IPA (India Pale Ale)
Southern Tier Brewing Company

IPA (India Pale Ale)IPA (India Pale Ale)
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From:
Southern Tier Brewing Company
 
New York, United States
Style:
American IPA
Ranked #2,459
ABV:
7%
Score:
86
Ranked #18,809
Avg:
3.83 | pDev: 11.23%
Reviews:
989
Ratings:
2,697
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 29, 2024
Added:
Mar 24, 2003
Wants:
  57
Gots:
  518
Our IPA is timeless - brewed for those who give a damn about a well-crafted beer. As one of our original beers, its quality and consistency helped grow the popularity of IPAs from the ground up. The citrus and pine hop profile balanced by a subtle caramel sweetness are standard for a classic American IPA.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by BuckeyeNation:
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

4.6/5  rDev +20.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Rustic orange suffused with softly glowing amber. A thing of beauty, the head is pearlescent ivory in color, thickly creamy in consistency and looks to be an extraordinary lacer. The upper surface is pitted, lumpy, bumpy, softly undulating and rocky, all at the same time. Fine lace hugs the glass lower down and peppers it higher up.

The nose is outstanding. Leave it to Southern Tier to give me a nose that grabs my nose, so to speak, and doesn't let go. Not only is it cranium-filling in power, but it's as hoppy as all get out. Sweet orange, white grapefruit and ripe melon lead the way.

Hop, more hops and still more hops. I half expect to see a few hop cones floating in the glass. Southern Tier IPA is a wonderful beer, especially for the hopheads among us. The brewers are too talented to simply dump several boxcars worth of hops into the kettle however. They've worked their usual magic and have crafted a superb, hoppy ale.

Even though pale malt is noticed on the palate, it's swamped almost beyond recognition by a beautiful barrage of hops. A huge burst of white grapefruit pith and spruce sap swamps the taste buds and leaves them begging for more. Palate fatigue would be a definite possibility after a few of these, but I'll never find out since I only have the one. Dammit!

This beer is sweeter than many versions, which effectively takes the edge off of what would otherwise be a substantial bitter storm. I'm not sure that I have an ideal sweet:bitter ratio when it comes to IPAs, but this one is pretty close to perfect. The mouthfeel is full for the style with a velvety smoothness that is out this world.

There's something about Southern Tier beer that I just love. It's as if the brewers invited me to the brewery, gave me hundreds of samples (don't I wish) and tweaked their recipes to fit my exact preferences for each and every style. I had no doubt that the IPA (my favorite style) from these guys (one of my favorite breweries) would knock my socks off and leave powder burns on my feet. A huge thank you to HappyHourHero for the nectar.
Apr 07, 2005
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.34 by SouthCrescent from Pennsylvania

Feb 29, 2024
 
Rated: 3.74 by socon67 from New York

Jan 01, 2024
Photo of elNopalero
Reviewed by elNopalero from Michigan

3.26/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
This is one of those older generation IPAs that I remember enjoying (circa mid-2000s), but revisiting it for a review in 2023 and it just doesn’t cut it. Perhaps fresh it would pop, and give more of that classic IPA taste.
Dec 17, 2023
 
Rated: 3.06 by Danzifer from Ohio

Dec 08, 2023
 
Rated: 3.69 by cabsandking from Ohio

Dec 04, 2023
Photo of lordofthewiens
Reviewed by lordofthewiens from New Mexico

3.56/5  rDev -7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
The beer looks nice. Pretty amber color, 2 inch off-white head, some lace.
Aroma of citrus and pine.
Weak grapefruit taste; the pine has disappeared.
Not very hoppy or bitter.
Sep 24, 2023
 
Rated: 3.82 by HarlotBronte from District of Columbia

Sep 04, 2023
 
Rated: 4.23 by beerrat from Virginia

Aug 26, 2023
 
Rated: 3.68 by Slyde180 from Texas

Aug 09, 2023
 
Rated: 3.75 by TLA from Pennsylvania

Aug 02, 2023
 
Rated: 3.74 by Keith27614 from North Carolina

Jul 19, 2023
 
Rated: 3.72 by craigbelly from Iowa

Jul 17, 2023
 
Rated: 3.5 by JHeard79 from North Carolina

Jul 16, 2023
Photo of TCgenny
Reviewed by TCgenny from New York

2.84/5  rDev -25.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
Best by 11/23/23, drank out of the can at an outdoor concert. Could be the conditions, but no real smell, tastes metallic, neither fruity or piney, more piney toward the end of the can I guess, just ho hum. Not terrible, not memorable, lol at leassr the big band swing jazz is fire!
Jul 10, 2023
 
Rated: 3.85 by Electros from Canada (ON)

Jul 03, 2023
Photo of ramseye4
Reviewed by ramseye4 from Virginia

4.08/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
A- rich amber. Good Two finger head. Just swell

S- pine, a bit of smokiness? Bacon, buttery malt, grass! Subtle but good

T- biscuity malt hits first, not good for the style but not bad overall. Butter, oily hop bitterness, some boozy notes. Gets better as you drink it, not typical of the style but a solid, solid beer

M- pops and sparkles with a fantastic aftertaste

O- not a great example of the style, but on its own as a beer it’s really good and underrated.
Jun 12, 2023
Photo of Ozzylizard
Reviewed by Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania

3.38/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
IPA from Southern Tier Brewing. 12 fl oz bottle from mixed 12-pack Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA, 09/05/23. Reviewed 25/05/23 (Review 3112). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Label stamped “BESTBY 05/02/23”. Stored on room temperature pallet at store, $12 (Including tax)/12 pack. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 44.2 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 51.8 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Gold (SRM 5), clear.
Body – Deep Gold (SRM 6), clear. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, translucent.
Head: Average (Maximum 3.5 cm, aggressive center pour), floral white, high density, quickly diminishing, reducing to a 0.4 – 0.6 cm crown and a rocky cap.
Lacing – Good. Wide band of tiny to small bubbles, slowly opening
Aroma – 3.5 – Weak grapefruit and pine. No malt, no yeast. No ethanol (7 % ABV as marked on the label).
Flavor – 3.25 – Begins slightly sweet with weak generic citrus – no distinguishable flavors. No pine, no malt, no yeast. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. No gastric warming. Ends slightly bitter and dry.
Palate – 3 – Medium; watery; lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.5 Looks good but taste and smell have fallen off. Still drinkable but not desirable.
May 25, 2023
 
Rated: 3.92 by BuddyZ from Pennsylvania

Apr 29, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by David19457 from New Jersey

Apr 21, 2023
IPA (India Pale Ale) from Southern Tier Brewing Company
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 2697 ratings