Southern Tier Cherry Pie Imperial Ale
 

Review Date 10/7/2025  By John Staradumsky

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

She's my cherry pie
Cool drink of water, such a sweet surprise
Tastes so good, make a grown man cry
Sweet cherry pie
Wow! Heh-heh

From the song Cherry Pie by Warrant, because the song kept going through my head as I sipped on a glass of Southern Tier Cherry Pie Imperial Ale. How could it not? And while she may be warrant’s cherry pie, I have to confess that Southern Tier Cherry Pie Imperial Ale is not quite my cup of tea. Or glass of beer, if you prefer. More on that shortly.

Southern Tier says on their website:

Southern Tier is thrilled to partner for Year 3 with our WNY neighbor, Perry’s Ice Cream! Our newest Imperial Ale is inspired by one of Perry’s newest flavors: Cherry Pie. With notes of tart cherry, sweet vanilla, and rich, flakey crust, Southern Tier’s Cherry Pie brings all the deliciousness STBC is famous for!

Ingredients, also from the website:

Hops Columbus

Malt 2-Row Pale, Flaked Oats

Additions Natural Flavors, Milk Sugar

Southern Tier Cherry Pie Imperial Ale has an alcohol content of 8.6% by volume with 12 IBUs. I paid $5.49 for my 12-ounce bottle from Half Time Beverage, and Total Wine has it listed as $14.99 a 4-pack at their Atlanta Brookhaven location. They do say it is out of stock, though. I think for that price they could give you two more bottles, or charge a few bucks less. My bottle was stamped Best By 03/06/26. I drank it on August 24^th of 2025.

Southern Tier Cherry Pie Imperial Ale pours to a cloudy orange color with a medium short lived fizzy head and a nose of Ludens cherry cough drops. Taking a sip, the beer is medium in body, and perhaps a bit more. I get sweet maraschino cherry here, and a bit of creaminess that helps deliver the ice cream theme, but I am not fully feeling it. At the end, there’s a bit more bitterness than I think a theme beer like this should have, and a soft phenolic note that reminds me of cherry cough syrup. Cherry cordial liqueur also comes to mind The beer is warming with alcohol at the last.

I don’t get the pie crust here, either, and the cherry pie ice cream theme is missing for me. I did get more of the cough drop character as the beer progressed. Stylistically, “imperial ale” means strong ale to me, and that is where I will peg it. It’s not really a fruit beer even with the cherry.

I didn’t necessarily dislike Southern Tier Cherry Pie Imperial Ale, but I didn’t love it, either, and at the price it’s not really one I would buy again.