Southern Tier Brewing Company out of Lakewood, N.Y. has been reviewed on the site before. You can check out the review on their Tangier IPA by clicking here. Up for review today is their Lemon Drop Sun, a wheat beer brewed with lemons.
Lemon Drop Sun pours a beautiful hazy gold with a thick, white, foamy head that stood just over two fingers tall. The head dissipated after a couple of minutes but settled into a light foam covering that was heavy around the edge. There was moderate carbonation rising to the top. The aroma is a blend of wheat, grains, malt and lemon. No one thing is overpowering and the aroma is very pleasing.
The first sip follows the nose for the most part. You notice the grains and malt before being introduced to a lemon flavor that is not bitter, not sweet, but I believe just right for the kind of beer this is. The lemon is allowed to star here without taking too much of the spotlight, though the malt and grains are more of the opening act and its lemon the rest of the way. The mouthfeel is a light medium with a dry finish that is refreshing when combined with the lemon.
The glass laced well, looking like something from your grandmother’s side table as the beer drank. The taste remained consistent and refreshing all the way through. This was very similar to a radler but with a little more punch to it. The lemon was allowed to shine, as you would expect with a name like Lemon Drop Sun, but it wasn’t too sweet or artificial tasting. It was a good beer to have during a nice summer day. And, at 5.1% ABV it won’t fight you too hard.
Overall, this was a good beer. If you like lemon you should like this. It still keeps enough of its wheat beer traits to please the fruit beer and wheat beer crowd. If you don’t like lemon or fruit beer then this won’t be for you. If you are looking for a little flavor, or something to enjoy while out and about on a warm summer day or night, this could be right up your alley.