Southern Tier Gemini

Sorry for the delayed review, but like I said, packing for the July 4th weekend took temporary precedence Thursday night. Fear not, fellow beer nuts, for I present to you Gemini, Southern Tier's creation from 50% unfiltered Hoppe and 50% Unearthly. I believe someone here has reviewed the Unearthly, but not too sure about the Hoppe.

Appearance: Pours with a slightly cloudy golden color with a finger and a half of head, whose retention is very good.

Smell: Great earthy, herbal, and floral hop overtones that have a slight background of citrus, also present are some lighter malt scents, almost reminding me of a combo wheat/Belgian, all of this done to perfection.

Taste: Unfortunately, the taste does not live up to the smell, it seems like there is too much going on to really get good identifiable flavors in there. Don't get me wrong, its quite good, but the smell sets such a high standard that it can't be matched. The hops that seemed to team up well before now just seem to mash together to give you one big bitterness bite, although the wheat style malts I mentioned earlier do complement this well.

Mouthfeel: Perfectly carbonated, not too heavy or thick, and relatively smooth for an unfiltered ale, a tinge of alcohol aftertaste reminds you its an imperial.

Drinkability: When I read the label and saw 10.5% abv, I was shocked at how easy it is to drink, which can be credited to the wheat malt flavor balancing act described before. You probably don't want to dirnk more than one bomber in a night, but it won't knock you out for the count (that's what the barleywine is for). I know it seems like I was harsh on the taste, but the smell gave me such high hopes that this brew could reach the 9.5 or even 10 point threshold that of course I would be let down when it didn't live up to it. Still, it is a very good brew with a good concept, which still gets an 8.5/10 in my book.

Serving type: Bottle
Glass type: Sam Adams glass

*Side note: I hope one of the other Hopheads posts some pics from the epicness that was Jimmy's birthday and our attempt to kill the Brutal Bitter and Herc in a weekend. Good times...