Southern Tier Blackwater Series: Plum Noir
Plums are a diverse group of species, with somewhere between 19 & 40 varieties depending upon whom you ask. We’re using what we consider to be the best to brew with. the Italian plum has beautiful dark skin & the flesh is perfect for fermentation.
Plum Noir’s mild sweetness is derived no necessarily from the many malts we use. A bit of plum flavor is present as well as earthy, toasted grains, & hints of caramel with mild coffee overtones.
Plum Noir’s mild sweetness is derived no necessarily from the many malts we use. A bit of plum flavor is present as well as earthy, toasted grains, & hints of caramel with mild coffee overtones.
3.6
354 reviews
Lakewood, United States
Community reviews
Grumbler purchase from Breeze-IN, Juneau AK.
This was poured into a pint glass.
The appearance was a nice looking black color with a one finger white foamy head that dissipated within about thirty seconds leaving a nice clingy and somewhat stringy lacing that shows a nice slide to it as well.
The smell was a deep dark fruity / dried plum to slight dark chocolate.
The taste was mainly dried sweet dark fruit (plum) and a ripe slight vinous quality.
On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a fairly decent sessionability about it. The carbonation was somewhat subdued but mostly just giving off a decent dry quality rolling over my tongue. Overall, I say this was a pretty good Imperial iced porter I think I could return to.
beige head leaves structured lacing. coffee coloured. aroma is sweet, fruity, quad esters, bit of anise. taste is bitter chocolate, roasted malts, dried fruits with a long bitter sweet finish. medium body and carbonation.
THOUGHTS: Even without the plum, this would be a very nice imperial porter. The plums really came out more as it warmed.
TECHNICAL: Drank 5/11/2013. Bottle. Poured a very dark brown that was pretty much black in the glass with an average, tan head. The aroma had moderate roasted malts, dark chocolate and coffee; plum, prune, something floral and hints of spices. The initial flavor was lightly sweet and slightly bitter; while the finish was lightly acidic and moderately sweet and bitter with an average duration. There was plum, coffee, roasted malt, prune, dark chocolate and some yeast. The medium to full body was silky then dry with sort of soft but tingly carbonation and a dry and ever-so-slightly alcoholic finish.
Bottle from Archive Beer Boutique October 2013. Very good porter with thin body but a lot of substance.
(bottle - 22 oz) Dark brown pour with a puffy tan head. Light chocolate and dark plum aroma. A bit mild. Fruity flavor with a good hint of plum and a nice roasted aftertaste. A bit sweet at the end as well.
Very dark brown pour with a thin white head. Char, chocolate, sweet dark fruitiness aroma. Char, light bitterness, plum sweetness, taste and chocolate, bitterness on the end. Nice
Bottle: Thanks Joes: Served in a Chouffe glass:
Lively brown head. Deep dark al ost black beer with a ruby shine coming through.
Aromas of malts, prunes, light marzipan, some some straw an hay, roast and raisin.
Flavours of prunes, raisin, some figs, some roast, sweeter malts, bitters, bread, some wood toast and light dry yeasty touch.
Aftertaste is a mix of malts, roat, prunes, figs and hay/wood ish tones.
Low carbo, creamy mouthfeel, medium to fuller bodied and a creamy oily texture.
Decent beer, not that exciting but decent enough!
Transfer from BA review on 6-15-13-
Poured from bottle into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a deep brown color with red highlights seen shinning through when held to the light. Upon pouring there is a two finger cream colored head that fades quite fast leaving only a light level of lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is roasted and sweet with smells of toasted barley malt, chocolate, and caramel. Mixed with these aromas is a moderate showing of a dark fruit smell, consisting mostly of plum and raisin but containing a bit of cherry mixed within as well.
Taste – The taste begins sweet and roasted. While a plum accentuated brew (at last in name), upfront it is mainly roasted malt, chocolate and caramel in flavor. As the flavor advances however some of the fruit begins coming to the tongue. These plum and raisin flavors bring a new level of sweetness to the beer. Toward the end, the chocolate flavor takes on a more milk chocolate like taste with the plum getting even more potent to leave a rather fruit sweetened chocolaty flavor to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel- The body of the beer was rather thick and creamy with a carbonation level that was a little on the lower side. Both were rather appropriate for the fruity-chocolaty flavors of the brew.
Overall- It was tasty but is nothing to out of the ordinary in comparison to most standard porters of its strength. A good tryer but not a real standard go-to.
[5603-20130722] Bottle. Mild grainy coffee fruit aroma. Hazy, dark bright red body with a medium-lasting foamy off-white head. Grainy toasted wood leaf flavour has a coffee fruit aftertaste. Medium-full body. Good. (7/3/7/3/14) 3.4
(c/o mds, w/ him, jercraigs)
[6230B-20140321] Bottle. Roasted woody fruity aroma. Black body with a medium-lasting creamy off-white head. Roasted wood and burnt flavour. Full body. Lots of burntness. (7/3/7-/3/14) 3.4
(c/o blankboy, w/ him, Greg Clow, HogTownHarry, jercraigs)
650 ml bottle @ Christianssand Brygghus. Black body with a big, creamy, long lasting beige head. Not very strong, but nice aroma of roasted dark malt, coffee and some dry fruit. Flavor is nice, quit sweet, more dark fruit than malt actually, mild roast and a bit harsh bitterness, but not in a bad way. It’s nice and smooth. Full body and good aftertaste. A very pleasant one, nothing extreme at all.
Loved the deep nose on this beer...lots of roasted toasted malts, light chocolate and coffee, and more plum thatn in the flavor. Really nice combo that tasted good too, just not AS good as it smelled. This would be a solid malty brew with or without the fruit, but the ever so slight flavor, sweetness and hints of tart and another layer."
Bottle pour. Black, with beige head. Small accounts of webbing. Sweet perfume of candied plums, chocolate milkshake, and some oats. Medium body. Somewhat watery, especially for style. Raisons, cherries, dark chocolate and some tobacco. Rough edges.
Another beer shared with Rob and Ally. Thanks! Purchased as my babysitting present for their 4 month old daughter. Aroma: Light aroma overall, but some coffee roast; not a whole lot of plum, but I don’t have a lot of plum experience, either. Otherwise, a coffee balanced porter with a little chocolate. Appearance: Nearly jet black with a foamy tan head that settles into a tan skin. Flavor: Same as the nose. Palate: Medium body, creamy texture, soft carbonation, lingering finish. Overall: Just felt like a solid porter, so I’ll score it that way.
Poured from a bottle while enjoying the World Cup. Beautiful brown 2-finger head, nice lacing, rich color. I can smell the plum much more than I can taste it. Coffee notes as well.
Aroma of malt with a hint of plum. Dark brown color minimal head. Taste of coffee, malt and dark chocolate. Creamy feel with a bitter coffee finish.
I have to admit I have resisted trying this beer for almost a year in protest that Southern Tier is no longer exporting to our shores, but stocks are almost exhausted so have to pony up and try it. Lovely beer, that is rich and full bodied and the plums fill in the gaps. Damn you Southern Tier for reminding me how good your beers can be, and the fact you no longer sell to NZ. A Creme Brulee sob story.
Black with a cream head. Nose is roasted malts, hint of fruit, chocolate, and coffee. Easy palate, big roasted malts, vineous, plum, lightly sweet, toasty finish.
Bottle. Pours dark brown with a two finger tan head. Aroma of roasted malts, dark fruit, chocolate and plums. Medium-full body with flavors of chocolate, dark roasted malts, caramel, coffee, dark fruit and plum fruitiness.
Bottle at Cafe Sara, december 14th 2013. Black body, tanned lacings. Vinous aroma with plum, roasted malt, dark chocolate. Taste of dark fruits, good amount of coffee, toast and honey. Sweet and thic body with a lasting plum and wine aftertaste.
Hick tur vi var ett gäng som bjöds på denna imperial Stout. Mycket choklad doft.. Smakar rent å choklad . Bra Stout utan kvalmighet som ibland infinnes i dessa mättade öl.När tempen steg framträder faktiskt plimmondoft å smak konstigt? Eller?? riktigt bra kan drickas även av mindre nogräknade öl gubbar som PQ. Ja såna som dricker allt inte finsmakare som Patrik..
Dark brown with an off-white head. Aroma is plum, chocolate, dates. Medium bodied, fruity on the palate with a slightly dry and astringent finish. Taste is plum, dates, chocolate.
Bottle 650ml @ Christianssand Brygghus, Kristiansand
Pours black with a tan head. Aroma has notes of roasted malt, chocolate, caramel and plums. Taste is medium sweet and light bitter with a long roasted, chocolate and slightly fruity finish. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft.
Dark black with slight purple notes on color. Clear and low on foam. Bottle in bar. For imperial porter ad on label, expected more impact, mild taste. Slight plum smell.
Rich dark brown coloured body with a decent sized two centimetre tall tan head. Aroma of prunes, raisins, roasted malt, coffee, alcohol and a nice bit of figs - very nice and pungent throughout. Medium-bodied; Strong roasted malt flavour at first with a good prune, plum and raisin flavour coupled with a light coffee and chocolate note. Aftertaste shows some good depth with the sweetness then the cherry flavours very noticeable along with a lot of roasty bitterness. Overall, a nice beer and pretty much what I was expecting - and better than what most others thought of it. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased from New Beer Distributors in New York, New York on 12-July-2013 for US$9.50 sampled at home in Washington on 05-April-2014.
Very tasty, some ageing did not hurt. Deep dark fruit flavour. Above average mouthfeel. Black coloured body.Some hop bitterness still there.
[My bottle (650ml) shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow, jercraigs & mabel] Pours a very dark brown, almost black, with a frothy tan head. Malty aroma along with dark fruit, a bit of chocolate and some coffee. Fruity and malty flavour along with some light hops. Medium bodied. Pretty good.
Medium brown, aroma is molasses, light soy sauce, mostly a rich stout, not pulling a lot of fruit. They have almost imitated a Baltic porter here, if they’d lagered it.
22 oz. bottle. Deep brown with ruby highlights/ black in the center. Nose is mild sugar plums and shoe leather.
Soft carbonation gives a smooth flat mouthfeel. Faint plum upfront, cocoa and pumpernickel bread. Raisin and weak red gape notes. Body is about right for the style.
Easy to drink without doubt. Well made but not really memorable either.
chocolate, coffee, floral, resin, black, cloudy, sparkling, brown foam, medium sweetness, medium bitterness, medium body, full body, creamy, lively, long finish,
On tap. Pour is dark brown with a medium-sized beige head. Aroma is of dark fruit and sweet roasted malts. Flavor is roast, coffee, caramel, and a touch of dark fruits in the finish.