavor and the sticky mouthfeel. Not sure what is going on here....there is this lingering bitter taste in the back of the mouth.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied. The carbonation is nice and adds a crispness that begs to be refreshing, tho with the odd flavors it is a challenge.
Overall, the brewer might want to put this one in the "good try but retire me" bin. Southern Tier has so many more enjoyable beers. After having a similar enjoyable style from another brewery, I thought I would give this one a shot. Failed to live up to expectations. I'll pass on this one next time around.

From the top right: "BESTBY 12/09/25 LKW 24344 095445"

Appearance: The body is a darker shade of gold and it has pretty good clarity. There is a short fizzy head that quickly dissipates leaving no lacing.

Aroma: The beer causes the whole room to smell like strawberry candy. Closer to the surface of the beer it only gets stronger. It smells a lot like those strawberry candies that are hard on the outside and chewy in the center. It's a nice smell but it smells more like candy than real strawberry.

Taste: Up front there is a weird bitter taste which gets stronger as the beer crosses over the middle of the palate towards the outside of the tongue. It's almost medicinal. It finishes with an odd bitter medicine flavor mixed with a bit of what tastes like cedar. There's a light hint of what tastes like cream of wheat but it is lost behind the odd bitter taste of the beer. The aftertaste isn't good either but there is this residual sweetness around the outside of the mouth which has a bit of actual strawberry flavor. It's as if the beer itself doesn't taste like strawberry when drinking it but it leaves a strawberry residue on the lips.

Mouthfeel: Drinkability is poor because of the odd medicinal bitterness and the lack of any other supporting flavors. Carbonation feels good. It has a medium body with a bit of slickness which is nice.

Overall: It's a pretty bad beer. Even if the beer tasted like the strawberry candy aroma it gives off it would have been nice but this tastes nothing like real strawberries or even candy. It is just this bitter and awkward mess of a beer. The label states that this is an "ALE WITH NATURAL FLAVORS" and that it is "MADE WITH MILK SUGAR."Southern Tier has this trend of slapping flavoring over the top of a generic golden ale and this is very much the same situation except this time it has more body, presumably from the milk sugar. It's not a well made beer at all.

It is somewhat drinkable and some qualities are alright like the body feels okay but as a whole I would not recommend this at all and I would highly recommend against buying it. I would not buy this again. For a better strawberry beer I would recommend Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager because it actually tastes like strawberries and it's made with real strawberries.