Odell India Barley Wine

Appearance: Pours a vibrant, slightly cloudy fire orange with a sudsy cream colored head. Aroma: Big grapefruit notes, that can be smelled from a good 2 feet away. Also some caramel and rock sugar in there as well, as I put my nose into the bowl of the glass. Taste: Bitter, earthy hops, a mixture of sweet and dry malts, a little bit of citrus, and finishes with a nice dark chocolate note. Mouthfeel: Very thin for a barleywine or a Double IPA. Slightly sticky. Overall: Very complex and flavorful. I enjoy the hop aroma and flavor as well as some of the yummy malt offerings in this beer.

Pours clear rust-brown with a lasting three-finger beige head, very good lacing. Aromas of grapefruit, herbs, pine resin, earth, and toast. Full body, smooth and zesty, lightly dry. Very herbal hop flavors, citrus, grape, plum, and toast. A huge beer, with satisfyingly chewy malt sweetness, balanced by a ton of hops. Mild dry and bitter finish.

Alluring nose, with great aromas of pine and citrus. Big citrus in the flavor, too, especially orange and grapefruit. Tons of resin leaves behind a wake of nuts and wood in the aftertaste. Orange-like bitterness is pretty burly, too. Overall, this beer seems like Odell IPA’s bigger and tougher brother, who happens to have a checkered past and is a little rough around the edges. That said, I still enjoyed this beer.

Bottle. Head is initially large, frothy/rocky, off-white, mostly lasting. Body is light amber. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (caramel, toasted grain), heavily hoppy (resin, apricot), with a note of alcohol. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately to heavily bitter. Medium to full body, velvety/watery texture, lively carbonation, moderately to heavily alcoholic, lightly to moderately astringent. Woof, talk about a raw hop bomb. Resin, resin, resin. I couldn’t find much else underneath it, so be prepared for one dimension. As abrasive a mouth experience as you might guess from the nose, but a lot of folks like this sorta thing. Undrinkable for me, but it does look great, no doubt...giant, fluffy, lasting head.

2009 bottle. Pours a murky, rusty, copper color with an off-white, massive, creamy, fluffy, rocky head which sticks around through and leaves plenty of sporadic lace. Nose is very fragrant and potent out of the bottle; very juicy citrus hops noting tangerine and pink grapefruit, some mango notes, pineapple, a nice resinous pine undertone, nice floral tones, light rustic notes (almost simcoe-like), fainter notes of toasted caramel, buttery biscuits, and cotton candy. So much going on in a super hopped BW which is somewhat rare. The flavor is similar with the hops dominating again but less citrus-like and more rustic; citrus and fruity notes are still there with tangerine, light grapefruit, and still some mango and pineapple, rustic notes are prominent bringing an almost earthy character, spicy hops, leafy hops, toasted caramel, light buttery biscuits, very light dank notes, and more candy. Palate is good with a moderate to full body, drying, a sticky and oily mouthfeel, and a lively carbonation. Finishes mostly bitter with rustic notes dominating, lingering tangerine, some leafy hops, and some light pepper. The bitterness is nearly high and the sweetness is moderate. In my opinion, this is more of complex IIPA but does have plenty of some overhopped BW characteristics. It was a very nice change of pace from any BW or IIPA that I have had in a while with so much juicy fruit and citrus and the rustic notes coming through in the flavor. The best thing I have had from Odell.

750ml bottle - pours a turbid copper, with a thick, lasting, frothy head - juicy, resinous hop aroma, with a lot of citrus character, dry, woody/pine qualities, and a tiny bit of rustic earthiness - full and lightly oily in the mouth, moderate carbonation - big citrus hop flavors up front, with a potent, spicy quality that builds, and reaches its peak in the finish - along the way, the malt profile swells, bringing with it some sticky sweetness and flavors of caramel, cherries - there is an underlying earthiness that adds a really interesting dimension to the beer - the bitterness tempers the sweetness well, though, and is so strong that it borders on being astringent - it never quite makes it to that point, though, so the beer remains tasty and balanced throughout - more of a DIPA than a barleywine, but it’s really good regardless of what you want to call it.

GABF 09. This was delicious, although I saw it more as a DIPA. Big, hoppy citrus flavor, yet it was easy as pie going down. Lots and lots of grapefruit gives way to a smooth finish. Chuggable.

Tap at gabf and taproom. Everything a beer should be. A great malty bw with a citrusy hop profile. No overwhelming bitterness like Bigfoot. Great.