Hop Talk

My new favorite porter has fruit in it and it is from, none-other-than, Southern Tier. For the first time ever while browsing my candy store did I come across a fruit beer and purchase it with high hopes of liking it; and it didn’t disappoint.

I’ve been searching for excellent porters according to my own criteria for a long time, and few fit the bill. I’ve also stayed away from fruit beers, again, because of my own personal tastes. The Southern Tier Raspberry Porter does several things right making this my new favorite porter.

First off, quality. They are consistent, clean, and anywhere from good to excellent across the board. Secondly, they stepped away from the trend to add smoke or harsh roasts to the brew, something that is acceptable for the style, but not a requirement. Lastly, they only give it enough raspberry to make you think it, dream it, catch a fleeting whiff of it… but not chew it.

The hops shine through in this porter, something I think most porters miss; though, they could shine brighter. This would be my only negative about this beer, that it could be bigger with hops and malts; but it is a small complaint. I appreciate that they didn’t just make it bigger by adding more burnt roast flavors to make it harshly bitter and hiding the bittering hops, and well, the beer. This beer is very drinkable the way they made it.

Alan over at a Good Beer Blog agrees, but we don’t know what’s up with those Beer Advocates. (Alan suspects they fear small berries… I can go with that.)

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I’ve become a huge fan of Southern Tier. I absolutely love their Phin & Matt’s Extraordinary Ale. Their IPA, porter and harvest are also fantastic. So when I saw a Mystery 12 pack for sale at my local “candy store”, I couldn’t pass it up.

On the box, three of the four beer styles are listed; the fourth being the mystery beer. I don’t know if they make different mixes, but this box was labeled as containing Phin & Matt’s Extraordinary Ale, the IPA and a raspberry wheat. Now, you may know by now my feelings on fruity beers, but I was feeling lucky and I really wanted to know what the mystery beer was. I was hoping for something I’ve never tried before. I was wishing for the imperial coffee stout called Jah*va.

It turned out that the mystery beer was their dark porter. I like that porter, so I wasn’t that disappointed despite that I was hoping for something new. I then chilled a pair of each for the weekend.

I decided to start off with the raspberry wheat. I wanted to get them out of the way clearing the path for some Extraordinary and IPA bliss.

Here comes the big surprise… the raspberry wheat was fantastic! No, I’m not kidding. I had my second one the next day to make sure I wasn’t just incredibly thirsty the day before. (plus I wanted to photograph it for Hop-Talk)

This beer poured a light amber color, with a short, fine bubbled head. It tasted like beer. By this, I mean that it tasted primarily like beer with hints of raspberry tartness in the background. It was incredibly thirst quenching. As I finished the beer, the raspberry tartness seemed to turn to a raspberry sweetness. I thoroughly enjoyed this beer on an unusually hot afternoon back in October.

Southern Tier has done it again; they continue to impress me.

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So, I’m home, hanging out with the kids, just chillin’, when the doorbell rings.

It’s the UPS man.

I wasn’t expecting a package, but who knows what last-minute thing my wife might have gotten.

It’s addressed to my family. From Ron’s family.

Well, isn’t that curious? While we send each other greeting cards, our families don’t exchange gifts. Not that we wouldn’t, of course, but by the time I buy gifts for my own kids, their cousins, their step-cousins, grandmas, grandpa, and child-free aunts and uncles, the gift budget is stretched thin. I know Ron is in the same boat.

So this, obviously, is a surprise. I honestly have no idea what it could be. So I call the girls up from downstairs. “Look, girls. We got a package.”

“What is it?” they ask.

“I don’t know. Let’s open it and find out.”

I slice open the tape. There’s a bunch of things in bubble-wrap. I grab the first one.

By golly, it’s a bottle of beer!

Six more bubble-wrapped bottles follow. Plus a note:

Enjoy this sampler of fine ales and lagers, hand selected, specifically with you in mind. Cheers! (I had the hardest time choosing just seven! Enjoy!)

“You shouldn’t have called us,” says my youngest, disappointed, as they head back downstairs.

Hawesome! A couple of them are even from my wishlist.

And they say Christmas is for the kids.

(Yes, that is my daughters’ purple Disney Princess tree in the background.)

• Brown’s Brewing Oatmeal Stout
• Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale
• Samichlaus
• Black Dog Winter Cheer
• Saranac Imperial Stout
• Ithaca Beer Double IPA
• Southern Tier Old Man Winter Ale

Thank you, Ron. I will enjoy every last drop.

I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don’t believe I deserved my friends.
– Walt Whitman

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