127. Southern Tier Old Man Winter

Our first non-imperial beer from Southern Tier; we’ve run through Crème Brûlée, Mokah, and Jah*va. We had this on tap at Trolley Stop.

Old Man Winter has a slightly hoppy nose with some dark malt aromas. The color is a deep rich brown with red highlights. It starts with a clean malt front, followed by toasted and roasted notes with clean hop bitterness finishing the beer out. Old Man Winter has a light body and a smooth flavor, and a medium carbonation bite. There are aroma and flavor hop elements present in the beer, but the darker malt mutes them a bit, and makes it a bit more difficult to pick them out, as they are a bit buried. Old Man Winter has good flavor overall; it is well balanced enough that it makes it hard to pick out some of the individual elements within the beer.

From the Southern Tier website: “With the onset of winter, the brewer’s mind turns to providing warmth. For our winter seasonal, we offer a rich and complex amalgam of hops and barley that will put the feeling back in your toes and lift your spirits above the snow. OMW throws a deep and inviting hue with a thickness that clings to the glass and the warmth of an open flame. Because of its high alcohol content, Old Man is a heady brew that encourages sipping and pondering its essential richness. Drink it fresh now, or cellar a few bottles to see how this old man becomes wiser with age.”

ABV: 7.2%

(11/4/2009)