Southern Tier Cuvée Series 2

Ale aged in American Oak
ALE IMPRESSIONS: Dark ruby red color, roasted malt flavor with apparent bitterness. Finishes with a rich caramel and espresso aroma.
AMERICAN OAK IMPRESSIONS: Impressions of vanilla crème, classic crème brûlée and nougat. A little more oak flavor than series one, but with creamy intensity.
11.0% abv. • individually boxed, foil labeled 22 oz bottle

3.6

343 reviews

Lakewood, United States

Community reviews

3.5 Price reduced at BOTW. Only beer I’ve had that was boxed(also Series 1 that is still in my cellar). Poured amber with thin beige head. Aroma oak vanilla, caramel, creme brulee, butterscotch, quite sweet, mild dark fruit. Flavor of vanilla, oak, toffee, caramel, butterscotch, creme brulee, mild dark fruit. MF medium to full body with light carb. Good brew, complex and full of flavors.

4.2 22 ounce bottle into snifter; no bottle dating, but should be at least 4 years old. Pours moderately hazy deep ruby red color with a thin khaki lace cap for a head, that reduces to a spotty lace cap that lingers. Minimal spotty lacing clings on the glass, with some light streaming carbonation. Aromas of big caramel, raisin, fig, apple, toast, vanilla, toffee, oak, clove, light chocolate, brown bread, brown sugar, herbal, and toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of malt and oak notes; with great strength. Taste of big caramel, raisin, apple, fig, toast, vanilla, toffee, oak, clove, brown bread, brown sugar, chocolate, light roast, herbal, and toasted earthiness. Lingering notes of caramel, dark fruit, vanilla, toast, toffee, oak, clove, brown sugar, brown bread, chocolate, and toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic balance and complexity of malt and oak character flavors; with big robustness and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Light-medium carbonation and full bodied; with a very creamy, slick, and slightly syrupy mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming present after the finish. Overall this is an awesome oak aged strong ale! All around great balance and complexity of malt and oak character flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the high ABV. A highly enjoyable offering.

3.5 Bottle at home. Pours clear dark brown with garnet highlights and a small, fizzy light beige head, medium to short retention with spare lacing. Aroma is oak, peppery alcohol, caramel and cookie malt, raisins and figs with earthy hops and papery oxidation notes. Flavor is sweet malt and light alcohol, oak, dark fruits, light hops and bitterness, light oxidation notes and a sweet finish. Full body and medium-light carbonation.

3.4 22oz bottle, from Dilly Cafe. Shared with caterwaul and friends. Hazy dark brown red orange color. Thin khaki head. Short reaches of lace. Bigger body, smooth crisp lighter carbonation. Lightly sticky. Nice woody spicy notes. Some espresso. Light dark fruit. Caramel malt. Bigger bitter taste, Bigger sweet too, lightly dry finish. Soft, smooth, kind of creamy palate. Enjoyable oak-aged strong ale. Complex. Much better than the mess that was cuvee 1, and my favorite of the three overall.

3.8 22oz bottle. Pours a deep bourgandy color with a thick frothy off white head that slowly fades to thin lacing. Aroma has loads of vanilla, some woodiness, caramel and soft alcohol. Tastes of caramel, brown sugar, black plums, and prunes that provide a nice base while mild alcohol, softer vanilla tones, some oak, and a nice bitterness balance it out. The alcohol is well hidden, but comes out a bit as the beer gets warmer. Smooth creamy mouthfeel that leaves the tongue a bit sticky with soft moderate carbonation.

3.7 Bottle for NHL playoff watching. Pours murky brownIsh plum. Nose of plums and toffee. Tastes of dark fruits plums and figs. You get toffee, earth, leather, woody, some tobacco. Not too sweet which is nice from Southern Tier

3.3 Bottle thanks to Kevin. Pours a cloudy amber with small beige head that diminishes quickly to nothing. The aroma is oak and vanilla. Medium mouthfeel with sweet vanilla malt and strong oak in the finish. Good.

3.6 Bomber in my fridge. Pours cherry wood stain red/brown with no head. Nose full of oak. Taste of toffee, vanilla, and caramel with oak rounding out the finish. The oak adds complexity to an otherwise one dimensional beer. Body is full and slick.

3.4 65 cl bottle @ Oluthuone Esplanadi, Tampere. Originally rated on 20100417. Pours copper color with a small head. Aroma of resiny hops, caramel malts, ripe fruits and toffee notes. Flavor of caramel malts, ripe fruits, alcohol notes, some resin and hay. A mediocre beer wrapped in a nice package.

3.8 Bomber that was on sale (but still $9). If getting rid of the box would drop the price, I’d do it. I haven’t had the others in this series. but I like this. Kinda sweet, not bitter, nor roasty. Creamy with some vanilla. All the edges are worn off this ale. They say nougat, and I think they’re right. Excellent.

4.0 Poured from bottle a deep copper with a tan head. Aroma of toffee, oak, vanilla, and sweet malt. Tastes of toffee, biscuit, cherry, oak, bourbon and some booze.

3.5 65 cl bottle @ Oluthuone Esplanadi. Rated on 17.04.2010 Aroma is somewhat fruity and sweet with american hops, caramel and toffee. Flavour is sweetish with caramel, some toffee, fruitiness, hops, some oaky notes and stinging alcohol. An ASA too high on booze.

2.4 Dark red. Smells like plum. No head. Not balanced at all. It just doesn’t work. Very strong alcohol. Dominant oak flavor. It just doesn’t work.

3.2 Duft af sherry. Gæret nærmest kriek agtig. Uklar rødlig farve. Ikke meget kulsyre. Alkohol tung og meget meget sød. Karamel. Eftersmagen er lidt tam lidt bitter.

3.7 22oz bottle from Armanetti’s. Pours a cloudy, brown colored body with a reddish hue. Finger-width, creamy, tan head that dissipates slowly and leaves a nice lacing. Aroma is rich, darker caramels with some brown sugar, a good amount of vanilla, a moderate oak, touches of fig, and a very light spicing. Flavor is similar. Sweeter, rich, darker caramels with notes of brown sugar and maple. More oak than Series 1 with a good amount of vanilla, hints of fig, a light spicing, and nuts. Finishes sweet and rich with a light earthy bitterness and a bit more of the spice coming out as well as a nice, oaky vanilla. Lengthy aftertaste following a medium-full, slightly chewy and sticky body with a moderate carbonation. Overall, a pretty solid beer. Sweeter and rich, but a bit more oak and vanilla than Series 1 with a light spicing and earthy bitterness in the finish. I like this one a bit better than Series 1.

3.7 Bottle split with Pat, Keith, James, Simon and Terr at my first schiavo tasting i hosted a few years ago. We paired a shit ton of beers with diff courses of herbals. This was one of the last courses so a heavier hybrid was in order. Pours a hazy deep brown with thick beige head. Aroma of cognac booze, fig, barley, vanilla, oak, sweet honey, espresso, caramel, toffee, malt and notes of chocolate. Very rich, medium body with a slightly sticky, firm palate. Slow boozey finish. Really enjoyed this one, maybe in the top 3 of the tasting we had but I still prefer the 1st one of the series.

3.2 Deep mahogany/red with a very small tan head that fades quickly in the glass. Aroma is huge on the oak with some herbal and Earth notes thrown in. Flavor is much like the aroma but with more of an alcohol presence. Sweet and fairly well balanced for such the huge ABV but still kind of lopsided.

3.0 A-- Poured a dark, murky brown. Very little carbonation. What was there was light brown head and disappeared quickly. No lacing at all. S-- Sweet, roasted coconut right off the bat. Some dark fruit as well. Alcohol is quite noticeable as well. More like cognac than alcohol though. T-- Thick and syrupy. That is for sure. Coconut is very dominant in the taste. Still some dark fruits but apricot stands out in the fruit part. Also get almond in this as well. Keep thinking almond joy with this. M-- Thick, syrupy and sweet. That is for sure. Very low carbonation. Sometimes medicinal and other times not in the mouth. D-- Very much a sipper. ABV is pretty well hidden but it is just sweet and syrupy that slows you down. Might have been better fresher more than anything else. I like coconut but in a way this is over the top. Worth trying more than anything else. Becoming a trend with what I have had with ST beers. Very sweet and syrupy.

3.7 Bottle. Pours muddy dark brown with tan head. Nose/taste of nougat, creme brulee, oak, vanilla, caramel and burnt brown sugar. Sweet. Medium body.

3.8 Served from a 22 oz bottle from back in The Wine & Cheese Place years ago. The appearance is a ruby brown hue with a small off white to light brown head. The nose is full of grape juice, oak, vanilla wafers, and a sprinkle of nutmeg. The flavors are malty with sweet caramelized brown sugar, creme brulee for sure. Oak spice and snikerdoodles. Luscious creamy body with a mild intensity oak spice. After have forgetting about this for some time the Series 1 being a mediocre brew I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by this beer.

4.0 Nice oak aged aroma. Dark amber color but not much suds. Nice and smooth on the palate. This was cellared for a while and I think it helped.

4.1 This $13.19 bottled brew from a bottle shop poured a small sized head of foamy with a frothy top fine to medium sized tan colored bubbles that were mostly lasting and left behind a softly carbonated light brown colored body and a good lacing. The vinous aroma was nut brown malt and dough. The mouth feel was tingly at the start with a mellow finish and a strongly vinous aftertaste with an alcohol burn to it. The strongly vinous flavor contained notes of old ale resinous pine and alcohol. A wonderful best in class brew.

3.3 Pours a deep dark mahogany with a litttle tan film skimmed across the top. Aromas are deep oak, sweet malts a touch of earthy maple and some boozey dark fruits. On the palate its not quite as oakey but maintains a big barley syrup mouthfeel with notes of vanilla, boozy dark rum and touches of caramel burnt toffee and rotten fruit.

3.6 Medium beige head. Slightly hazy deep amber body. Deep earthy toffee and chocolate aroma with vanilla fudge, sherry, and linoleum notes. Sweet-dryish earthy toffee and vanilla fudge taste with chocolatey alcohol and honey notes. Fullish body. Mild, soft mouthfeel with slight heat. Dry-sweetish roasty vanilla fudge aftertaste with chocolate, honey and linoleum notes. Really nice, but a bit too sweet and perfumy. (0.65l bottle, Fish & Beer, Copenhagen. Cellared for 1 year.)

3.2 Pour out of 22 oz bottle, dark reddish brown pour with thin to no white head, aroma brought notes of deep toffee, molasses, dark raisin, some slight plastic notes, hints of oak, vanilla in there, touch of slight cocoa powder. Taste is very plasticky, touch of vanilla, slight oak, lots of dark fruits and toffee/molasses, finishing fairly sweet. Eh something is off about this, but there are enough good tastes to help a bit.

2.8 Bottle @ Armin’s house. Somewhat cloudy, reddish orange appearance with a small tan head. Somewhat oxidized, toffee, light vanilla, dull flavor hoppy, fairly intense aroma. Fairly boozy, cardboard, plastic, toffee, caramel, bitter floral flavor. Pretty strong.

4.1 0.65l bottle courtesy of Meilby and shared with the Kristiansandsmafia. Never thought I’d get to try this, so big thanks for sharing! The pour on this one is clear dark nutty brown, actually quite lovely looking, and it has a low light sidesticking off-white head. On the aroma it’s lovely sweet and kinda oaky with lots of sticky sweet strawberries, some vanilla-oaky touches and caramel. Feels quite complex and very nice. It has a near creamy-sticky texture with a average small bubbly and quite comfortable carbonation level.The flavors are sweetish, caramely and sticky with sweet consentrated strawberries, vanilla and some rum raisins. Wish I could just pop a bottle and enjoy it over an evening because this was really nice! Again, big big thanks for sharing! 30.03.2012

3.7 22 oz. bottle I bought in Cincinnati back in 2009. Pours a hazy plum-amber color with a small off-white head. Aroma of caramel, brown sugar, oak, dark dried fruits, vanilla, and syrup. The flavor is fruitier, with brown sugar, caramel, vanilla, oak, and resin. Medium-full bodied, with a super sweet, syrupy mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. I actually liked this one better than the others in the Cuvee Series.

3.7 Bottle pouts a ref brown small cream head. Smells tastes of caramel oak sweet vinillia coconut Booze. Really nice beer one of the best I’ve had in some time nice crisp finish bit of tingle on tongue.

4.1 Bottle 650ml @ Geokkjer Pours deep amber with a off-white head. Aroma has notes of malt, caramel, coconut, oak and vanilla. Taste is heavy sweet and light bitter with a long sweet, coconut, vanilla finish. Body is full, texture is oily, carbonaiton is soft.