Gemini (Imperial Blended Ale) - Southern Tier Brewing Company

Darkmagus82

Montana

4.16/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

I heard they discontinued this at Southern tier so when I saw a bottle (bottled on 2/12/12) I thought I better snatch it up and give it a go.

Poured from 22 oz bomber into a snifter glass

Appearance – Pours a quite hazy orange color with a small white head. The head fades rather fast to leave only a light level of lacing on the sides of the glass.

Smell – Upon pouring the aroma is sweet and fruity with strong notes of an earthy and grassy smell. The sweet is comprised of some caramel with the fruity being of a tropical nature with aromas of mango, papaya and tangerine. Upon pouring the sweeter aromas are the most potent, but as the beer sits longer, the other aromas in the nose, the earthy hop and grassy smells of the brew get stronger and begin dominating more. These smells, when mixed with aromas of alcohol, give the brew a nice warming and earthy/grassy smell.

Taste – The taste begins bready with some fruit flavors of orange and a light caramel sweetness. Upfront and mixed with these tastes is an initially light earthy hop taste. As the taste moves on the sweeter citrus fades while the earthy hop and bready tastes grow stronger and are joined by a grapefruit and grassy hop tastes. Toward the end, an alcohol flavor mingles with the hop and bready tastes to leave a quite pleasant hop blended resinous, bready, and boozy flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the average to above average side in terms of its creaminess with a carbonation level that is quite light. The thicker and smoother body is nice of the earthy and boozy flavors of the brew with the lower carbonation accentuating these even more.

Overall – This is one tasty and hop profile balanced (citrus, earthy and grassy) imperial. It has a strong boozy, bready and earthy taste making it a fantastic sipper. It is too bad they are discontinuing this. If you can find a bottle somewhere I say give it a go. It’s delicious.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2013 01:18:08 | More by Darkmagus82

schoolboy

Ohio

4.15/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

I thought I had bought this once before, but maybe not. It looks like a double/triple AIPA, and the initial taste is of a sweet one. It definitely has the AIPA look - yellow/orange. It has a little head.

The aroma is a little weaker than I would like, but it is interesting - some pungent hops plus malt and a bit of a boozy smell.

The taste is too sweet. It is other quite good, though. There is a lot going on, it is over the top malt and hoppy, etc. It is a nice edgy taste, but I wish I bought an unearthly. The aftertaste is also a bit too sweet, but with loads of alcohol taste too. It tastes stronger than it is!

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2013 01:12:02 | More by schoolboy

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.93/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

cool beer, a blend of a couple of unfiltered hop bombs from southern tier. the label is reflective now like headlights, annoyingly bright, but the beer inside is a little more subtle in appearance, pouring a hazy redish bronze color with a fluffy khaki head. the aroma is strongly hoppy, resinous and very woody, like its been aged on oak or maple staves. the hop profile is a little piney, but it retains a lot of the citrus notes from the unearthly too. its heavy and dense in flavor and feel, a big beer to say the least. sappy and bitter in the finish. a lot of body on this one, but not a ton of bubbles. i think the spent yeast almost becomes a distraction here, and a little further refinement would make this better, but that said, its a hop lovers beer, the blend works well, but i personally like the complexities of the unearthly better as a standalone. still, at about 8 bucks a bomber this beer is worth the price every time.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 17:01:06 | More by StonedTrippin

IronLover

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Deeporangish- yellow in color with a slight haze. Poured with a short soapy foam that reduced to a wispy cap and soapy ring that left random wet lacings on the glass. Toasted, bready, grainy malt aromas with citrus hops in the background. Slick oily feel woth subdued, tight carbonation. Pine hop flavors ride a wave of toasted , sweet bready malt with cigrus hops beneath to the end. Finishes crisply with lingering bready malt and pine hop flavors. A sweet, malt forward DIPA with nice hop character. Southern Tier strikes again.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2012 23:46:50 | More by IronLover

cfalovo97

Ontario (Canada)

4.43/5  rDev +8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is one of my favorite beers. Consiering the high alcohol percentage, i was blown away by how easy this beer was to drink
Copper in color with a decent head. Several things noticed were citrus, caramel. well balanced and sweet, but doesnt linger too long on the palet. Very smooth finish. Always willing to pay the higher price whenever the LCBO brings in a Southern Tier

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2012 01:30:37 | More by cfalovo97

UCLABrewN84

California

3.9/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to Tieman for sharing this one at his tasting.

Pours a clear orange with a foamy khaki head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of malt, brown sugar, citrus zest, and alcohol. Taste is much the same with a sweet finish. There is an alcohol kick and a mild hop bitterness with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer that is tasty and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2012 08:43:55 | More by UCLABrewN84

BigBry

Alberta (Canada)

4/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

It is a cold, snowy day - perfect for catching up on some reviews from my notes.

22 oz bottle, served in a pint glass. Good looking metallic green label, with the constellation, and astronaut whose air line is connected to a pair of hop cones.
"High in the winter sky, two parallel stick figures are visible & known as "the twins," or the constellation Gemini. The astronauts of the 1960s flew as teams of two in a program named after the celestial pairing. 50% Unfiltered Hoppe + 50% Unfiltered Unearthly.
At Southern Tier, we have our own fraternal twins, Hoppe & Unearthly. Blended together & placed in this vessel, the mission of our Gemini is to travel high & take passengers on a journey far into the heavens!"

Slightly cloudy (but to be expected as it is unfiltered), poured slowly to keep the majority of the sediment in the bottle. Copper color with a white, fluffy head. Good retentention, especially for a high alcohol brew, nice looking lace lines.
Smell is all hops, citrus, pink grapefruit, none of the 9% alcohol burns the nose.
Taste is great, be expecting a hop bomb. Bitter hops from start to finish. Just what a hop-head ordered.
Medium bodied, slightly creamy mouthfeel, good level of carbonation.
Overall, A very enjoyable brew. shared with friends, but I could have had the whole bomber to myself.

Note to Self: Ranked #27 American Strong Ale when I tried it.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2012 22:48:35 | More by BigBry

rand

California

3.88/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From 650 mL bomber to pint glass

A: Light copper-tan in color, slightly opaque, the beer yields a frothy 1-inch head that almost never recedes and leaves sticky lacing all over the glass.

S: The nose is ripe citrus fruit, bread and booze. A yeasty, crackery quality provides a nice backdrop for the bold bouquet. I can't think of a brew that smells more like straight-up 'beer'.

T: Notes of bitter pine and booze are noticed first. Orange rind and an astringent, earthy hop essence rub against sweet caramelly malts. A woody tone accentuates the alcohol, giving the brew a cask-strength appeal. With all of the bold flavors, the finish is relatively short, nicely balanced between bitter and sweet.

M: Chewy, oily, rich. The full-bodied complexion is almost sticky, but ample carbonation keeps the palate clean between sips.

Another satisfying sipper from ST. I didn't get the pleasure of trying Hoppe, doesn't look like I'm going to, but by comparing this to Unearthly I have an idea of what it tasted like. Damn I like this brewery.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2012 06:48:48 | More by rand

tviz33

New York

4.1/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle pour in to a pint glass

A- Pours a light orange amber color under a slowly-receding two finger off white head. Tons of carbonation bubbles seen rising and pretty decent sticky lacing.

S- A big whiff brings in a ton of hops and citrus notes. Smells a little sweet. Really makes me want to sip it!

T- Wow.. there's a lot of flavor in this one. A big hop presence, but perhaps not enough to counteract the odd sweetness that comes through. I can't quite put my finger on individual flavors here, but it's different, and in this case, different isn't bad.

M- Medium-bodied, starting slick and oily, abruptly switching to a thinner, tingly, dry finish.

O- This is a good change of pace for me, something to really get you thinking. Although I would take an Unearthly over this in most cases, I won't hesitate to revisit this in the future.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2012 01:59:17 | More by tviz33

claspada

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear golden color with a creamy, soapy, white head that leaves some ample lace on the glass as it recedes.

Aromas begin with tropical and citrus fruits. Resinous grapfruit and pine emerge as well with some spicy alcohol as it warms. Also a mild caramel maltiness comes out as well.

The tastes begin with spicy, candied pineapple and grapefruit flavor. The sweet toasted bready and mild caramel maltiness comes in to balance the resinous bitterness of the hops. Honey maltiness and spicy alcohol also emerge to help battle the ample hop bill.

The mouthfeel is medium-full bodied with medium carbonation. Dry, sharply bitter finish.

Overall this IPA is a bit too resinous hop forward for my liking; probably too much Chinook and Columbus hops which if used too much in abundance create that minty, extra acidic hop flavor that I am not a fan of. Fine for some, not for me.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2012 15:21:26 | More by claspada

BlurryVisi0n

New York

3.88/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served in a wellington beer glass.

Appearance: Slight hazy light amber color with light bubbles on the body, head is off white with an orange tint rising to maybe 1/3" off the body.

Smell: Hops, malty scent I can't complain but I wish it was a little more potent.

Taste: Tastes strong, not heavy on al;cohol but strong in flavor packing a punch with its complex taste. Has a little everything most beer drinkers would like, it is a slight sweet but comes off raw with it malt taste.

Mouth: Definitely medium to heavy, very very smooth but it's great flavor is just a tease in your mouth on how it comes and goes.

Overall: Might be your "American Strong Ale" tastes more like a Imperial IPA but maybe this one is just a hybrid? Regardless very good brew. Salud!

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 00:59:25 | More by BlurryVisi0n

AlCaponeJunior

Texas

3.83/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours cloudy and orange/tan with about a finger of head and decent lacing.

Fruity and hoppy, plenty of maltiness too, plenty of citrus, and a little spiciness.

Body is medium and lightly carbonated, with a bit of alcohol presence and a bitter finish.

It's good but I don't think it's fantastic. I like the unearthly better by itself.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 00:52:27 | More by AlCaponeJunior

cvm4

Mississippi

3.75/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Pours a cloudy, but bright orangeish amber. Frothy 1 finger head.

S - Juicy citrus notes and a good amount of hops.

T - Very malty, lots of citrus peel and a little hop on the end.

M - On the lite side of medium body and medium/high carbonation. Not impressed here.

O - An interesting beer. Good flavor but kind of dull & the body is lacking.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2012 21:22:52 | More by cvm4

oline73

Maryland

4.03/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from the bottle into a Chimay goblet.

Appearance: The beer pours a cloudy orange amber color with a golden hue. There is a half finger of off white head that leaves some mild lacing and a ring around the pour.

Smell: I'm getting some citrus peel hops up front along with some juicy citrus fruit notes. In the background I'm getting some malt sweetness and mild alcohol.

Taste: The hops are the star here, but there is a lot more going on as well. Juicy citrus peel hops up front, but there is plenty of malt sweetness to back things up. I'm getting some spice notes with alcohol and bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel: The beer had a body that's just on the syrupy side of medium. There is aggressive carbonation with a dry finish.

Overall: Definitely reminds me of a double IPA with a ton of malt backing it up. The flavors blended very well, I'm a fan.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2012 22:41:59 | More by oline73

mactrail

California

4.1/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Spicy is the word for this stuff. Remarkable hop flavor-- as opposed to just hop bitterness. At the same time it's quite sweet, even a little sticky. Quite malty, but sharp and prickly with the hops. An unusual sort of beer, however you might categorize it.

Attractive amber in the Petrus tulip with appropriate foam. Nicely carbonated on the tongue. An intriguing hoppy beer that stays away from the typical DIPA territory, but yields a bold flavor. Big fruitiness of dried pineapple and something like lychees? Starts spicy and ends spicy. Quite luscious and creamy. The list of hops and hop back and dry hops on the label makes you blink, but it's a sensational hop flavor and aroma.

From the 22 oz bottle purchased in Washington DC.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2012 03:16:33 | More by mactrail

BostonHops

Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

bomber served in a snifter glass.

pours a translucent bright amber tone - almost orange - yielding a frothy finger of beige head. middling retention but plentiful sticky lacing. nice presentation, though not especially remarkable.

nose is packed with an aromatic bouquet of hops, notably citrus and pine with a touch of malt in the background. nice, but similar to the appearance it doesn't set itself apart in a very competitive style. flavor follows the aroma almost to a T. piney, citrusy, maybe a floral note or two, balanced with some malt characters. hoppy bitterness in the finish. tasty. not mind-blowing, but tasty. 10.5% ABV well-hidden.

medium-plus bodied mouthfeel with slightly above average carbonation. personally i prefer unearthly, but this is good too. definitely worth a try.

originally reviewed: 02-04-2011

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2012 22:26:39 | More by BostonHops

MoreThanWine

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a 1.5" velvet custard head. Gorgeous glowing hazy raw sienna yellow body. It smells nicely of piney hops, raisin, and malt. The taste although simpler than the smell is a powerhouse of minty IPA hops. The body is creamy. There's a long hoppy finish, and although the higher alcohol is apparent it blends well with the flavors. This is a nice, classy, but bold product.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2012 01:00:21 | More by MoreThanWine

NiceTaps

New Jersey

4.15/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

From a growler poured into a pint glass.

A-clean golden-orange color with a touch of amber highlight, one-plus finger head that gently fades to a thin film,good lacing and carbonation.

S-a mild but easily noticed citrus hop aroma at first. I pick up some sweetnees behind the alcohol. The malts and grains are backround at most to me, but it all works in balance.

T-It's a good thing that I know it's a 9.0% abv because this is flavorful and smooth. The malts and barley come out with some roastiness and sweet caramel. The citrus hop taste finishes it off nicely.

M- very silky smooth full body. Excellent carbonation [props to the growler station at my local shop]. It is lively and tangy, not bitter. Great flavor from first sip through finish.

O- This blend works for me. I may have tempered my rating numbers because this is just my second go-round with this brew. I'm sold. I really like how the aroma does not overpower, especially the hops. Lots of balance - all around.

Serving type: growler

05-15-2012 02:01:20 | More by NiceTaps

AleWatcher

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Got this from the Disc Golf #2 BIF.
Bomber into my Innis & Gunn tulip.

So this a blend of a pale ale and an ipa... Seems like an unnecessary mix to create... It also seems that the "strong ale" designation is inappropriate. I'd call this more of an east coast DIPA.

Bright sunny orange color with a light amber hint and golden highlights. Creamy yellowish head of 1.5 fingers settled after 2 or 3 sips to become a thin soapy film with a fluffy collar around the edges. Weak lacing-- just some light spotty clumps (I'm now reminded of the small print during a birth control advertisement).

Smells overly sweet-- but it's odd sweetness, like not malty sweetness, but a real genuine sugar kind... Like diluted aspects of honey, molasses, and table sugar rolled into one. Some citrus and pine notes sneak through as well.
The flavor is very sweet-- sugary sweet with some sweet bready and caramel malts and something that reminds me of tangerines rolled in sugar. Some bitterness on the back end is just not enough to cut through the sweetness... Perhaps the word 'cloying' could be appropriate.

Feels sugary and syrupy with loads of residual sugar left coating my teeth. Little oily. Medium body. Ample carbonation.

Overall-- meh. This is really a beer that shouldn't be. There's no reason for it. It's a blend of two readily available beers that really don't demand blending. I reckon using oak-aged unearthly would help. It's odd though, but I actually really like Hoppe, but the addition of Unearthly ruins it.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2012 18:40:20 | More by AleWatcher

divineaudio

Michigan

4.05/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

bomber into a wine glass.

a - pours a murky amber shade with a finger thick, off white head. retention is good, calming slowly to a film. leaves thick, leggy lacing in the glass.

s - toasted malt with toffee. sugary and grassy.

t - nice, sweet toffee malt character. quite bready. light wheat crispness, faint berry, faint orange citrus, faint grassy hops. light bitterness in the finish.

m - lighter side of medium with with the right amount of carbonation. clean and crisp.

o - enjoyable and very drinkable. a very nice blend of the two, though i was expecting more hop character. a good springtime beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2012 18:23:32 | More by divineaudio

superspak

Michigan

4.33/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled 1/27/2012. Pours slightly hazy golden orange color with a nice 2 finger dense off white head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Some nice soapy lacing on the glass. Aromas of big grapefruit, orange, honey, caramel, herbal, floral, pine, pineapple, light mango, and a bit of alcohol. Nice and very well balanced aromas with nice strength. Taste of big orange grapefruit, pineapple, floral, pine, wheat, light mango, and herbal spiciness. Nice amount of spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of grapefruit, pineapple, orange, mango, and wheat on the finish for a good bit. Fantastic balance of bitterness and malty flavors; with no cloying sweetness at all. Medium carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a nice creamy and slightly slick mouthfeel. Alcohol is very well hidden at 9%, with only a moderate warming after the finish. This is much smoother to drink than Unearthly, but is still quite a sipper. Overall this is a fantastic blended DIPA. Tons of great balanced flavors, and very smooth to sip on.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2012 03:53:04 | More by superspak

ummswimmin

New Jersey

4.23/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I went for the Gemini to pair with some fancy dining of Cheesecake Factory. The hoppiness in the beer is suppose to go with their version of Indian food. I'd say that it was a good call.

The smell is substantial, but it isn't overwhelming. The citrus goes well with the curry and shrimp.

This is a very easy to drink unfiltered beer. I enjoyed having this bottle tonight. It also worked well after walking nine holes.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2012 01:11:39 | More by ummswimmin

challenja

Virginia

4.75/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured On Tap at Fireworks in Courthouse, VA.

A: Light amber orange, very shiny copper tone with sticky thin lacing that coats the glass.
S: Sugary grape fields and Mediterranean Dates. Lilies and sweet orange peel. Sugary malt bread.
T: This a unique blend for a strong ale that is both sweet, fruity, and inviting with a nice ruby red grapefruit advice and nice centennial hops that linger well on the palate. Nice warm pizza dough with slight molasses sap.
M: Nice medium carbonation that adds a nice thickness and bready nature to the malt. NIce froth splashed between the teeth with a really nice mellowing summertime low 50 IBU finish.
O: A really good middle ground beer to share with your friends while watching a Sci-Fi flick or sword swinging kick ass period piece like Game of Thrones or The Borgias. Another winner for S.T

Serving type: on-tap

04-22-2012 19:18:16 | More by challenja

Hopfenpeter

Maryland

4.35/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured a nice slightly hazy honey gold, and produced a creamy white one and a half finger head.left nice lacing on the glass.
The smell is fruit like citrus, orange , pineapple and lots of honey.
The taste is strong honey flavors up front, but immediately met by fruity hops, which bring an immediate balance to the beer. Some more earthy hop flavors mingle with malt flavors at the end, producing a really great aftertaste.
Very interesting and drinkable beer. I am glad I picked this one up.!

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2012 03:15:34 | More by Hopfenpeter

barczar

Kentucky

3.7/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a slightly hazy deep copter color with an ivory one finger solid head that leaves thick lacing.

Aroma is heavily caramel malt, with a bit of floral hop and pine. Undertones of grapefruit pith surface secondarily, and lemon comes to play late in the game.

Bitter citrus pith dominates the initial sip. Muted grapefruit and tangerine offer a bit of respite. The caramel, bready backbone carries the hop flavor without being as sweet as the aroma would indicate. Fresh cut grass becomes evident as it warms.

Body is moderately heavy, with a moderate amount of carbonation, and there's a fairly dry, bitter finish. Alcohol warmth is felt in the belly.

Overall, a pretty even-keeled beer, considering the style. Wish the hops were more complex. Not my favorite for the stylebut a great beer. Like it much better as it warms.

Serving type: on-tap

04-13-2012 01:58:48 | More by barczar