Backburner (Imperial Barley Wine Style Ale) - Southern Tier Brewing Company

mdwalsh

Iowa

3.55/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A: A little light and a little heady for a barleywine, but the texture, active carbonation and clarity look okay to good. The head is over two fingers, but it's going down pretty quick. Too quick, there's now no head.

S: There's the remnants of hops, but it's not super big part of the aroma. It's piney and fruity, a little sweet. I don't get a whole lot of bready caramel like I like in barleywines, but it's alright. There is a sort of funky, solvently type smell to this beer that I just can't get behind.

T: Hmm, maltier and richer than the smell would lead me to believe, but I'm still not liking the way the hops work here. I get a little alcohol or solvent on the tip of my tongue, and over bitterness on the back of my throat.

M: Not particularly big for a Barleywine, I would think of this more of an Imperial Amber or something on those lines. It's full bodied, but not heavy, it isn't really encouraging me to "sip"

D: For a 10% ABV beer, this is pretty drinkable. Body is overwhelming, and it doesn't have the overwhelming sweetness or hoppiness of many Barleywines, RISs or DIPAs. I guess I would say if I wanted a beer to get real messed up on, this would be the one.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2010 04:04:10 | More by mdwalsh

rapidsequence

Virginia

3.55/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle. I bought it at Total Wine in northern VA in November. Since its a February release, I'm assuming its from 2/10.

Appearance: An attractive clear red-brown color and an off white head with good retention. Webs of lacing.

Smell: A nosefull of caramel malt, ripe fruit, and citrus hops. Less hoppy than I hoped, but it is a year old or so. There's an earthy, slightly vegetal aroma in the background that I often find in ST beers and do not enjoy.

Taste: Very much what I expected from the smell. The vegetal aroma is really not tasted much. Caramel and fruit. A little toast. A nice amount of hops bitterness, but again the flavor is subdued. Alcohol is barely detected.

Mouthfeel: Very little bad to say about the mouthfeel. Big and sticky with soft carbonation.

Drinkability: Without that slight earthy/vegetal smell/taste, this would be excellent. As it is, for me, its pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2011 01:37:04 | More by rapidsequence

Neffbeer

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle from last winter, poured into a snifter.

A: It pours a deep amber color with great looking mahogany highlights. A strong pour yielded a one finger white head that fades pretty quickly. It left a small amount of lacing on the glass.

S: The nose is full of sweet malty goodness; caramel, biscuits covered with fig jam, vanilla, raisins, and some faint notes of booze.

T: The flavors follow suit on the palate. There is a heavy wave of caramel followed by raisins, figs, vanilla, and sweet booze. It finishes sort of sweet with a little kick from the alcohol. Overall a pretty smooth drinker.

M: Medium to heavy in mouthfeel. There are still some residual sugars here that really add to the overall viscosity.

O: A decent barley wine that comes off a bit on the sweet side. It is not crazily complex by any means, but manages to get the job done.

Serving type: bottle

06-25-2011 01:13:00 | More by Neffbeer

Bierguy5

Ohio

3.58/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22 oz. bomber, 10% ABV, 85 IBU. Mahogany in color, with some ruby shades. Tan foamy head, which held together well for the size of the beer, then faded to a nice ring.

Citrusy, floral and slightly grassy aroma. Not much else.

Bits of dark fruit and toffee stick out first. A lot of sweetness, with some fruity flavors. Bitterness is not as powerful as the aroma would indicate.

Good body, with lower carbonation. Fairly balanced. Overall, not bad, but not terribly exciting either.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2007 17:47:03 | More by Bierguy5

NEhophead

Massachusetts

3.58/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

1 pt, 6 fl oz brown bottle, served in a snifter.
First brew 2007.

Pours a deep garnet with hues of ruby. Slightly creamy, off-white head that fades to a near intact sheet with pools of bubbles. Lasting strings of foamy lacing with decent strength.

Dark, yet ripe fruit: plum, cherry, fig. Notes of acidity with a sharp alcohol aroma. Spicy pine from the hops. Mild hints of powdered chocolate/caramel.

Creamy, semi-sweet tones of caramel and hazlenut; rather dry and powdery. Mild, dark fruit: cherry, grape, and plum met by a young and swarming alcohol presence. Subtle, almost bland flavors.

Medium in body; slick, smooth for the most part. A nice balance in texture with hops and malt.

The flavors are too tame for my preference in Barleywines. Nothing offensive, but not one I'd have again.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2007 12:29:48 | More by NEhophead

bjohnson

Massachusetts

3.58/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a ripe plum color with an off white half finger head that holds nicely around the edges and leaves a bit of film in the center. Huge malty presence with hints of sweet caramel and spicy brown sugar notes. Hop presence stings the nose with a pine and floral fruit aromas. Thick and juicy with a huge alcohol bite.

Malty and hoppy combination blends well with a balanced mouthfeel. Caramel, slight chocolate, burnt sugar, and molasses malt notes. Piney and spicy hop flavors. Juicy and coating on the palate with a thickness. An interesting and thick barleywine definitely weighing in on the American side of the line. With such a high abv, this brew isn't very drinkable, but still pretty tasty. A nice one to get a hold of if you can and another good selection from ST.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2007 01:46:01 | More by bjohnson

RedChrome

Connecticut

3.58/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A iced tea brown color with a huge red color in the light. Tan half inch high head faded very rapidly. Slowly rising carbonation in an average amount. Lacing is small sticky spots.

Aromas of cherries popped first in the scent. Alcohol is clearly present but not as strong as expected. Light citrus and earthy pine blend to balance out the complexity.

Taste is subdued alcohol which leaves room for the other components. Malt is a toffee and caramel blend, which plays against and wins over dark fruits including plums. Bittering finish from hops.

Thinner then most others in the style, but it allows for carbonation to really grab a hold and shift some flavors.

A decent choice. A great after dinner beer on a cold night. Not as strong alcohol profile as others I have had. A subtly strong beer with good flavor.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2007 02:39:22 | More by RedChrome

cokes

Wisconsin

3.58/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

From the '08 bottle, it pours a deep and dark mahogany brown. It's a gorgeous color. The topping is short, sparse and off-white.
It noses of brown sugar, dark rum, ganja resin, peaches, and orange juice. It's an interesting and delicious aroma, but it seems a bit dialed-down.
Taste-wise, the progress can be thoroughly described as:
toasted grain-->caramel--->grilled pineapple-->bitter herb-->pine sap-->lemon rind-->cedar/cinnamon-->brandy. They problem is, that describes EVERYTHING that is in here. It's linear and offers no sideroads or detours. Nothing really meshes. It's merely and simply a progression of flavors. There's no melding, or complexity. It's just one thing, then another, then another. It's a series of compartments starting with malt, then hops, then alcohol.
The build is plenty thick and deep enough to let everything shine. It feels like a b'wine.
My gripe here is that nothing truly congeals. There is a series of tasty Barleywine traits. Great stuff, really, but they don't ever link up with any type of fluidity. It's all jagged, staccato, and separated. It needs to breathe and expand and deepen and coalesce....and it doesn't...
At least not yet. Age may do this a great deal of good. Fresh, though, it is skippable.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2008 09:24:46 | More by cokes

Wetpaperbag

Washington

3.58/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A- A dark burnt copper red color. The head is tick fluffy and very very light tan, but vanishes quickly leaving great lacing.

S- The smell is very true to form of an American Barleywine. The Hops are present along with sweet malt smells and nice dark fruits are also very much there.

T- There is a bread taste that mixes with the dark fruits giving a granola type of taste. The hop taste is there and provides a bitter taste.

M- Feels good on the mouth, the Alcohol creates a spiciness on the tongue.

D- Easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2008 19:56:57 | More by Wetpaperbag

connecticutpoet

Connecticut

3.58/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Hmmm... IMPERIAL barleywine? sounds kinda odd to me, given the usual strength of a barleywine... but anyway, I occasionally have a craving for the style, and this was one of those nights. I haven't always had a lot of luck with Southern Tier, but I was willing to give this one a go.

Appearance was a half finger of head atop a clear, deep amber body. Sure looks like a lot of malt was used in this one.

Aroma was of rich, strong sweet malts, hints of h ops dancing around the outsides, and a little doughy but not too much. There was a little bit of fruitiness thrown in as well. Not bad at all.

The first flavor I got was strong, bitter hop resins. These were supported by a deep, rich, slightly sweet malt backbone that had hints of caramel and pears. It finished with an alcohol backdraft. Not bad, but the alcohol took away from it a little.

Mouthfeel was full and rich, smooth and a little oily.

Drinkability takes a hit because of the alcohol taste, and its sheer power. One bottle was enough for me... and if I had been sharing it with someone, a half bottle would have been enough.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2009 02:26:50 | More by connecticutpoet

BarrelO

Virginia

3.58/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22oz bomber poured into a goblet.

A: Good garnet color. Nice two-finger head, but it fades fairly quickly.

S: Carmel malt and citrusy hops at war with each other. Fairly solventy.

T: Again, the malt and hops pretty much cancel each other out. It's basically a neuter beer. Not too pleasant.

M: Appropriately thick and after-dinnery.

D: Can't say I dig it too much. Since it reminds me of Old Horizontal, I'm giving it the same score. It's almost becoming a tradition at this point.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2009 03:08:35 | More by BarrelO

ClevoPiwo

Ohio

3.58/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a nice deep copper or chestnut color with a decent head that dissipates down to a frothy ring along the outside of the glass leaving a nice lacing on the way down.

The smell is pretty good with nice malty aromas of caramel and molasses as well as a nice floral character of the hops coming through as well. The alcohol is a bit pronounced in the smell, edging on a slightly solvent-like quality, but not too much.

Taste is pretty good, with nice mouth feel and a characteristic malt sweetness up front and a hoppy finish. The alcohol is present as well, and perhaps a bit assertive.

Not my favorite by Southern Tier, but definitely a worthy brew!

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2009 04:33:32 | More by ClevoPiwo

birderbeerer

Virginia

3.58/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Light brown beer with a light and tall, frothy head.

Smells like a super sweet beer. No hop scent. Just caramelized malts over and over.

The taste is almost cloyingly sweet. Not quite, but it's close. It just seems like it's an overboard barleywine. No hops are present in the taste. Just a big bucket of sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2011 01:32:42 | More by birderbeerer

gopens44

Virginia

3.58/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A- Somewhere between golden and orange. Hazy with a nice thick foamy creme colored head.

S - A ton of malt hits first with a twinge of honey sweetness following. I looked for hops but didn't find any.

T- Like the nose, malty and honey sweet with a grape taste as well. After a while a medicinal taste came through but not a ton of it. Just enough to notice.

M - Silky with not too much carbonation. Almost no aftertaste at all.

O - This came across a little more like an English barleywine in my opinion due to the lack of a predominant hop presence. Good beer but it lacked a tiny little "something" that I can't quite place...maybe it was the lack of hop taste after all...

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2011 12:55:46 | More by gopens44

flexabull

California

3.6/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle courtesy of seanpachefddfa, thanks again!

Pours a dark muddied, and cloudy brown color with a decent off white head.

Aromas are of cereal grains, stewed fruits, oak, spices, and booze.

Taste is grainy, dry, with some oak, and quite a bit of hops. Not a whole lot in the way of malts, a bit of sweetness, and some cereal flavors, but mostly I taste alcohol and mineral hops. Not really all that balanced, tastes more like an DIPA to me.

Mouthfeel is ok. A bit sharp on the tongue though.

Drinkability is so so. It's not a bad beer, but it seems to really miss the mark when it comes to the barleywine style. This is pretty average.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2008 05:24:17 | More by flexabull

froghop

Washington

3.6/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

pours a clear burnt auburn with a small white-yellowish head, and great lacing.

smell is faint, some caramel, some grain, and a touch of spice.

taste is sticky, some spice, caramel, a touch of nuts, and a roastiness to it, ends dry and slightly bitter.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2009 02:08:43 | More by froghop

Onslow

Texas

3.6/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

has a pretty big bitterness profile, what would aging do to this puppy .. . decent head, dark brown bottle color .. . has some pine acerose qualities mixed with tar .. . nor shall you! .. . enjoyable stuff, pretty easy to put away .... you gotta sink that shit kamara! .. similiar to bigfoot but less aggressive/full, but similiar .. a guy on a bike got creamed .. . tasty, but not overly complex .. .

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2009 00:33:34 | More by Onslow

TJBAIHWL

Virginia

3.6/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A - Dark cherrywood red. Translucent, and many tiny streams of bubbles appear when held up to light. No highlights really. Buttery, sticky head that starts craggy and subsides to about 1/4" thickness, leaving behind ample thick lacing.

S - The lemony hops and caramel malt are in-your-face, and a little alcohol, spice, & toastiness is present as well. That all blends together to create a sweet, fruity, almost smoky aroma. There really is a lot in the nose, more than I can really pick out or characterize.

T - Resiny and citrusy hops up front, sweet & clean malts in the middle of the palate, and a little warmth on the finish, with the resiny hops recurring as it goes down. Dark caramel, almost chocolaty malt comes through later on. Resiny hops & dark syrupy sweetness linger and give the impression of a maple flavor that I didn't find anywhere in the body of the beer. A good, unique barleywine flavor that creates a nice little narrative in your mouth.

M - Thick, sticky, chewy, full. The mouthfeel of this beer screams "big".

D - While not as digestible as some Barleywines, it is pretty good for one so thick & heavy as this. It's definitely one for sipping. If you drink it too fast, either the alcohol burn will get you or the aforementioned resiny aftertaste will. At a normal Barleywine sipping pace, though, this one is just fine.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2011 03:39:06 | More by TJBAIHWL

infi

New York

3.6/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22 oz. bottle, shared with BAs brun, glard and NYManc.

Poured into a Corsendonk tulip.

Complete copper/rustic-gold color with some transparency and a thin off-white colored head of low retention. Smell is distinctly sweet and aromatic. Lots of figgy-like qualities from the glass: dark-fruit sweetness, earthy oak tones and some piney hoppiness. Some malted barley breadiness to be found, with also some shortbread cookie characteristics.

Taste is more sweet-forward with the malt and honey-like sweetness. Very, very thin hop oil aspects to be said of. Begins with a syrupy and fruity sweetness on the palate and ends on a minimal hoppy and pine bitterness. Not much of a balance in the taste and I think that's the weakest aspect here.

Mouthfeel is just about medium-bodied with some carbonation. Average barleywine overall. Could use more hop punch and less syrupy sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2011 15:45:10 | More by infi

dogfishandi

New York

3.6/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle about room temp poured into ordinary kitchen glass. split with a friend. im thinking this is the 2011 vintage, but could easily be the 2010 (bought at wegmans, dont think they push much of this beer)

pours out a clear deep red color. one finger of light tan colored head that faded to just a very thin retentive layer. no lace.

in the aroma, big doses of burnt candied caramel, toffee, a little buttery, (english yeast), woody hops, and just very light hints of dark fruits.

pretty much the same taste as the aroma suggests. burnt candied caramel apple, buttery, woody hops, not much bitterness, but a good amount of heat. burnt sugar in the finish.

big sticky body, maybe a little more carbonation than i would want in a BW.

for me, this is definatly more of an english barlywine, no real aggresive hops and lots of english yeast characteristics (toffee, buttery). not something i would really come back to in a hurry, but id like to try it again, maybe a little colder next time.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2011 18:32:08 | More by dogfishandi

jsprain1

Minnesota

3.6/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A- Ruby colored, perfectly clear. The head is one finger and tan. Retains very well and leaves a few wisps of lacing.
S- The smell is heavy on the malt side, with dark fruits, dark caramel, and perceptible alcohol on the nose.
T- The alcohol has too much presence here, but thankfully there is some hop presence here. There is a fair bit of citrus hops underneath caramel and cherry, peach, and dark bread characters.
M- While the alcohol is a bit abrasive on the tongue, the body is generally smooth with low but even carbonation.
O- A decent barleywine, but not a great one. A disappoint for me, by Southern Tier standards.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2012 00:47:38 | More by jsprain1

dsa7783

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

650 ML bottle copped for $5.99 from Gary's in Madison...
After an aggressive pour, the appearance is a dark, mahogany-brown colored hue with an impressive-sized foamy and frothy head that soon receded leaving loads of lacing...
Strong smell bursting with a nice suggestion of a balance between thick malts and rich hops with noticeable essences of caramel, toffee, and honey...
Taste was super-thick and rich, very, very sweet, even for a barleywine, bursting with powerful candied sugars, thick malts that dominated the hops, caramel, toffee, licorice, and honey...
The taste was extremely sweet on this one, very different from most Southern Tier brews I've sampled...
Mouthfeel was rich and thick, but overdone with the Herculean suggestion of sugars and honey...
Drinkablity took a real hit due to the slightly overwhelming and powerfully sweet taste that dominated the palate and took over the taste buds... This beer would be teriffic if it were a little more bitter and slightly less sweet...
Nonetheless, a pretty good sample...

Serving type: bottle

02-29-2008 00:09:00 | More by dsa7783

morebeergood

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Tried this big beer on tap last Saturday night at Deep Ellum. Came served in a Unibroue tulip glass. It was dark red, bordering on mahogany in color. Not much head or carbonation to speak of. The smell was really piney. The taste was very good. Sometimes I am not a fan of certain barleywines because they border on firewater, but this was a tamed inferno that I'd have no trouble enjoying. Very smooth in both body and taste, and very satisfying. Only thing that I noticed was that the alcohol really kicks with this one, so I am glad that it was acting as my dessert after dinner. No more beer after that one.

Serving type: on-tap

03-31-2008 23:41:15 | More by morebeergood

Georgiabeer

Georgia

3.63/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark burnt orange with a fairly good head considering the style and abv and some sloppy lacing. Slightly hot in the nose and with very sweet aromas up-front of maple syrup, cardomom, and pear as well as a bit of wax and apple. The taste on the other hand could be a bit sweeeter on the finish. The beer drops off quite a bit toward the end. Otherwise the beer is still a bit hot and there are flavors of dry, crackery malt; and a savory flavor of salty caramel, buttered popcorn and something somewhat meaty. A little strange and somewhat flat tasting. Quite smooth, if a bit hot. Not bad, and it certainly packs a punch, but the flavors seem a bit unusual and not quite sweet enough for the style.

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2008 20:44:00 | More by Georgiabeer

jwinship83

Illinois

3.63/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

2008 bottle stored in the basement since may

A- deep dark amber to ruby colored body with a finger of fleeting off white very sticky head.

S- strong odor of hops. lots of dark ripe fruits. cherries, figs, and a hint of booze

T- loads of citrusy hops. some medicinal qualities, and the fruits i could smell. pretty boozy

M- nice and syrupy. the alcohol warms all the way down.

D- best suited for colder weather, the whole bottle was kind of hard to polish off on my own. half of it was perfect. wouldnt want another one.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2008 01:29:31 | More by jwinship83