Southern Tier Chestnut Praline Imperial Ale
 

Review Date 11/25/2024  By John Staradumsky

  Style: Spiced   Brewery: Southern Tier   Country: USA   State: New York   $ Per OZ: $.31 (B)   ABV: 8.6%

Welcome, dear readers! It’s me, your friendly neighborhood guru of brew, on location at Total Wine for some holiday shopping. OK, I’m not currently on location you see, I’m at home typing away into word, but I was yesterday, and I’m going to tell you about it. It’s Thanksgiving week, and that means Christmas ales and winter warmers and all sorts of holiday goodies! Hence, I stopped by Total Wine to get some.

First observation: Total Wine in Kennesaw has a much slimmed down selection of craft beers, much to my chagrin, with a much larger selection these days of seltzers and such. Mores the pity for that. I still managed to find quite a few holiday beers all the same, though I got fewer than last year, and spent more to do it. One beer I did find was Southern Tier Chestnut Praline Imperial Ale, a new beer to me and I think the world at large.

Southern Tier already has a few holiday brews in their repertoire, most notably 2XMAS which is in the style of a Swedish Glögg. This one is an annual tradition chez Bruguru. But they have also done Krampus Imperial Helles Lager, Old Man Winter Ale, and Frosted Sugar Cookie Imperial Ale. I have yet to post a review on the latter (though I have had it), and need to fix that.

Southern Tier says about Chestnut Praline Imperial Ale:

As the holidays draw near and excitement grows for the first snowfall, gather together with Chestnut Praline Imperial Ale. With each sip, the warm butter flavor of toasted chestnuts glazed with sweet caramel will transform any wintry day into a cozy celebration of the season. From our Southern Tier family to yours, we wish you nothing but joy and sweetness this Holiday Season!

Ingredients from the website:

Malt 2-Row Pale, Flaked Oats

Hops Columbus

Additions Natural Flavor & Milk Sugar

Southern Tier Chestnut Praline Imperial Ale has an alcohol content of 8.6% by volume with 12 IBUs. It was running $14.99 a 4-pack of 12-ounce bottles at Total Wine when I got a bottle. That bottle is marked BEST BY 10/09/25 on the label.

Southern Tier Chestnut Praline Imperial Ale pours to a soft golden color with a light fluffy head and a rich candied nut nose. Taking a sip the beer is medium in body and screams toasted pralines with sweet candy coating and caramel. I don’t get the chestnut but that is a delicate flavor to be fair. I have a chestnut tree in my backyard and have roasted them in the past. The beer finishes sweet with a kiss of alcohol warmth.

This is a tasty beer indeed, if a little sweet for my tastes. The sweetness meant it took me a while to drink my bottle. That said, I would certainly buy it again. They did deliver on the theme, though, and kudos for that. Half a star off for the high price, for fifteen bucks give me six bottles, or charge a few bucks less for four.