On Southern Tier IPA

I like labels. I've talked about their affect on me before with my post of Milten Gaither's label design for Brooklyn Sorachi Ace.  Labels say a lot about the beer you're about to spend your hard earned money on. Good labels - and packaging, in general - should tell you everything you need to know about the product. I'm not talking just about the name, or the description, or the logo on the front. The colour and the shape*. The texture, the size, and even the smell all play a roll in telling you what's inside. 

 So what does Southern Tier's packaging say about their IPA? Their labels tell me they are very particular about their products. There is nothing on the label that doesn't belong. The simple color scheme makes the 6 packs easy to find on the shelf. Just look for the sea of green (IPA, 2xIPA) or purple (porter) and you're on your way. Southern Tier is very pragmatic and efficient. Nothing is wasted. Everything in it's right place**. If there is a hop addition or a malt used, it has a reason. Nothing is just for the hell of it. The packaging has an organic look. Not to say that their beers are organic in the eyes of the USDA, but they portray an image of care for the environment in a down to earth, practical way. The consistency from beer to beer and from case to bottle to tap tell me that Southern Tier is detail oriented and I can expect that attention to detail to extend to their recipes.

The aroma starts with pine resin and earthiness. Like a walk through a redwood forest. Burnt orange color with a dense head that lingers.

Bitterness is well balanced with a touch of caramel (and honey?) sweetness. Pine and earthy flavors cary through from the aroma. Some minerals appear in the tail. Moderately long finish that isn’t overly sweet or bitter.

The balance stays throughout, never tipping from one side or the other, like a skilled tightrope walker. The medium body feels thick from the hops. I’ll be licking the insides of my mouth for a while.

Overall quite an enjoyable beer whose strength lies in its balance.

*good album, btw.

**good song, btw.

On Crispin Stagger Lee

Today I take a break from beer and give myself something a bit different to try: Cider. While there are similarities in the production, purpose, and - to some extent - history of these two beverages, cider and beer are very different drinks that test the beer drinker's palate. Accustomed to face contorting double IPAs, stupefying Russian imperial stouts, and sour Belgian's that make Warheads taste like water, the beer drinker may find it difficult to appreciate the subtleties of a fine cider. Cider is a rapidly growing segment of the craft beer world (can craft really claim cider to it's cause?). For 2011 the cider market has grown supermarket sales faster than any of the top 15 beverage alcohol segments with 27.5% growth. This compares to craft beer at 15.1%. True, cider is much smaller (about 20 times smaller) than craft, but it's growth is outstanding.

Premium cider brands such as Crispin have led the charge. Crispin alone saw over 200% sales growth in 2011 and brewers such as Boston Beer have joined the party. The man responsible for some of Goose Island's iconic brands, Greg Hall, has also gotten into the cider game and has planted cider apples in Michigan for his new venture, Virtue Cider. All this means more good cider for good beer lovers. So, in the spirit of broadening my horizons and trying something different, today I review Crispin's Stagger Lee: a blended hard cider aged in rye whiskey barrels.

Stagger Lee pours a cloudy yellow/orange with little head. Legs fall from the glass like wet paint.

The aroma starts with sweet apples. Whiskey is in the background but present. Clove esters. Maybe some banana esters as well, but hard to tell.

With the taste, whiskey, again in the background. Apple juice. The good kind. None of that apple drink mix. This is juicer fresh apple taste. I was hoping for more complexity and depth of character. The whiskey goes very well with the apples and this cider makes for a backwoods colonial history lesson. The whiskey comes out more as it warms; both in the flavor and aromatics.

Highly effervescent and full bodied. Residual sugars linger on the palate.

Overall, the cider/whiskey combo is delicious and I would like to try some of their other barrel aged offerings, but cider is still a bit on the sweet side for my tastes. I look forward to the budding cider industry. There is much to learn about this cousin to my favorite barley based beverage.