Thoughts on Southern Tier

I've had choklat and creme brulee so far. They're both very good, but it would be nice if they were available in 4-packs. I had a bomber of CB once and struggled to get through it. Other than pumpking, which is overrated IMO, I haven't had anything else from them.

 

Oat was not great IMO, a bit astringent for me. Choklat though is fantastic and I have a bottle of CB and Mokah on hand right now I need to try.

 

I think that Southern Tier's entire lineup is underrated. But their Blackwater series is definitely, the highlight, with Chokolat by far being my favorite chocolate stout.

 

The Blackwater series is incredible, and I still think Creme Brûlée gets a worse rap around here than it deserves.

 

Creme Brulee was really good, but too sweet to enjoy a lot of it, would have been better in 12 oz bottles imo.
Choklat was fantastic.
Big fan of Pumpking, not my favorite pumpkin beer, but it's up there.
2XMas was really good for a winter beer, tastes like Christmas.
Plum Noire was decent and very, very plummy.

I don't think I've ever really been let down by any ST brew. Can't wait to try the Mokah I have waiting for me in the garage.

 

I agree they're underrated -- not necessarily great, but all their stuff is solid, including 2x stout (which was mentioned earlier). And one nobody has brought up is Phin & Matt's Extraordinary Ale -- that was pretty much my introduction to craft beer, and is a very smooth APA.

 

I find many of ST beers to be very enjoyable, i like the brewery as a whole. I would say they are a very good but not great brewery.

 

Southern Tier produces some excellent brews. Creme Brulee was excellent. Next time, I'm going to make a vanilla float with it for dessert.

 

They make a lot of stuff that I really enjoy, some stuff kind of that miss the mark (Old Man, Eurotrash Pils), and some stuff that don't really interest me at all (ironically, a lot of which is in the op- flavored stouts and dessert beers).

The stuff I enjoy are definitely good enough to be in in my regular rotation- all of the 2X beers, Harvest (my fave American ESB), many seasonals (including Hop Sun, Krampus). Plus Grand Arbor, the saison, was one of my very pleasant surprises of the spring; it's a superb beer.

Overall I really am happy they are around, and there's plenty of variety to boot.

 

Choklat and Pumking are great beers, but are pretty much the only two ST beers I buy.

 

LIKE

 

I love Southern Tier. They always seem to be very consistently good to great for me. They are a brewery where if a new release is coming out, I will always buy it. the whole 2X series has been really good, though I seem to be the only one that liked 2X Steam. Their 422 APWA is excellent IMO as well, one of my favorites of that style. And Harvest ale is my favorite ESB that is not made in the UK. And of course blackwater is great across the board. So many people say Creme Brulee is too sweet, but every time I have it I can finish the whole bottle and it never gets cloying. But I havent had a well aged bottle. There is enough hop bitterness to balance it when it's fresh. They always seem to be very consistent across multiple styles. One of the reasons I am a big fan of them.

 

2x IPA in a growler was real nice, I'm going to try mokah and choklat.

 

I've had 17 of their beers and my scores are usually above the average. I'd love to have ST available in my area.

 

ST can be hit or miss, but I ultimately rate them highly..

 

I like, but don't love ST. They seem to be more well known for their stouts which I think are good but not great. Since their stouts are so popular I think it overshadows their IPA and pales which I think are actually under the radar solid beers. Can be over priced too. Never had a beer from them I haven liked wight he exception of Warlock.

 

When super fresh, 2XIPA is one of the best dipa I have ever had, but falls off a cliff pretty rapidly imo. Problem is, I have only had that experience once in my life...a real dust collector, though its nice the started putting dates on bottles a while ago.

 

Southern Tier is one of those breweries that i can always count on to have something good on the shelf year round. I also think that creme brulee gets a bad rap for tasting just like the dessert it is named for. This year they even made a weizenbock. Go figure. I can live without some of their stuff like Krampus and the milkstout but the 2X beers are all excellent in my opinion. The IPA is good, the stouts are good, even the black IPA is good and I don't usually like those. The 2XONE series should prove to be something to look forward to each year.

 

LIVE is one of my favorite pale ales. Even after a few months, it still holds up fairly well

 

We used to get st in bc but that changed Loved most of their beers and appreciated brews like Krampus which was an imperial lager for Xmas .

 

Didn't care for the 2x stout milkstout didn't have any of the characteristics I'd associate with a milk stout other than being dark was extra boozy and not thick and creamy the way others are more like a plain imp stout that was lacking in flavor in general this so far is my only experience with them as of yet but will give them more chances

 

I'm not normally a big fan of milk stouts, but did like 2x stout -- so maybe that's why.

 

I drink a lot of their stuff and think they're a solid brewery. I love their stouts and as mentioned before, their regular lineup is underrated. Choklat, Pumking and Creme Brulee always make me happy! Their new Belgian inspired beers have been wonderful as well. Kudos to them for branching out.

 

Personally, I thought the Mokah was delicious- but super sweet. I don't think they should sell in 22oz bottles- maybe 12oz because the beer is so hedonistic. Though I do believe that that line of beers (as sweet as they are) are some of the only beers that I think should be paired with cigars, as inflammatory of a statement that may be.

 

I really like them all. Creme Brûlée is way too sweet IMO, but that's what it's supposed to be. Just not for me.

I used to absolutely love Pumking, but now I'm much more about Warlock.

 

Pumking sucks.

There. Now that that's out of the way, they're seriously underrated - at least by me. And to be honest, I love it that way. Because they seem to destroy my expectations every time. I agree that their dessert beers would be better suited in 4 packs - too much to get through in a bomber, but that's splitting hairs - everything would be better in 4 packs vs bombers.

I think their latest offerings have really impressed me the most though - Compass, Sonnet, and Grand Arbor were all surprisingly pleasant. I'm really looking forward to picking their stuff up more often.

And I just had to add that they are very reasonably priced too - gotta love that.

 

I've enjoyed all the Blackwater Series especially Choklat and Warlock, both are outstanding stouts. I also really enjoyed Pumking last fall. Wasn't overly impressed with Live or 2XOne but am looking forward to trying more from them.

 

I'm glad they finally updated their label design.

 

I first did not like Southern Tier. I tried many of their various pale ales and was just disappointed. But I started trying some of their "bigger" beers, first Pumpking, Java, and I kept going from there. They have really grown on me. I love some of their newer Pales/IPAs now too. Live is very good.

 

Stouts, yes. But the rest of the lineup is solid. 2X ipa, unearthly, iniquity. All great. I had live for the first time a couple days ago and thought it was way underrated.

 

Their bombers, particularly in the Blackwater series are epic. I love Crème Brule, Choklat and Oat – not so much for Java and Mokah. I love Pumking even though it gets a ton of hate. I wish they would bring back the Oak Aged Pumking as that is even better than the original. Warlock is very drinkable as is Unearthly.

The two that I did not see mention yet are Iniquity and Backburner, both of which I have rated near the top of their style. I particularly enjoy the bourbon barrel Backburner.

 

A consistently solid brewery. Never hesitate to try anything new they offer or repeat purchase many that I've tried before.

 

I've yet to have something made by ST that I don't thoroughly enjoy. Same goes for my friends that try their more popular beers..warlock, pumking, etc. Right up there in my top five. Wish we could get more of a selection in my area...ST really isn't given its props amidst Russian River etc. But I believe they are hitting it out of the park.

 

hated pumking, but hate pumpkin beers. 2xipa for me was okay but nothing special. summer wheat is my favorite summer release beer.

 

I loved the Black Water series (excluding Creme Brulee) but now I find them too sweet.
Their 2XStout is solid and severely underrated.

 

The bourbon barrel Backburner is phenomenal. I was lucky enough to have it on tap and my only regret is that my tolerance didn't allow me to have more than couple of glasses. The 14% ABV probably has something to do with that, but every ounce was worth it. It's probably one of the best bourbon-barrel aged barleywines I've ever had. Makes me wonder why they don't do more bourbon barrel aging, especially with their extensive collection of imperial stouts.

 

Backburner is awesome