Odell Cutthroat Pale Ale

Tap straight from the Brewery on Ft. Collins’ Oktoberfest- Surprising for a pale ale; not overpoweringly bitter, yet plenty of hoppiness. Finished very clean.

Poured a clear golden bronze color with a slightly off-white finger of head. The nose was of earthy and herbal hops, biscut and caramel malts. The flavor started malty and thin with a strange metalic copper taste. Next flowery hops try to exert themselves but the copper taste keeps the the balance off. The finish had citrusy hop notes. The feel was very thin. This Pale Ale was well below average and unimpressive.

I love this brewery! When I found out that they were discontinuing this beer, I ordered the remaining cases from the distribtor. Now, I finally get a chance to rate this beer next to its succesor. 12z, bottled 031605. Light amber hue with finger width head. Good bubble size on remaining head. A lot of grainy maltiness in the nose, with a supporting sweet, slight hop note. Malty kick as it hits the mouth followed by a dry hop note as it rolls over the back of the tongue. I guess that this means a malt/hop balance, but its more of a one/two combo. Good amount of maltiness that, apparently, is typical of the style. But it is followed up by a drying bitterness in the mouth. Am I being redundant? I just wanna be sure that I am good and thorough since this is going into extinction! There are many slight notes in the flavor...cirtus, caramel, and a light roasted note. Well, bottle is empty but the beer was clean! Now for the 5BBL...

Bottle. Bottled on 2/22/05. I believe I picked this up in Kansas City. Somewhat doughy in the aroma with a hint of hops and some fruit. Attractive, hazy amber with an off-white head that is mostly diminishing. Slow, widely spread visible carbonation. If I had a dollar for every beer I’ve had that tastes like this...is this from a kit? It tastes a fair amount like Kona Fire Rock Pale. Has some pine to it. Reasonably well balanced, but malt and hops somehow just don’t synchronize very well. Some caramel notes. I have concerns that at 6 months of age, this brew is past its prime. However, it seems to have enough hops for preservative quality. Improves as it warms, however, there really isn’t anything in here that blows me away.

Draught. Pours amber with a rocky off-white film and blotchy spotty lacing. Fruit hop floral aroma with nutty caramel malt and a pine nose. Bitter acidic hop and caramel malt (meal) flavor. Medium bodied and creamy palate.

Poured clear yellow with white mostly lasting head. Aroma is malty, leather, yeast. Taste is lightly bitter, some sweet, with a nice dry finish. Palate is between watery and oily.

Filtered amber appearance, but the foamy white head is still there an hour after opening. Not impressed with the first taste, but it becomes more interesting after a while, when the carbonation level becomes pretty low, reminding of a cask ale. The aroma is of grainy and earthy malts paired with earthy and orangey hops. Not quite biscuity, but let’s call is a bit bready with a sweet undertone. Good balance. More floral and grapefruit character shines through in mouth over a lightly buttery note that somehow fits at that low level. Honest bitterness weight. Nothing extraordinary, but well brewer and highly drinkable. At the same time, the texture is pretty silky once the carbonation starts to diminish, creamy and medium bodied.

bottle- poured into frosty glass. slight head quickly dissipates. deep golden amber appearance. similar to other bpa’s in taste and scent. not exactly a good overall pale ale.