Un*Earthly Imperial India Pale Ale - Beer Review
By Tom Rubenoff
Un*Earthly Imperial India Pale Ale - Southern Tier Brewery, Lakewood, NY
Southern Tier Brewery touts its Un*Earthly IPA offering as their "most aggressive offering yet." Although I have had more aggressive ales, Un*Earthly certainly delivers a very satisfying ale experience.
Out of the bottle, the ale has a fragrance of smoky caramel - very distinctive - and it quickly develops a respectable and durable head. The color is a quite beautiful deep golden amber. Effervescence lasts well through the course of drinking a 22-ounce bottle at a leisurely pace.
The flavor has an interesting, bittersweet quality, again with hints of caramel and/or molasses. But the feeling that it might be heavy is dispelled as it settles in, resting light in the belly, making itself right at home. Very smooth and refreshing in the throat. The bouquet likes to remain in the nose for a time after a good sip.
Not as hoppy as billed, I'd say: though 'vigorously hopped' as it might be at the brewery, the hops do not give it the after-burn of some of the hoppier ales. Not that this is any great loss. The throat and esophagus are a bit happier for the smoother brew. And the aforementioned distinctive bouquet and flavor of this ale more than make up for any perceived lack of aggressive hoppy-ness.
I thoroughly recommend Un*Earthly Imperial India Pale Ale for a night's pleasure, with dinner, or on a warm Indian summer afternoon. It's distinctive flavor will mark you as a discerning host with better-than-usual taste.
At 9.5 percent alcohol by volume, Un*Earthly IPA does pack a punch. So remember, bucko: be careful out there. Drink responsibly.
Comments
Sounds terrific. I imagine it might taste something like a great ale brewed in Galway Ireland called McAffrey's Ale that I haven't seen Stateside.
Hi Sylvia! 9.5 is definitely on the high end for American beers. Most of the beers I drink are around the 5 percent alcohol by volume range. Since it is brewed in upstate New York, I would think it would be available at the finer beer sellers.
That sounds delicious, JK! I'll be on the lookout for it. They're importing new stuff all the time.
SylviaSky 7 months ago
Excellent review. Is it available in the Midwest somewhere? Is 9.5 percent beer common? I've never heard of it.