Southern Tier Iniquity
Southern Tier Iniquity is an Imperial Black IPA, which is also called an Imperial India Brown Ale. This is a style that seems to be increasing in popularity. The hexagram talisman has been used around the world for centuries to invoke magic and good luck. Wishes of good fortune often collaborate with the brewer’s creative to yield dramatic results. We carefully chose the name for this Imperial IBA, Iniquity - a word opposing goodness. Why? This beer is contrary to what one might expect from an IPA; this is an ale as black as night. It is the antithesis of Unearthly. Some may consider it an immoral act to blacken an ale. We suggest they don’t rely on conventional standards. Allow the darkness to consume you. Iniquity weighs in at 9% alcohol by volume. It uses four different hops and 2-row pale malt along with debittered black malt in it’s brewing.
3.8
954 reviews
Lakewood, United States
Community reviews
650ml bottle at the Hoppy Pub, Thessaloniki. Black color with small beige head. Malty aroma, light roasted, light caramel, olives. Sweet malty taste, caramel and chocolate, olives again. Medium oily body with soft carbonation. No hop presence in this bottle, I know it was more than one year old.
22 oz. bottle rating from notes. Pours dark brown to black in color with a small beige head. The aroma and flavor have the nice combination of roasted malts, caramel, dark chocolate with resiny and citrus hops, there is a battle between sweet malts, roast and hops, with the sweet probably coming through more than I would like. Still, I enjoyed this as I do many of the Big Beers Series from Southern Tier.
"the "antithesis" of unearthly? well, not really. lots of similarities, looks aside. this was almost like a darker, but junior version. not quite as complex or heavy with the malts, but the in the same ballpark flavor-wise. the aroma started a little hoppier, but as it went, it resembled a smaller (2% less abv and not as...er...chewy) unearthly more and more. good, but not great - i’d still prefer the balance of their huge ipas to slide more towards hops than malt."
Transfer from BA review on 9-16-13-
Poured from bottle into a snifter
Appearance – The beer pour a deep-brown color, nearly black, with a small half finger of fizzy looking off white foam formed upon pouring. The head persists only a short period of time, fading too leave lots of big bubbles floating atop the brew and some light foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is a nice mix of roasted malt, dark fruits and hop. The roasted aromas are heaviest of a roasted brown bread smell mixed with some light sweet cocoa aromas. Other roasty smells of a light coffee and some cola are there as well. The hops are lighter then the darker aromas, but still make a decent showing. The hop are heaviest of a more citrus aroma, but others of some earth and pine are there as well.
Taste – The taste starts out with a roasted bready flavor mixed with some sweeter flavors of caramel and vanilla. Some lighter cocoa flavors come to the tongue along with some hop flavors of a citrus nature. A grape and darker fruit flavor comes to the tongue more toward the middle of the taste, starting out lighter, but growing quite a bit stronger as the taste goes on to its finish. Along with the fruit flavors, so too comes more hop of a light pine and a very light earthy taste mixing with some more sweeter chocolate flavors, which overall, leaves a sweeter and more lightly hopped (for an IPA), roasted flavor to be left on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the medium side in terms of thickness and creaminess with a carbonation level that is on the slightly higher side for a beer of 9 % abv. A little thicker of a body and a little less carbonation would have likely been better for the roasted and hoppy flavors of the brew, but overall it was OK.
Overall – This is a rather tasty brew. If looking for something decently hoppy, moderately sweet, and roasty, this is a good brew to try.
Bottle from ACBC , thnx to Eddy
Pours black, small white head .
Smell is sharp , hoppy , raisins .
Taste is roasted malts bitterness ( plus the obvious hoppy bitterness ) , chocolate ( powder ) , very creamy mouthfeel ( LOVE it ) , perfect carbo . Creamy and chocolatty aftertaste that is rather sweet but than turns slightly elegant bitter .
Love this beer, more than anyone else of the group
Poured from bottle into snifter. Dark brown/ black with thin cream colored head that dissipates to a thin film on top of the beer and sides of the glass. Scent has some sweet citrus fruits right away, with dark grains in the background. Taste has plenty of fruit and bread, with a nice slightly bitter finish. Feel is smooth, with some slippery resin. Alcohol is masked very well. Really solid beer. I really like it.
22oz bottle from Wegman’s, West Seneca, NY. A pitch black pour with a thin beige head; earthy malt aroma with a trace of chocolate; soft, milky, stout-like body to start with some gently persistent hops providing a dry finish. I was expecting something more assertive.
Pours dark brown with a small beige head. Aroma is heavy hoppy, malty, light grassy. Flavor is moderate sweet and bitter with a average duration,fruity hops, and some light chocoalte/roasted notes.
dense beige head, leaves lacing. cola coloured. aroma of raisins, dates, roasted malts, chocolate, bit boozy. taste like aroma, chocolate, liquorice with a bitter aftertaste that lingers. quite dense mouthfeel, medium carbonation. like a hybrid quad&bipa, nice! bottle 33 cl
black color; citrusy hop aroma with roasted malt notes; dark roasted malt and citrusy hop flavor; a great, bitter, hoppy beer with plenty of dark, roasted malt to back it up; some alcohol notes; well balanced
12 oz Bottle from super pack. Pours a deep brown. Aroma of malts, chocolate, espresson, and a bit of citrus. Taste on the sweeter side, some metal, coffee, orange, and grapefruit. Didn’t get much chocolate in the taste. The super pack was of course old and this was bottled in Feb so it’s possible that had an effect. I always pass this up at the brewery but it came in the pack so I tried it out.
Bottle at the black heart Camden. Not that I’m biased loving hops more than any god would permit and generally rallying for the darker art if ale... This stuff just rocks. Black nectar ambrosia with a tinkle of extra hop for your liking. Fancy!!
Bottle. Coffee, chocolate malt and metallic grapefruit peel aroma. Dark brown with moderate head. Sweet milky coffee and metallic orange peel flavor. Not bad - hops seem a bit harsh.
We have mixed opinions on this one... I feel like I'm drinking carbonated prune juice... My roomy says he likes it. Go figure...
Bottled back in 2011! I bet this was bought in "the library" near Montvale via ruffian. Although aged there is still plenty of pine in the aroma along with heavy malts, grain and toffee notes. Light sweetness, medium bitterness. Hold up perfectly with a creamy but slightly bitter finish. Good stuff from a brewery I am beginning
From a small sample at a tasting. Pours deep brown/black, not much head. Aroma is primarily dried fruit, raisin. Also still hoppy, but not as good as reall fresh. Interesting blend of sweetness, roast and bitter. Nice to try.
This beer was bottled a year ago, so I doubt I’m getting the full intended effect of this beer. Then again, Southern Tier boxed up 12 high ABV IPAs and I couldn’t resist, being too trusting despite no date ON THE BOX. This is the most salvageable of the three varieties, retaining a surprising amount of character being almost hop-less. It’s workable, almost sessionable(!), which is crazy since the ABV doesn’t decrease with age. A twinge of the spoiled hops in the aroma, but that’s it. Thin in palate, but lasting head and great lacing keep this one alive.
Rated from notes taken 22 Jun 2011, Southern Tier Beer Tasting -- Complex, delicious and dark.
Pours black. Aroma is dark fruits and malts. Taste is earthy with some toffeeness.
Pours almost black with light carbonation and mocha head. Smells light sweet dark berries. Tastes lightly berry with nice hoppy transtion.
Bottled January 6th and poured March 25th. $2.49 single poured into a Sam Adams Perfect Pint glass.
Appearance: Aggressively poured -- too much so. Got most of the beer in the glass, but a four finger soapy and creamy head stuck around for a bit. Iniquity is a perfectly clear mahogany color. There’s a lot of lacing for this beer as well. Looks very nice in the glass.
Smell: Delicious. Outstanding. Awesome. Incredible. Really now. So much fruit and earthiness from the hops, it’s pretty much insane. Massively hoppy. A lot of sorts of nondescript fruitiness and sweetness are there... just a sort of fruit cocktail of fruity deliciousness. The undertones on the aroma are all the earthy, piney, resinous hop smells. There is maybe also a faint hint of roasty character as well, but it’s basically all about the hops. Going on three months old, and it smells like it was bottled yesterday. I’d love to get a whiff of this fresh.
Taste/feel: Holy balls. Alright, okay, that’s interesting, let me gather my thoughts here. Okay. Wow. This is gonna be a long description. Rolls across the tongue almost tangy with some alcohol warmth and a bit of an alcohol flavor. The tangy and alcohol combination meet with the combination of fruity and earthy hops as well as roasted malt and make for an experience that, well, needs to be experienced. It’s hard to describe what’s going on adequately. I guess the tanginess is throwing me for a loop because it was so unexpected. The alcohol isn’t well hidden, but it’s not a problem for me here. There’s a fair amount of flavor and warmth. A bit bitter, but there’s also a pretty huge amount of sweetness on the finish as well. It’s clusterfuck-y, yet it works. There’s a slight belly warmth after the swallow, too. Iniquity has a pretty low carbonation, and about a medium sort of body to it as well.
Interesting beer that I feel I could easily pick out of a line up of black ales. That tanginess is unmistakable. For all I know, this beer is mildy infected, but whether it is or isn’t, that little sort of funk is more than welcome. Bursting with resinous hops, a roasty character on the finish, alcohol that’s not shy to show itself... a very interesting, enjoyable beer. Well worth the $2.49, because this was an experience worth having. Would have it again, for sure.
The aroma is of chocolate and caramel with floral hops and a touch of citrus. It’s almost pick black with very little light coming through. There is little lacing and minimal head. There is roasted flavors with chocolate with floral hops and a touch of citrus. After the sweet sensation comes a bitter bite on the palate.
Pours a dark dark black with a light lacing of tan head, Aroma of malt, slight dark fruit, and a bit of hops. Taste is sweet with balanced subtle hops throughout. Overall a very balanced palate with a slight oily palate and great flavor
Cerveja escura com bastante lúpulo. Num teste às escuras provavelmente seria identificado como IPA. Sensacional.
651 ml. bottle. Pours a medium, well retained, light beige head, with sparse lacing, over a clear, brown (SRM 25) body.....nose is roasted malts with cocoa, chocolate, no coffee, hints of toffee/caramel sweetness, pine, resin, citrus peel from the hops, minimal esters....taste is initially pine, resin, floral hints form the hops, then mild malty sweetness, with brown sugar, molasses tones, leading to hints of cocoa, chocolate, no coffee, then a moderate pine, resin bitterness....mouth feel, body medium, slightly sticky, alcohol warmth present, mild acid on the soft low carbonation finish. This is a slightly different take on a Black I/DIPA. The hops are relatively gentle in their presentation and not as dominant as in many the style. The malts were deftly handled with the lighter aspects of a dark roast dominating and minimal bitter heavy coffee tones as often appears. It is sweet, and I would prefer a bit more attenuation, as well as more florality from the hops. BJCP 8/3/15/5/6
Tap at Pizza Luce. Darker red brown with a thin white cap. Floral/herbal/pine hop, black tea and light burnt sugar. Light bitter tea flavor. Lighter body with a foamy feel. Very drinkable black ipa, not too bitter.
Sampled at the 2014 Untapped festival in Fort Worth. Pours a clear dark amber brown with a large brown head that lasts throughout the beer. Aroma has lots of sweet dark grains with some toffee and a bit of bitter pine hops. Flavor has more grass and a bit of earthy pine but dark grains and toffee backing.
bottle. black with one finger head. charred malty body. substantial hops. little bit of booze.
Poured a beautiful clear black with thick fine head. Delicate, as in not hoppy, at least for the style. Wonderful Black IPA
Backlog. Bitter with hop-aromas, citrus, flowery-aromas some chocolate and with a hint of sweetness.