Southern Tier: Un-Earthly

On a recent trip to the Crawford compound in Long Island, I came bearing gifts in the form of 22 oz. bombers. One of which was the Southern Tier: Un-Earthly. I had made a trip earlier in the week to The Foodery on 2nd & Poplar (which I will talk about on a later post for sure), and this beer came highly recommended by the guy that worked there. Unfortunately for me, this bomber was not opened on either of the two late nights on the island, including the night that "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" was danced to and the Maharaja was slain.

I was so curious and intrigued by the brew (because of the great recommendation, that I made a trip back to the Foodery to purchase myself a bomber of it:

Appearance: If it was a Crayola Crayon, it's name would be "Foggy Gold". It was a very nice gold, bordering (but not quite) on amber.

Smell: The hops filled my nostrils on first whiff. Although, it was not as strong as I would have anticipated. The hops smell was very sweet and flowery, very pleasant.

Taste: Much to say about the taste. Being an Imperial IPA, the hops were clearly apparent on the first taste. Contrary to the name, the hops were very earthly, tasting both sweet and flowery, just like the smell. There was a very sharp and refreshing taste at the start of the gulp, but on the finish, Un-Earthly was very smooth. As I continued tasting, there was a very subtle malt taste coming through, but I'm assuming that it is the result of getting used to the hops.

Mouthfeel: The carbonation tickles and tingles the mouth more than it kicks you in the face. It is carbonated perfectly to compliment the taste. Leaves a very slight bitter (although pleasant) aftertaste (very, very brief).

Drinkability: "Deceptive" was the one word that came to mind. On the surface it's both sweet-tasting and refreshing, but at 11% ABV, it has as much punch as Rocky Balboa. Seems like a perfect summer night-capper. Would definitely purchase again.