Beer Review: Southern Tier Live

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.5 percent

Appearance: This brew boasted a vivid golden color once I poured it. A thin layer of fluffy head appeared almost immediately. It was white and I noticed some hay-colored hues as well. I also picked out some beady trails of carbonation bubbles that look like a small school of fish as well as a hazy body. Both say that there is a hefty amount of yeast and sediment present in the beer. Not really a shocker as it says "bottle conditioned ale" right on the label.

Smell: This was quite fruity and estery. Credit should have gone to the yeast for that. There was also a mild floral hop nose.

Taste: The yeast once again came to the forefront. The fruity and estery profile hit me not long after that. The fruity flavor seemed to resemble some lemon that tasted moreso sweet than sour. Definitely a plus. It transitioned to a malty and peppery flavor towards the back of my tongue. I seemed to gather that the peppery flavors were both coriander and allspice.  The finish was light, brisk with a minimal hop bite.

Overall Rating: 

I had a beer quite similar to this in Indigo Imp Blonde Bombshell a good while ago that was also a bottle conditioned brew. Similar colors and fruity and estery profiles. This one had a few more layers of taste in the flavor department, though. The fruit and spices were clearly differentiated and everything seemed to play off of each other amazingly.

Beer Review: Indigo Imp Blonde Bombshell

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 6.2 percent

Appearance: This one came off as a deep, strong gold color with even stronger copper highlights elsewhere in the body that also bared a slight haze. Hold this one under some light to notice that it looks even more attractive. It featured an immense ivory-colored head that was both thick and explosive. I had to wait quite a while for it to die down a bit. Unfortunately this didn't translate into the lacing which stuck weakly to the inside of my glass. There were a lot of carbonation bubbles racing towards the upper portions of the beer.

Smell: This beer was oddly fruity and sweet. It wasn't turning me away. It was just unexpected on my part. There were also a few floral ho notes entering my nose as was a little bit of sweet malt. Intriguing smell.

Taste: It was tart, but still sweet on the front of my tongue. It was at this point that I also picked up a large character of yeast in this beer. It was a little too noticeable for my tastes. Very strong and pungent. The fruit being sweet mixed with the yeast flavor in this turned me off just a bit. The hop notes are once again very floral, but add some positive zest and zing to the flavor of this beer.

Overall Rating: 

This was definitely a different one. The head was explosive at first, but for whatever reason it didn't produce much lacing if any at all. The sweetness of the fruit content of the beer mixed with the yeast presence was interesting and tasty at first, but became like candy that's way too sweet. After a while it became just a little overbearing for me. Still, a creative and tasteful beer.