Oak Aged Unearthly (Imperial India Pale Ale) - Southern Tier Brewing Company

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

4.15/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Amazing tap at Cole's, as the oak ageing mellows and smooths out the aggressive hoppiness. Hop aroma, closer to a juicy West Coast IPA. Colour is creamy yellow golden, akin to a Belgian. Understated carbonation and malt bulks up mouthfeel. Dangerously drinkable, creamy citrus orange flavour, the oak is there its secondary.
Bottle other than the colour, was nowhere as interesting.

Serving type: on-tap

04-24-2009 03:38:09 | More by northyorksammy

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

4.45/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

"Every oak tree started out as a couple of nuts who decided to stand their ground."

--Anonymous

Pristine persimmon with a gorgeous glow when backlit with bright morning sunshine. The creamy crown of sandstone colored foam is big beer beautiful. It has tremendous texture and looks to be melting in super-slow motion. A thick sheet of BB-shot lace is the cherry on top of this extraordinary looking DIPA.

As far as I know, Oak Aged Unearthly is simply Unearthly that has been oak aged. What better way to end up with great beer than to start with great beer? The aroma is exactly as expected given the ingredients list. There's plenty of tropical fruity hops, with just the right amount of background oakiness. This should be some treat.

Even though I slightly prefer the unadulterated Unearthly, this version is still top-notch. When it comes to IPAs/DIPAs, it's best when nothing gets in the way of the hops. Things like caramel malt and oak are fine in small doses. Even when they're present in moderate doses (as is the case here) it can still work. The reason this brew is so good is that it's a minor departure from the original rather than a major departure.

The malt structure is as rock-ribbed as they come, providing flavors of caramel-iced sugar cookies and well-toasted wheat bread. The hops are still able to punch through the malt sugars with ease, delivering plenty of bitterness, as well as generous shavings of orange peel and grapefruit pith. A glimmer of unmasked alcohol is to be expected given the ABV.

The original brew earned the highest mouthfeel score available and I see no reason why this ale shouldn't as well. It's impressively lush and silky... becoming even more so as it gains a few degrees. I can't imagine how it could be improved.

Southern Tier does big beer the way big beer should be done. Oak Aged Unearthly is yet one more example. Even though the standard Unearthly is slightly better, this is a more than worthy addition to the brewery's lineup. Thanks a million to prototypic for his incredible generosity.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2009 15:00:07 | More by BuckeyeNation

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.4/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I was thrilled to see these on the shelf at whole foods yesterday, so you just know I had to pick one up. Served out of the fridge and poured into a pint glass, this one was consumed on 04/07/2009.

The pour was very nice. Rich amber in color with a nice clarity to it. Head of white foam rose up to about three inches and then sttled down with lots of sticky lace. Rich aroma of piney hops and sweet oak like notes. Really well done here with a very nice balance. Nice notes of vanilla as it warms. The first taste sealed the deal for me. Lots of orange and pine, nice balance with hints of vanilla and woody essence coming through loud and clear. Smooth, medium body with a mellow carbonation and a all but hidden huge ABV profile. I could have drank this one all night, though i started to catch up with me by the end of the bottle.

Overall I was really impressed with this one, One of the best beers I have had from ST and something I will be going back for again and again

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2009 01:11:29 | More by mikesgroove

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

G: Poured into an oversized snifter.

A: Pours a bright orange-amber color with a decent off-white head. Plenty of carbonation on the surface of the head, but not much in the beer itself, which is nearly transparent.

S: Absolutely delightful. The oak definitely comes through alongside an overpowering hop presence--fruits are definitely present, with the biggest one being perhaps apricot.

T: An overpowering bitterness--the 100+ IBU's definitely make themselves known. A light touch of the oak is available underneath. Relatively sweet.

M: Medium-bodied with a decent amount of carbonation. Goes down smooth without much alcohol presence given the high ABV.

D: Drinkable, but a little too unbalanced to warrant having this one very often. While there's nothing I like better than a good hop bomb, I'd prefer to have one that's a little more balanced than this.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2009 01:31:31 | More by Thorpe429

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.6/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22 ounce bottle - $6.99 at Olde Crabapple Bottle Shoppe in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours a clear, amber-hued body with an initially lively, but fastly dissipating, white head.

Smell: Floral, fruity, citrusy and notably oaky with a dry inclusion of caramel, and some drops of nostril-clearing spruce oil and alcohol.

Taste: Sweet malty doses upfront tasting of caramel candy and honey, sugary guardians forever countering an everpresent, but not quite grading tannic oak astringency and a noted (though not overwhelming) alcohol presence. Grapefruits and oh-so juicy clementines leisurely soaked in SoCo follow. Robustly bitter. Handful of spruce tips. Fruity, oaken finish with a lingering tannic astringency and touch of booze.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium-low carbonation, leaving the mouthfeel somewhat soft.

Overall: How does it compare to the non-oaked version? No clue, to be honest with you! I haven't had that in ages and I am far, far too much of a lazybones to click on over to that review. Let's just enjoy what we have here, a lightly carbonated, oaken ale.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2011 04:23:55 | More by ChainGangGuy

UCLABrewN84

California

3.93/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to Tieman for sharing this one at his tasting.

Pours a clear dark orange with a foamy khaki head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, caramel, alcohol, herbal hops, and a slight wood aroma. Taste is much the same with 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 08:57:56 | More by UCLABrewN84

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3.6/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bottle: Poured a deep cloudy orangey color ale with a small foamy head with minimal retention and not much lacing. Aroma of sweet malt with some floral and citrus hops also thrown in the mix. Taste is much similar to a barleywine then an imperial IPA with dominating sweet malt with a very light oak and a floral bitter finish. Body is quite full with limited filtration and no much carbonation. I honestly think the regular version is better.

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2009 02:03:17 | More by Phyl21ca

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.95/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Boy is this beer a whollop to the senses. Agressive on all fronts.

Big aromas of citrusy, piney hops dominate the nose. The malts struggle to give a sugary sweetness with caramel and worty aromas. Esters of pineapple, cherries, peaches, and pears come out of the candied hop scents. Light woodsy, nutty aromas- too light for a beer that brags on oak aging.

The appearance is a straight-up golden, amber hue with light carbonation, firm but light on head formation. Reduces to a froathy film ontop of the beer. Light lacing. Low rates of foam is partially due to high alcohols and oak aging.

Flavors are sugary and caramelly- very high sweetness to combat the on-slaught of hop puree. Pine and citrus give a huge juicy burst of flavors that run the gammot: grapefruit, pineapple, orange zest, pine, lemon zest, and fresh cut grass. Esters give even more complexity with fresh tropical fruits: appricots, mangos, pineapples, oranges, cherries, and apples. Light on phenols, but the high alcohols give an ethanol taste that I could live without. Again, the wood flavors and nutty notes pale up against the strong malts and hops.

With such boldness in flavor, the mouthfeel suffers. Initially sticky-sweet, mouth-coating sugary malts begin to warm with the fusal alcohols and eventually rise to caugh-syrup proportions. Hop bitterness never crispen the beer like good IPA's do because of the confectionate cloyness. Though very full, rich, and appetizing, the maltiness result in oily, hot, and abrasive textures. The oak aging seems to take the rough edges off the beer, but not enough.

With most other beers that try to match intense hop flavors with a presumed balance of malts, the result is not balance, but conflict. When everything stands out, then nothing stands out. Still a pleasure to drink. But with so many opportunities missed, it's quite a shame.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2009 20:36:55 | More by BEERchitect

oberon

North Carolina

4.03/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured with great clarity into a imperial nonic a deep burnt orange color with a frothy two finger slight off white head atop,a mix of vanilla/oak and big citric hop with the hops given the slight edge,a tinge of alcohol comes thru as well.The oak isnt to big wich is a good thing for me leaving the great complex hop profile that I love about the standard version to be the main component of the beer.Big citric piney hop with some herbalness,the oak flavors come in the finish.Everything seems to be getting oaked these days not sure if a DIPA should be oaked,this was still pretty damn good.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2009 21:38:02 | More by oberon

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Well here's a treat, to review Unearthly and Oak-Aged Unearthly side by side; and all 44 ounces are mine!

Both appear pretty much the same, except that the oak-aged version is clearer, and thus appears to the eye to be just a slight touch darker (there's no yeast in it to reflect light back at you). Other than that, they deliver a deep amber body that has an orange cast to it, and glimmering golden highlights at the base of the glass. The finger-thick, off-white head is creamy and holds pretty well. The original leaves short, creamy mountains of lace rising up above the surface. The oak-aged leaves sheets of thinner, craggy lace that sticks to the glass and stays, where as the original version tends to slide down to near to the level of the head as it goes. Overall I'd guess I'd have to say that the original version has a bit of a better head, but that the clarity of the oak-aged version is generally more enticing.

In the nose, the original Unearthly is decidedly caramelish and malty with notes of pine/spruce and citrusy, and a bit of grassiness and leafiness as well. It's bold and bright, and somewhat sweetish.

The oak-aged version displays some subtle oak (which I kind of didn't expect), along with fruity and citrusy notes; and it's dryer with much less maltiness. I also get a little more grapefruit out of the oak-aged, and some lemon and what I think of as something like a tomato plant - it's vegetal, but in a good way... grassy I guess. And I get more spruce than pine.

As expected, in the flavor the standard version wraps piney, grassy, floral and citrusy hops in a rich blanket of bready and gently caramelish and honey-like malt. The oak-aged version also follows what its aroma suggests, and it's dryer and more fruity, although some raspy pine does appear in the finish. The woody touch is nice. I should also note, however, that even though the original is a bit sweetish, it still finishes fairly dry, with just a hint of doughy malt lingering, and it doesn't build on the palate.

Interesting! They're really like two different beers. The original version is very wide in its flavor profile, whereas the oak-aged is more focused, but with perhaps a touch more depth. Hmmmm....

The mouthfeel for each beer is a little bit different as well, with the original Unearthly displaying a more dextrinous body.

Oddly, both beers display the same bitterness to me, despite the fact that I find the fuller maltiness of the original to be sweeter, and the oak-aged to be drier. The bitterness somehow remains the same.

Both beers have their own charms in the end, and I again have to reiterate how different they really are. I like the fuller mouthfeel of the original, and its bready malt and bolder hop flavors. But I also like the fruitiness and dryness of the oak-aged version, and because of that I think I'd find it a little more drinkable in the long-run (although it seems to have just a little bit more alcohol to it as well). And on that note, perhaps the extra aging time, and surface contact with the oak allowed it to ferment out a bit more. Just a theory.

Conclusion: both versions are really good beers that don't overstep their bounds with too much maltiness, too much bitterness, or too much hop flavor - and yet all of those are present in abundance. Nicely balanced. Nicely rounded. Nicely drinkable. Certainly worth trying!

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2009 22:29:53 | More by NeroFiddled

TMoney2591

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Served in a Dogfish Head snifter.

My man down at Whole Foods in...I think they consider it the Tyson's Corner location, though it may or may not actually be in Falls Church. I dunno, the geography out here is still something of a mystery to me. Things are much simpler back home in the IL... Wow, I think my thoughts cut into that sentence there. As I was saying, my man at Whole Foods recommended this to me, and, though I haven't historically been that into IPAs and whatnot, I figured "What the hell" and took the shot. From the bottle, this thing figures to be anything but simple (see how I looped back around there?), so expectations are running frighteningly high. Here goes:
A clear, rosy amber replaces the empty clarity of the snifter. The head is not very pronounced, and whatever is there dies off faster than public interest in lasting governmental reform (zing!). For whatever reason, I was expecting to snort hops as though they were arranged in lines with my diamond-encrusted razorblade (don't ask how I was able to purchase such an extravagance), but this was contrary to reality. Instead, a charge of toffee, especially sweet, flanked by a healthy dose of background floral radiation. Kinda like a tac-nuke, there's a relatively minimal amount of immediate physical damage but a resounding level of malingering effects (at least within the blast radius)...or such is my understanding of current nuclear weapons technology...I could be wrong. The hops make their first real appearance on the tongue, though they are still not as powerful as in my expectations. A sharp twang of citrus, a lingering soft pummeling of bitterness, but nothing really painful. What does stand out is the oak, which stands steadfastly in the background like a massive forest, wood, greenery, and all. Some caramel is there as well, not as sweet as the toffee in the nose, but rather a tad nuttier, bordering on a bland peanut brittle. The resulting olio does not overdo on any level, but maintains great strength at each one. The only thing precluding perfection here is a metallic bite slicing through the rearguard; a bitter Roland ensures that the rest of the troops do not become engulfed by the Saratin horde. (...Damn, that went from intellectually inspired to obviously forced...) Because the flavors are not intense, the medium body does minimal damage on its way down, allowing for deeper sips than would be possible elsewhere. I gotta say, my man did right by me again. Now, though, I feel as though I should try the non-aged version...

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2010 08:41:51 | More by TMoney2591

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.38/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Clear, amber/apricottish hue, lovley white head, if small. Poured into a Maredsous tulip glass.

Aroma: bittersweet, lightly malty, pine and fresh citrus fruit...ripe orange & tangerine, splash of pineapple.

Taste: here's where the oak comes in, from the first sip...Big, wet, & woody. Lean body, long, oaky finish. Blankets the hops a bit, smothers them, even, and lets the malt stand guard. The regular Unearthly is a bitch-slap of bitterness. Oak-aging masks the spanks of the hops, tenderly covers it, and all is smooth and mellow.
Alcohol shows eventually, as it does with all of these ST Imperials.

There's no mistaking the oak in this, but I wouldn't have recognized it as Unearthly. A uniquely beautiful ale.

Serving type: on-tap

03-18-2009 06:48:13 | More by feloniousmonk

WesWes

New York

4.13/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer pours a beautiful amber color with a thick frothy offwhite head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is awesome. It has a wonderful medley of hops and oak that really compliments one another. The vanilla character reacts well with the heavy malt bill. The taste is good. It has quite the complex array of flavors here. The malt and hops hit you up front with a nice bitter explosion. It goes down easy with some warmth and then the oak really finishes it off. It's powerful, almost to the point of extinguishing the hop finish. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a damn fine beer. The oak character is a nice touch, although the original is fine without it. These guys just keep putting out the good stuff. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2009 17:54:18 | More by WesWes

drabmuh

Maryland

2.35/5  rDev -42.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

No date on bottle, poured into a snifter. Beer appears thick. Clear, orange and forms a thin diffuse head of small white bubbles that leaves some lacing on the glass. Carbonation is criminally low. Seriously low.

Boozy aroma, hops and lots of sweet malt. There is some hint of woods, not much though.

Big body, spicy, lots of hop flavor and malt sweetness, lots. Its kind of like drinking syrup with this undercurrent of woodiness. Its not as good as the unearthly, I'm not sure what the wood aging did to it. I guess its making it close to undrinkable. I hate this beer.

There is a tendency to age a portion of a beer in barrels or on wood and tell everyone that its a new beer and people's general reaction is that its better, but especially with a hoppy beer there are reasons not to do it. Not all beer benefits from contact with wood, air, and time. Its just a waste of hops. Never again.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2010 03:04:58 | More by drabmuh

Mora2000

Texas

4.2/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bottle provided by slasher007.

Pours an orange color with a white head. The smell is somewhat resiny with some hop bitterness and some flavors that I associate with barrel aging. The oaked aroma gets stronger as the beer warms. There is definitely some piney and citrus hop flavors but the oak aging takes the edge off of them, mellowing them out. You also get some oak character in the flavor. The beer has a medium mouthfeel and the oak aging makes it very drinkable. We tried this after drinking some other big IPAs and DIPAs and I would like to try it again when my palate was fresher.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2009 04:16:11 | More by Mora2000

zeff80

Missouri

4.33/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - Poured out a clear, copper color with almost no head. There were some white bubbles but no lacing to speak of.

S - Aromas of bourbon, vanilla, roasted malt and some citrus hops.

T - Probably one of the most balanced oak aged IPAs that I've had to date. Nothing overpowers you - bourbon, oak, vanilla, sweet malt, caramel, citrusy hops and a touch of bitterness.

M - It was crisp, sharp and very smooth. A medium bodied ale with a potent alcohol warmth.

D - This is a really well done oak aged brew. It delivers big flavors without being overbearing or over-the-top.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2010 03:26:00 | More by zeff80

metter98

New York

4/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: The beer is clear orange in color and poured with a thin off-white head.
S: There are light to moderate aromas of grapefruit in the nose.
T: The hops lend flavors of grapefruit to the taste, although these are well balanced by the underlying malts.
M: It feels medium-bodied and crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
D: The beer is relatively easy to drink because the hops are not overpowering and the alcohol is well hidden from the taste.

Serving type: on-tap

03-08-2011 04:43:33 | More by metter98

MasterSki

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Picked up a bottle in Michigan while at the KBS release. Served in a Hopleaf tulip glass for New Beer Sunday : The Return!

A - Two and a half fingers of off-white foam that has solid retention and leaves nice rings of lacing. Transparent copper orange color that is a little more yellow at the edges of the glass.

S - Lots of balance to this one. There's the obligatory hoppiness, but also a fair bit of malt and woodiness to it. There's some skunky weed flavor to the hops - amarillo? - as well as some citrus. Not super strong in the nose.

T - Surprisingly high malt character - lots of caramel and breadiness to this one, with a fair bit of woodiness. The hops are more understated in the taste. The wood contributes a slight sourness that builds as I go through the glass.

M - Solid residual stickiness, medium body, and fairly moderate carbonation that causes a nice tingle at the top of the mouth.

D - While the wood flavors are interesting it gets a little tiring, and the high ABV definitely sneaks up on you. I don't think I'd want much more than a 12oz pour of this, but it's a solid brew nonetheless.

I haven't had regular Unearthly in a while, but I don't think this is a huge improvement.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2009 22:33:10 | More by MasterSki

Gueuzedude

Arizona

3.08/5  rDev -24.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A solid pour into my New Belgium globe glass produces a fat-three-finger thick, nicely tan looking head. The beer is a concentrated amber color that shows a brilliantly clear, copper-amber color when held up to the light. Up front the beer smells of pungent hops with notes of pine, herbaceous hemp oil (with a certain dankness to it), candied citrus fruit (grapefruit, tangelo and bergamot) as well as some bright tropical fruit notes that remind me of lychee, kumquat and a sort of floral, super-peach note. The oak integrates very well with the hop character; it naturally accentuates the herbal notes with a spicy, buttery, woody oak aroma. As the beer warms the alcohol becomes a touch hot.

The beer feels a touch lighter than I was expecting from the viscous looking pour, but it is still fairly full bodied. The hop flavor is a bit reduced from what one would expect from the expressive aroma. The oak character might actually be a little more present, or at least more on par with the hop flavors. The oak and green hops combine to contribute a sort of raw, menthol-like, spicy, dank-buttery-almost-cheesy herbaceous quality that is the dominant note here. Supporting flavors of ruby-red-grapefruit, tangelo and lychee are noticeable in the middle, while the finish has a pronounced green, peppery note that lingers on the palate for quite some time. Speaking of the finish there is an oak derived astringency that couples with the hop-bitterness, as well as the previously mentioned peppery note, to produce an almost harsh finish to this beer. The malt character plays a definite supporting role, but is a bit too crystal malt focused with some intrusive hints of sweet-tea and caramelized, toasted grain that clashes with the hop / oak combination instead of smoothing them out. The sharp / harsh finish is exacerbated as it warms by a hot-alcohol presence.

An interesting beer, despite really being in the mood for something hoppy, this didn't really quite work for me. The oak provides a certain astringency, as well as accentuating a bit more of the herbaceous hop qualities that I would prefer. This is certainly not a bad beer though, and I can see some really enjoying it, but it really just isn't quite for me. My final assessment is that the oak and hops combine to create a flavor that reminds me of raw, herbaceous, citrus infused, dank, slightly ripe cheese and menthol, crystal malt laden tea.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2010 03:38:19 | More by Gueuzedude

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.7/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Poured from a 22oz bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A: The beer is a bright orange/amber color with a short off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is full of floral hops and complimented nicely by fruity citrus and caramelized malts.

T: The taste starts with a very strong burst of grassy hops. Then sweet flavors of caramel and citrus come in along with the notable flavor effect of the oak aging which brings a little bit of a bite to it. The malt character is hearty and the high ABV is well-masked. The after-taste is slightly hoppy and slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and very smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean.

D: Very tasty and flavorful, goes down dangerously easily, not too filling, strong kick, excellent representation of style, while I think this is an excellent beer that is good to drink for an entire evening, the original Unearthly is one of the Top 5 beers that I've ever had and there wasn't much room for improvement. I don't think the oak aging made the beer better, but it did add a twist to it.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2009 00:51:15 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Not much a huge difference here between this brew and the non-barrel aged actually. This beer pours out of the bottle with the same beautiful copper color with just about the same amount of head. The lacing is a little bit less on this one. The smell is still hoppy but has just a slighty earthy note to it now. The taste isn't much different, the hoppy citrus flavors still dominate the brew and in the faint aftertaste there is a wooden flavor that comes through. The mouthfeel is a little softer now, the tingle has been muted a bit. Overall, I'll take the orginal over this one. However, this is still a pretty good brew.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2011 15:42:25 | More by Knapp85

emerge077

Illinois

4.15/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Unearthly is a great IPA, and i've enjoyed the few oaked IPAs i've had in the past...

This pours a bright jeweled amber, with a short foam cap. Lacing is pretty good, and it retains a slightly broken skim on the surface.

Amazing nose...melon, cantaloupe, rhubarb, ripe banana sweetness, orange zest, skunky hops, buttery oak. Like a wooden barrel full of some ungodly melange of turbo-charged fruit cocktail. Not in the alcoholic sense, more just in it's unique pungency. You can get lost in it easily, which is no small feat.

More cantaloupe and ripe banana in the flavor, some light bitterness, but with the buttery sweet finish, it feels more like an English strong ale or something. Leafy hops in the aftertaste, sort of steamrolled by the sugar and oak. Mildly drying, oak is noticeable in the finish. Low carbonation, sort of syrupy. A sipper for sure, and a really interesting experiment that could use a tiny bit of tweaking.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2009 01:25:04 | More by emerge077

Gavage

New Jersey

4.28/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: pours a clear orange color with a 1" head that falls apart quickly. Some mild lacing develops.

Smell: some pine, grapefruit, vanilla, and earthiness comes through easily to the nose.

Taste: caramel, pine, grapefruit, golden apples, and a hearty bitterness is wrapped in a earthy woodiness. Some vanilla arrives late. Alcohol is warming.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied. Lightly crisp to start and a bit smoother late. Aftertaste is warrming and long.

Drinkability: smooth drinking beer here with a big flavor profile. The bomber bottle is enough in one session. Pick this interesting beer up if you see it.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2009 22:23:02 | More by Gavage

jwc215

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours copper amber with a thin head that leaves dotted lacing.

The smell is of pine, citrus (lemon/orange) and peppery spicing. There is some (musty) oak.

The taste is of pine, resin and orange. Sweet with alcohol on the agressive side. It has a perfumy/herbal touch, as well. A nice, interesting hop touch (as was the case with the un-oaked version, with a firm sweet maltiness. The oak lends even more sweetness, with a vanilla character.

The feel is thick and syrupy sweet sticky, though there is some carbonation to help it along.

I have to say, that this was interesting, but found it less drinkable as it progressed. I did enjoy the Unearthly more. The thickness is almost too much, and the oak gives even more sweetness, throwing off the balance of the hops a bit too much. Something "different" for sure, and enjoyable to a degree, but I, personally, prefer the original, as I said.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2009 17:54:55 | More by jwc215

akorsak

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A 650 mL bottle picked up at Al's of Hampden.

A: The IPA has a brilliant orange glow, the result of a bright amber color that is almost a shiny penny. A two finger head has left patches of thin lace all around the glass.

S: The strength of the hops mixed with the oak has given the ale a clementine aroma, thick and citrusy. Damn! Smells just like my hands after peeling one (a clementine that is, not an oak tree). This surpasses even Scurvy in the intense orange department.

T: The Unearthly's ungodly hop profile has been taken up a notch as a result of the oak. The vanilla sweetness has transformed the bitterly sharp hops into the aforementioned clementine-infused masterpiece. Oak is still evident on the back-end, lending a vanilla, mint, and a booze-intensified flavor.

M: The mouthfeel is intense, moving beyond the realm of any IPA, imperial or otherwise, that I've ever had. Never expected this much citrus flavor from a DIPA aged on oak.

D: At 11%, this is not your run of the mill IPA. One bottle will see me to sleep tonight.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2009 00:55:18 | More by akorsak