Everyone knows that I am a hop head. I'm not sure if you all have figured this out or assumed this by now, but I am completely head-over-heels for any beer that is just hopped out of this world.
I saw this beer, it was calling my name from the shelf at a local Giant Eagle store. I grabbed this bottle and hoisted it above my head like a treasure I discovered, except the gold inside was hops...or so I believed.
The beer is described as being "an uninhibited infusion of hops & oak" As I later found out, it's not what I was expecting, much to my chagrin.
Look: The beer poured a very rich, golden, amber color with a very subtle, dirty white head that didn't inflate to any great heights, and didn't stick around for the party.
Smell: Very fruity. The smell really excited me. The hops were right there, all up in my face. It sort of reminded me of strawberry jelly, or some sort of strawberry cake or candy. A bit of alcohol sneaks in after the sweet malt and fruity hoppy scent. The beer is 11% so the alcohol was knocking at the door at the last whiff.
Taste: Intensely sweet caramel-like taste with a moderate sour, soapy hop flavor. A bit of alcohol creeps up over the smoothly sweet malts, just enough to remind you are drinking a fairly modest alcoholic beverage. You know what though? It's not as hopped as I initially expected it to be. It did let me down a bit because of that. I love hop bombs and was expecting this to be one since it is an IIPA, however my hopes let me down a bit.
Mouthfeel: A little too thick feeling for an IIPA I believe. The beer is nicely carbonated though, just enough for what I feel it should be. Unearthly is also a bit sticky and slick. I take in fact that it comes from the hops. I do like the mouthfeel.
Well overall, the beer is a pretty good offering from Southern Tier. I am a bit disappointed that it failed me a bit in the hops area, but perhaps that was my own preconceived hops that it was going to bomb my taste buds with hops.
I'll give this beer a 3.5/5.
I mean, I must apologize though, it's just not what I wanted. I would recommend this beer for someone who is looking for something a bit sweeter, but to any hop heads out there like me, don't bother picking this one up. I don't think this one will be in my fridge again.
Have you tried their other Double IPA called Southern Tier 2X IPA? I haven't tried it in awhile, but I remember it being a pretty solid DIPA.
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Thanks for the comment. I have not tried the Southern Tier 2X IPA. I would love to but a lot of these "kind" of brews are hard to find where I live. I was disappointed with the Unearthly because I didn't feel it delivered enough in the hops for being a IIPA. I'll see if I can seek out the 2X IPA and give it a try. It interests me.
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