Southern Tier

In recent weeks, beers from Southern Tier have made their way out to Seattle and I have had the chance to sample two. I don't know why we only got their Imperials, but it is hard to complain about trying some new "big beers"

Pumking - Literally tasted like a pumpkin pie in a glass. Probably more so than any of the other pumpkin beers that I have tried. This one did hit 9%, so I think it was necessary to have that amount of spice and pumpkin taste to balance out the high alcohol. It was also one of those beers that you do need to pay attention to the optimal serving temp, initially when it was too cold, you definitely missed out on some of the flavor.

Hoppe - This was an Imperial Pale Ale that was very basic, but well made. The high alcohol content was evident and the hops were not overwhelming.

My overall impression with Southern Tier was good, although I think they got a little more hype out here than they deserve. I do plan on trying a few more of their beers, but these Imperials are pretty spendy.

The thing with S.T. that stuck out to me was their labeling. I really like what they have done with their labels. I think they do a good job marketing to most types of beer drinkers. The designs are simple and sort of new age. They have a fun description/story associated with the beer and then they also provide the geeked out info like the malts and hops. The labels from S.T. are ones to benchmark against as Payette Brewing Company moves forward.