I'm a big fan of Southern Tier brewing. Maybe because I spent some formative years, from pre-school through the beginning of the 5th grade, in Vestal, New York outside of Binghamton. And people referred to the area as the Southern Tier. So naturally I figured this brewery must be near the Binghamton area. It is not.
Instead it in Lakewood, near Jamestown in the southwest corner of the Empire State. Hours from Binghamton. Heck it's closer to Buffalo.
Still the name did get me to try the brews once I saw them in the local package store that carries a wide variety of brews. And I've been a fan every since. Once all my holiday brews and Christmas gift beers had been consumed, the first beers I bought in 2014 were a variety pack of Imperial brews from Southern Tier. The one I'm writing about today is called Iniquity. It is an Imperial Black Ale. Iniquity is a strange name for a brew. The definition of "iniquity" is immoral or grossly unfair. Other definitions are wickedness or sinfulness, or the quality of being unfair or evil.
Maybe they gave it that name due to the dark color. As you can tell this is one opaque ale. Or perhaps it's because this beer is "wicked" good, and sinfully awesome. Out of curiosity I did visit the web site and they named it Iniquity because it is "evil", the antithesis of what you would expect from an IPA.
It starts with the 9% alcohol level. So this is not a shy brew, you can feel the strength. But at the same time it is very tasty, and for something so dark and powerful, extremely smooth. It goes down very easily. And yet the taste fills your mouth. I detected hints of caramel and even dare I say a faint trace of licorice in the flavors. But all I know for sure is that it was great! This is definitely one of my favorite beers of recent memory. I could drink it all year long, and fortunately for me this is one of the Imperial series that is available year-round.
If you have the opportunity to try any of the offerings from Southern Tier, please do. You won't be disappointed. You especially won't be disappointed with anything from the Imperial series. And if you are traveling somewhere in the southwest part of New York state try to drop in at Southern Tier. They give tours and have an attached brew pub as well. Maybe some day I'll make it out there from New England.
I'm giving Iniquity a score of 8 mugs out of 10.
Instead it in Lakewood, near Jamestown in the southwest corner of the Empire State. Hours from Binghamton. Heck it's closer to Buffalo.
Still the name did get me to try the brews once I saw them in the local package store that carries a wide variety of brews. And I've been a fan every since. Once all my holiday brews and Christmas gift beers had been consumed, the first beers I bought in 2014 were a variety pack of Imperial brews from Southern Tier. The one I'm writing about today is called Iniquity. It is an Imperial Black Ale. Iniquity is a strange name for a brew. The definition of "iniquity" is immoral or grossly unfair. Other definitions are wickedness or sinfulness, or the quality of being unfair or evil.
Maybe they gave it that name due to the dark color. As you can tell this is one opaque ale. Or perhaps it's because this beer is "wicked" good, and sinfully awesome. Out of curiosity I did visit the web site and they named it Iniquity because it is "evil", the antithesis of what you would expect from an IPA.
It starts with the 9% alcohol level. So this is not a shy brew, you can feel the strength. But at the same time it is very tasty, and for something so dark and powerful, extremely smooth. It goes down very easily. And yet the taste fills your mouth. I detected hints of caramel and even dare I say a faint trace of licorice in the flavors. But all I know for sure is that it was great! This is definitely one of my favorite beers of recent memory. I could drink it all year long, and fortunately for me this is one of the Imperial series that is available year-round.
If you have the opportunity to try any of the offerings from Southern Tier, please do. You won't be disappointed. You especially won't be disappointed with anything from the Imperial series. And if you are traveling somewhere in the southwest part of New York state try to drop in at Southern Tier. They give tours and have an attached brew pub as well. Maybe some day I'll make it out there from New England.
I'm giving Iniquity a score of 8 mugs out of 10.
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