Iniquity (Imperial Black Ale)
Poured from a bottle into a pint glass. If you're reading this on your internet phone at a liquor store deciding to buy this beer or not, just skip the review and buy this beer. Southern Tier's Inequity is trip for your taste buds and mind. If Alice was drinking beer her taste buds would have gone done the rabbit hole. Southern Tier's Inequity pours very dark, almost pitch black - very much like a stout. In the light, it loses some of the darkness and becomes a very dark red. The pour yields very little head. I poured my allotment into a pint glass, but since my roommate bought the beer he got the tulip and that didn't have much head either. There's very, very little lacing on the glass as you drink it. The smell is something you wouldn't expect from the look of the beer out all. Depending on your experience with IPA's or beer in general, it can be a real mindfuck. You really, really expect a stout when looking at this, however your nose picks up a bit of grapefruit and hops. Then once you taste it, oooh. Wow. Your mouth does not expect this at all! While it may be a very straight forward IPA, cascade hops and grapefruit charactersitcs, the true joy of this comes from the look. Don't get me wrong, it's still a great tasting IPA it's just the look! Crazy. The novelty of this beer makes it a definite purchase (if you like IPA's) if you've never had it before, after that is left up to your discretion! It drinks well, the mouthfeel is thick enough and it's very drinkable - not too bitter.