beer_name: Big Red (Imperial Red)
text: Gotta hand it to Southern Tier...I love those painted bottles A-Veiled light amber IPA'ish look to it. Not quite what I expected for something classifed as a red/amber ale. Fluffy white head that settles rapidly. S-Pine hops on the initial nose, with some malts in the background. I expected a bit more here. T-When cold, the initial sip is overwhelmingly harsh, not in a bitter hops kind of way, but in a "this tastes like raw kerosene" kind of way. It searches all over for a kind of malt and hops balance, but just ends up being overpowering. As it warms, it mellows to more of a barleywine profile, but never quite ends up in the right place. M-Medium mouthfeel, a bit over carbonated. D-Not. A very unfinished feeling product. I'm guessing that with some cellaring it will mellow out a bit, and I intend to buy another and do just that to give it another chance. Imperial Amber? I would classify this more as a barleywine...and as such, there are much better out there...