Yazoo SUE

The south is famous for smoking everything. Why not beer? Sue is a big, rich, smoky malt bomb of a beer, with mellow smokiness coming from barley malts smoked with cherry wood, and assertive bitterness from Galena and Perle hops to cleanse the finish.

3.8

309 reviews

Nashville, United States

Community reviews

3.2 My 3000th rating and I sadly put it in the hands of yazoo. Nose is lots of malt and light very light smoke. Taste has a yeast astringent flavor typical of yazoo. Burnt grain prominent. I chose this based on one of the highest ratings in Tennessee. This is proof don't trust the ratings. Many better smoke beers out there.

3.8 Bottle from Craft Brewed. Pours a deep brown to black with a finger of soapy, tan head that dissipates. Aromas of dark chocolate, dates, brown sugar and freshly roasted coffee. More of the same on the palate with the coffee notes really standing out. As it warms, muted bacon and cured ham notes towards the finish. Good body, abv hidden well with a nice dry finish. Very nice.

3.5 appearance: dark cola brown, fluffy light beige head lingering into a thin collar. aroma: smoke, dark chocolate, vanilla, hint of brown sugar. taste: bittersweet dark chocolate, molasses, cola, a bit of meaty smoke. finish: smooth palate, on the lighter side for the abv; slight sourness on the finish, maybe a hint of cherry. notes: Drank almost like a smoked schwarzbier. Not bad. Palate was light, yes, but there was a creamy component too. Bottle from the House of Brews in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

3.6 Smokier than downtown nashville brisket. Some caramel. Black pour with decent head and lacing. Bittersweet finish. Tap at brewery.

4.3 750 ml bottle into snifter, no bottle dating. Pours nearly opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger desne khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, wood smoke, nuttiness, caramel, toffee, molasses, and toasted dark bread; with lighter notes of raisin, plum, cherry, date, tobacco, leather, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/roast/bready/smoked malt and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, wood smoke, nuttiness, caramel, toffee, molasses, and toasted dark bread; with lighter notes of raisin, plum, cherry, date, tobacco, leather, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal/spicy hop and roast bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, wood smoke, nuttiness, caramel, toffee, molasses, toasted dark bread, light dark fruit/herbal, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready/smoked malt and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a great roasted bitter/sweet balance, and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light dryness from hop/roast bitterness, lightly increasing through the glass. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready/grainy, and lightly sticky/chalky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 9%. Overall this is a fantastic smoked Baltic porter! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/bready/smoked malt and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to sip on for the ABV. A perfectly executed style representation with the addition of cherrywood smoked malts. A really amazing offering.

3.9 Deep dark brown pour, thin white head. Smoked barley aroma. Lightly carbonated finish with a hint of hops and malts. Great selection from Yazoo.

3.9 On Tap at Yazoo Brewpub, Nashville, TN, 5.5.16. 9% abv. Black. Very smoky and woodsy aroma with hints of hickory. Velvety smokiness and roastiness in the mouth. Full body, smoky finish.

3.6 bottle. Black with small head. There’s a light smoky nature, but far more of just a roasty porter. Substantial black licorice and molasses. A bit hot. I’m not crazy about the style, but found it enjoyable.

3.8 Bottle. Clear brown with a creamy tan head that lasts and laces. Aromas of roasted malt, sweet smoke, cheery, chocolate, wood, caramel and light molasses. Flavor is roasted malt, smoke, cheeey, light caramel, molasses and wood. Medium bodied, smooth with a smokey and slightly dry end.

2.9 Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, light brown, mostly lasting. Body is black (non-opaque, flashlight tested). Aroma is moderately malty (cocoa powder, chocolate syrup, roasted/burnt grain), with a light note of charred wood / ash. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Medium to full body, syrupy/creamy/watery texture, lively/soft carbonation, moderately alcoholic. Well, they don’t seem to have used much smoked malt, because there’s not much of it in the nose. If you’re looking for something Schlenkerla-level, you’ll be badly disappointed (it’s even less smoky than Alaskan Smoked Porter). But I guess a lot of American breweries fear *really* making beer smoky for fear of scaring away customers...I certainly remember my first experience with Schlenkerla being off-putting, even though I eventually came to like it quite a bit. It’s basically just a boozy chocolatey beer with a little bit of burnt grain/wood character. Not bad per se, but certainly disappointing and rather dull.

4.6 "Well it was Gatlinburg in mid-July / And I just hit town and my throat was dry / I thought I’d stop and have myself a brew / At an old saloon on a street of mud / There at a table, dealing stud / Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me Sue" - Johnny Cash, "A Boy Named Sue." Life may not be easy for a beer named Sue, but it sure drinks easy. Sue is more of a malt bomb than a smoky beer. The smoke is only a savory whisper in the roasty aroma. It’s only an element in the flavor profile. It adds just a touch of woody meatiness to the toasted malt, coffee, and chocolate notes. Did I say woody meatiness? That sounds weird. Ah well. Full-bodied and warm yet very mellow. If only I’d gotten to taste this beer with the brisket I enjoyed hours earlier. Still, Sue is perfectly fine all by itself.

4.0 Bottle. A- Molasses, subtle cherry, oak, subtle smoke. A- Dark mahogany color, dark liquid, off white head. T- Molasses, oak, dark berries, subtle smoke. P- Full body, average texture, average carbonation, complex finish. O- Surprisingly not all that smokey. In all actuality, I could have done with some more smoke in it. Tons of molasses on the nose and palate. A bit of cherry/dark fruit syrup and only a hint of smoke. Really good.

3.6 750ml bottle - pours dark cola colored - thick, off-white lace - hearty cherrywood smoke in the nose, with underlying chocolate, caramelized sugar, cream, cherry skins - creamy texture - flavor is moderately bitter, lightly tart, with moderate underlying sweetness and a bit of charred maltiness - some earthy fruit skin and chocolate makes way for campfire smoke that comes mostly without drawbacks, although acidity is a little high on the tail end - the texture also becomes a little thin/watery as it warms up, and the alcohol becomes rather apparent in the flavor and nose - good, but not the home run I was hoping for, given the rep this beer used to have.

3.4 Bottle. Pours a very dark brown with small beige head that lasts. The aroma is roasted malt, smoke, wood. Medium mouth, chocolate, roast, smoke, boozy finish, good.

3.9 22 oz bomber pours black with a tan head. Aroma of chocolate, smoke and grains. Taste is chocolate, smoke, fruit and grains.

3.9 Bottle shared by Eric, pours plum brown with small off white head. Smell is minerals, chocolate, dark fruit, bitter hops and Taste up front is prunes, grapes, cherry wood, and lightly smoked malt. Medium body. Really nice going for a "smoked" Porter.

3.7 Draft pour into a snifter. The beer is a darker brown with a khaki head of foam. The aroma has mild fruity sweetness with an ashy note and a chocolate cookie nuance. The taste is very sweet and has a barely noticeable smoke note. Big body and medium to lower carbonation. Chewy. Good stuff.

3.7 From notes. On tap at Bell’s Funvitational on September 12. The pour is a dark brown, lots of ruby shining through with a soapy tan head and a decent lace. The aroma is incredibly smoky. You’d swear it was a campfire! It almost smells like a lager also, over a porter. Strong smoked malts and not a lot else. A little chocolate maybe? The flavor is really smoky. I’m drinking a campfire. The smoke dominates. Some light chocolate but it’s all smoked malts and maybe a hint of roasted coffee. The mouth feel is light and well carbonated. The malts linger, but the smoke fades. Aftertaste is malty and chocolate. I like the finish better than the actual beer. Too much smoke for me. Not too bad though.

4.2 Sample at Funvitational. Aroma is light malt, smoke. Appearance is dark dark brown, light brown head. Taste is smoky, lots of roasted malt, coffee. Mouthfeel is thick, great carbonation. Overall, a very impressive offering.

3.7 Nashville, TN. - Craft Brewed - 22 oz bomber. Deep dark brown thick khaki nice lace. Molasses light chicolate in the aroma. Flavor is similar, some smooth smoky notes molasses dates a touch of chocolate. Thick mouthfeel.

3.9 Bottled on : 1.06.15. Brun acajou avec une tête un peu plus pâle. Une dentelle est observable. Au nez, délicats parfums de côtes levées sur le grill avec une sauce composée de cerises, de chocolat, de mélasse et, subtilement, d’épices BBQ. Au goût, un mélange adéquat de cerisier qui brûle, de chocolat, de fumée sucrée, de malts rôtis sur le charbon de bois, de tabac aromatisé, de viande séchée de bœuf, de houblons terreux et de jambon salé. En bouche, j’ai l’impression d’un corps moyen-mince avec un pétillement actif et une texture légèrement huileuse. Une finale fumée, salée, teintée par le tabac, viandeuse, boisée, fruitée, amère. Bière (93 IBUs) très intéressante, toute en finesse, peu excessive mais complexe, plutôt facile à boire et qui cache admirablement bien son 9% d’alcool.

3.9 The head is surprisingly dense and creamy considering the body isn’t particularly creamy. There’s definite smoke here, but it’s balanced. We’ll done. Chocolate malt is equal to the smoke. Not overly sweet.

4.2 Savor 2015. I mentioned I really wanted to try this and Yazoo gave me a bit larger pour than normal...thanks! Nice amount of smokiness, nice mbitterness, just really a damn tasty brew. Favorite thing I had at Savor.

3.9 Bottle. Aromas are sweet chocolate, burnt wood, and smoked ham. Tastes the same but with some added vanilla and a touch of cookie dough. Top notch smoked stout.

4.3 Thanks a lot beerbluesandbbq, the Vols were the better team! Perfectly black body with a medium orange tinted tan head. Subtle sweet smoke with some pancake notes. There is also some stone fruit, like prunes. The taste is sweet raisins and smoke with bits of tobacco. I got a bit of almonds in the finish. An overall smooth and well balanced beer that is on the sweeter end for a porter. The warming booze is only an afterthought with how easy this one is to drink. A solid beer.

3.9 Pours a deep brownish black from the bomber with thin bubbly tan head that leaves moderate bubbly lace. Aroma is nice smoky wood over chocolate and vanilla. Taste of nice dark chocolate and bacon smoke, wow alcohol is well hidden, nice.

3.4 Bomber. Super roasty nose with a bunch of acrid smoke and a touch of anise. Dark brown in color much like Diet Coke. Moderate malty flavor to start with only minor smoke (which is a nice surprise given the phenol-heavy aroma), and a touch of green apple. Light body, dry finish. Not too shabby.

3.9 Bottle brought from Tennessee by my wife. A: Black body, creme colored head. Lacing. N: Campfire, black olive, coffee, cocoa, char, phenols, more smoke, beef jerky. T: Smokey, bitter and then amply sweet. M: Medium body, prickly carbonation, alcohol is hidden well. O: A contender to Alaskan Smoked Porter. Big and burly porter all around; quote enjoyable if you like the smoke.

3.7 Bottle at the Charlottesville Tasting. Black with light tan head. Aromas of light coconut, chocolate, roast. Tastes of roast, dark chocolate, bitter roast. Medium-light body with a dry finish.

3.6 Smoke, prosciutto nose. Cola brown , medium body. Smoke, ash, wood. Medium body, easy carbonation. Robust malt bitterness.