Odell India Barley Wine

Brewed by Odell Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Bottle 75cl. @ post Borefts BF 09 hotel tasting
Unclear with many body particles (even hop peaces) medium orange color with a average to large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, caramel, sweet malt, heavy hoppy, flowers, perfume, grapefruit. Flavor is heavy sweet and bitter with a long duration. Body is medium to full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20091031]

Sedona river water in color...muddy burnt orange with a eggshell head that left web-like remnants on the inside of the glass. Aroma has bright grapefruit, Ponderosa pine, and floral qualities but shows a bit of honey late. Similarly, the flavor is more IIPA than barley wine and is quite hop-forward. There is just enough caramel malt to consider it for the category. Thick but not syrupy, this one might sneak up on you. A really tasty beer. Well done.

Bottle, thanks Peter. Murky tan, white head. Nose is nice citrus & pine hop character, caramely malt, green grapes. Flavor is great bitter pine, a little soap, caramel, honey, alcohol. Big but not over the top huge. Fruity pithy bitter finish.

750ml Bottle that was a bit of a gusher. Muddy light amber color, topped by a dense off-white head. Amazing hop aroma full of citrus fruit and pine. Juicy grapefruit-like hop flavor, accompanied by floral and fruity malt notes. The hops make this seem more like a IIPA, but there is a light malt backbone that is reminiscent of an English barley wine. Nice stuff.

750ml bottle, courtesy of pbsmooth, caged & corked. shared with Rudolf, El Jefe & Jacob. Murky, cloudy, caramel colored. Lots of sediment & floaties. Nice white head, decent amount of carbonation. Heavy hopped aroma with BW like underlying richness. BW features stand out more in the flavor than it did in the aroma. Leafy hop bitterness, malty richness. Fuller mouthfeel. Sligtly harsh bitterness thant dominates malty richness. Good, but more of an unfiltered IIPA than a BW. Thanks Pete

From a 750ml corked and caged bottle poured into a snifter at 43°. Color is a foggy amber with very good carbonation and a big rocky off white head. Aroma is a fresh hoppy scent of pinesap and grapefruit zest. It starts with a bold medium body that has a foamy mouth feel that goes down a little sharp. Finish jumps in harsh with a big raw hop taste of pine and citrus that come across sweet, then it goes a bit spicy and peppery. After taste is bitter with an old damp wood taste. Overall I am very disappointed, it’s over hopped, which makes for a great aroma but it taste like chewing on a fresh raw hop bud. Other then a somewhat rich feel it has no Barley Wine characteristics, it’s just an Imperial IPA. Maybe I got a bad bottle, because before I got through half my snifter the bottle was foaming over and kept on going for 15 min.

Bottle at post Borefts BF 09 tasting. Sweet oranges and big dry hopped hop on aroma. Huge resiny piney hop aroma. Body is ok, but kinda needs a bit more malt. Big acidic hop on end. Not particularly well balanced. Quite hot on finish.

750ml bottle. Pours a hazy reddish amber brown with a huge rocky off white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is piny resiny peppery hops with a little fruits and sweet caramel malts.

The flavor is toasted sweet caramel malts with some melon leading to a big piny resiny hop finish that has good bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with some sharp carbonation.

Overall, a fun beer. I’ve liked this on tap. It reminds me a bit of Hog Heaven. It’s a bit pricey ($15 per 750ml). At that price it would be a rare buy (more often on tap).