Beer Review: Southern Tier Gemini

Southern Tier Brewing Company: Gemini
Lakewood, New York
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 10.5%
Beeradvocate Rating: A-, #37 on top 50 Imperial IPA List
Serving type: 22oz bottle
Purchased at: Wegman’s

Look: Orange, Frothy

Smell: Hoppy, Citrus

Taste: Sweet, Malty, Spicy

Feel: Medium-Full

Drinkability: Moderate

2-row pale malt
Malted white wheat
Cara-pils malt
Red wheat
Kettle hops: Columbus, Chinook & cascade
Aroma hops: Amarillo
Hop back: styrian golding
Dry hops: Amarillo, cascade, centennial, Chinook & Columbus

I’ve always known Southern Tier to put out some of the best IPAs around so I knew choosing this beer would be the right choice. I’ve had Southern Tier’s IPA, 2XIPA, and Unearthly IPA. The seasonal Gemini is very unique in the fact that it is actually a blended double (imperial) IPA. It is a mixture of 50% of their Hoppe Unfiltered and 50% of their Unearthly IPA. I don’t know how many blended ales I’ve had in the past, if any at all, but this was no disappointment.

It pours a deep amber color with a bit of haze and cloudiness. A nice frothy head hangs around from the start until the finish. It smells right off the bat like sugary malts and then the hops follow. There are citrus and pine hops present, with a focus on acidic grapefruit. The taste is excellently balanced. The unfiltered Hoppe ale pairs perfectly with the Unearthly IPA. It starts off malty and bready and then transitions to floral hops. For the finish I get an orangey, spicy pine flavor. The alcohol is pretty well masked by this blend. Although it is a thick IPA, it falls just shy of the syrupy flavor that you get from some of the doubles I’ve had.  It is much easier to drink than the Unearthly IPA and with an ABV of 10.5% to back it up, you’ll be well on your way to making drunken mistakes.

My Rating: A. The 2^nd best Imperial IPA I’ve had, behind Weyerbacher’s Double Simcoe IPA.  Grab Two!