-
Stop lurking! Log in to search, post in our forums, review beers, see fewer ads, and more. — Todd, Founder of BeerAdvocate
Iniquity (Imperial Black Ale)
Southern Tier Brewing Company
- From:
- Southern Tier Brewing Company
- New York, United States
- Style:
- Black IPA
- ABV:
- 9%
- Score:
- 92
- Avg:
- 4.13 | pDev: 10.9%
- Reviews:
- 616
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- May 01, 2021
- Added:
- Jan 12, 2009
- Wants:
- 169
- Gots:
- 151
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by prototypic:
Reviewed by prototypic from Ohio
4.17/5 rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
4.17/5 rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Appearance: Iniquity isn't quite black. It is very dark brown and a bit of light cutting through gives it garnet highlights. It's topped with a modest off-white head that's lucky to reach a finger deep. It wasted no time fleeing the scene and left a sticky lacing in its wake.
Smell: The nose is stacked with citrus hops. There's the usual suspects of grapefruit, pineapple, orange, and mango. A light dose of pine is in there, as well. There's a little malt that's noted. But, I'm not picking up any caramel which is definitely a good thing. It's a little yeasty on the tail. Alcohol surprisingly goes unnoticed. Very well done in this department. Really nice smelling beer.
Taste: The flavor isn't quite as good as the nose set my expectations. It's good, but not elite by any means. There is a really nice citrus hop flavor. It's bitter and features the usual wave of citrus flavors. The downside is that the there seems to be a really spicy hop flavor that consumes the citrus variety. It's good, but it negated what potentially was an excellent hop flavor. There's a little pine in there, but it's predominantly spicy. There's enough malt to hold it together well, but not too much. It is a tad yeasty. Alcohol is noted, but I wouldn't have guessed it's 9%. Finishes spicy and bitter.
Mouthfeel/Drinkability: It has a smooth, creamy medium body. Carbonation is light and doesn't offend. Southern Tier really nailed the feel on this one. Drinkability is good, but falls short of great. I like the flavor quite a bit, but can't say that I love it. It's also weighs in at 9%. Not exactly a lightweight.
Iniquity is quite the interesting beer. It's good. Perhaps very good. But, I can't help but think about what could have been. The spicy hop flavor really cuts into and overtakes a more appealing citrus flavor. It's interesting. The citrus hops just begin to take hold...and then they're gone. Iniquity is injustice or an immoral act. Perhaps suppressing that really nice citrus hop flavor is Southern Tier's poetic (in)justice. All kidding aside, Iniquity is a nice beer. It really is very good. But, it's not quite as good as it could've been. Just sayin'.
Mar 28, 2009Smell: The nose is stacked with citrus hops. There's the usual suspects of grapefruit, pineapple, orange, and mango. A light dose of pine is in there, as well. There's a little malt that's noted. But, I'm not picking up any caramel which is definitely a good thing. It's a little yeasty on the tail. Alcohol surprisingly goes unnoticed. Very well done in this department. Really nice smelling beer.
Taste: The flavor isn't quite as good as the nose set my expectations. It's good, but not elite by any means. There is a really nice citrus hop flavor. It's bitter and features the usual wave of citrus flavors. The downside is that the there seems to be a really spicy hop flavor that consumes the citrus variety. It's good, but it negated what potentially was an excellent hop flavor. There's a little pine in there, but it's predominantly spicy. There's enough malt to hold it together well, but not too much. It is a tad yeasty. Alcohol is noted, but I wouldn't have guessed it's 9%. Finishes spicy and bitter.
Mouthfeel/Drinkability: It has a smooth, creamy medium body. Carbonation is light and doesn't offend. Southern Tier really nailed the feel on this one. Drinkability is good, but falls short of great. I like the flavor quite a bit, but can't say that I love it. It's also weighs in at 9%. Not exactly a lightweight.
Iniquity is quite the interesting beer. It's good. Perhaps very good. But, I can't help but think about what could have been. The spicy hop flavor really cuts into and overtakes a more appealing citrus flavor. It's interesting. The citrus hops just begin to take hold...and then they're gone. Iniquity is injustice or an immoral act. Perhaps suppressing that really nice citrus hop flavor is Southern Tier's poetic (in)justice. All kidding aside, Iniquity is a nice beer. It really is very good. But, it's not quite as good as it could've been. Just sayin'.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway
3.66/5 rDev -11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.66/5 rDev -11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle, kindly shared by gunnar. Dark brown colour, nearly black. Low beige head. Nice aroma of moderately roasted malts, tobacco and some citrus. Flavour also of moderately roasted malts, and fruity and slightly resinous hops. The alcohol is well hidden. Good, but does not blow my socks off.
May 01, 2021Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada
3.47/5 rDev -16%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.47/5 rDev -16%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Dark brown pour yields about 1.25" head, tan in color. Aroma was why black ales never took off, too much roast, not enough hops. Gotta use that dehusked malt. This was less roast and more 'nothing' in terms of aroma.
Taste was a lot of brown malt, some hops, but not the amount I've come to expect from Southern Tier. Kind of felt like a hodgepodge recipe where they threw a bunch of leftover stuff together and still managed to salvage a decent beer. Efficiency!
One of the better black ales, but still behind their regular ipa/dipa lineup.
Aug 25, 2016Taste was a lot of brown malt, some hops, but not the amount I've come to expect from Southern Tier. Kind of felt like a hodgepodge recipe where they threw a bunch of leftover stuff together and still managed to salvage a decent beer. Efficiency!
One of the better black ales, but still behind their regular ipa/dipa lineup.
Reviewed by DavoleBomb from Pennsylvania
3.69/5 rDev -10.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.69/5 rDev -10.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Poured into a snifter.
3.25 A: Black color. One finger of beige head. Retention is below average and just a few wisps of lacing are left.
3.5 S: Floral hops with pine and citrus underneath. Pithy grapefruit and clove honey. Earthy with bready malts.
3.75 T: This is a black IPA done well. It's not overly bitter, indeed, it has just a light bitterness. Good mix of earthy, citrus, floral, and grassiness from the hops. Honey comes through fairly strong despite it not being in the recipe. Bready maltiness with a pleasant spicy finish.
4.0 M: Heavier medium body. Good moderate carbonation. Very nice creaminess that makes this super smooth. Alcohol super well hidden.
3.75 D: Very good example of the style.
Sep 27, 20153.25 A: Black color. One finger of beige head. Retention is below average and just a few wisps of lacing are left.
3.5 S: Floral hops with pine and citrus underneath. Pithy grapefruit and clove honey. Earthy with bready malts.
3.75 T: This is a black IPA done well. It's not overly bitter, indeed, it has just a light bitterness. Good mix of earthy, citrus, floral, and grassiness from the hops. Honey comes through fairly strong despite it not being in the recipe. Bready maltiness with a pleasant spicy finish.
4.0 M: Heavier medium body. Good moderate carbonation. Very nice creaminess that makes this super smooth. Alcohol super well hidden.
3.75 D: Very good example of the style.
Iniquity (Imperial Black Ale) from Southern Tier Brewing Company
Beer rating:
92 out of
100 with
1528 ratings
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!