Odell India Pale Ale (IPA)

Brewed by Odell Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Bottle Pours out a gold topped with a off white head. Aroma of citrus hops with some malt. Tast is more citrus with a little sweetness. A taste IPA for a hot day.

Bottle. Pours a clear orange hue with a medium white head. The aroma is mostly sweet citrus hops, some grapefruit for sure. The taste is well balanced; a smooth caramel and biscuit malt, the finish is dominated by a bitter hop presence, some citrus throughout. A very nice IPA, balanced and full.

Clear golden with large white head. Sweet aroma with citrichoppy and carolus notes. Sweet flavor with caramel, grapefruit, pine and hoppy notes. Solid bitter end.

Out of a 12 oz bottle, it pours a light amber, on the nose I get grassy citrus notes. The taste is similar, the citrus really comes though with grapefruit.

Pours a hazy pale yellow color with a white head. Aroma is fruity, honey, biscuit, and grassy citrus hops. Flavor is honey, malt, biscuit, toast, and a bitter earthy citrus hop finish.

Following on the hells of O’Dell’s Cutthroat Porter and its top-notch flavor, I hit the other end of the spectrum to try O’Dell’s take on the classic IPA. The cloudy, light orange amber and the feather down white-gray fuzzy head definitely paid service to the style. The smell is filled with the scent of fresh, fresh, fresh hops, and the bitterness leans more to the "wet grain" brand than it does to grapefruit. I absolutely freshness of the aroma almost conjures the smell of cold crab and seafood fresh from the boat, but I think, again, this is more the stunning smell of "fresh" than any fish heads they might have added to the tun. The flavor is more intense than the aroma, charging with a bolstered wet grain flavor and a mature, sedate hops profile. To me this is what a straight up, balanced, good IPA should taste like. Yeah, it has a hops bite, but it doesn’t strike like a snake (quick, piercing and painful) like some pale ales do, and it doesn’t bite like a hippo (AAAAUUUGH!!!!) like other pale ales do. It’s just right - no frills, no thrills, just a good, solid, IPA. The experiment in O’Dells continues successfully. August 19th, 2009 Update - I’ve been ignoring my common micro brews lately, but as I sat around in Colorado waiting to take a trip to Japan, I thought I’d make an effort to stave off oncoming homesickness with a six pack of O’Dell’s IPA. It’s one of the more beloved O’Dell brews but I’ve never given it much of a chance, even where I see it at parties or restaurants. But I’ve been unfair. The O’Dell IPA is a very affordable, very drinkable, hopped beer, which is why it’s probably attracted so many fans. A white head and light lacing on the glass gives it an edge of authenticity (not cheap) and pours mostly clear with a light haze. The aroma is fresh and aromatic, and not overly bitter. It’s somewhat plain, like a regular IPA, but all parts in moderation, nothing burning any of my membranes. The flavor is sweet and bready, like a Hawaiian bread roll, and then it changes a bit into a more bitter and metallic aftertaste, before it finally returns to a crisp grapefruit sweetness. It’s not fancy, but it projects the exact kind of marketing brewers like to push in their cheap lagers - consistency and flavor.

In short: An refreshing and nourishing full-bodied grapefruity IPA
How: Bottle, 12oz, consumed fresh.
The look: Clear blonde body with a long-lasting medium rocky white head
In long: Body is well malted and pillowy. Interestingly the malt profile here does not have much toastiness, caramel or honey. Instead I was treated with a big raw cereals mash sensation. Quite doughy actually. Lots of fruity hops with focus on the lighter more refreshing fruits like grapefruits and peaches. Medium juicy bitterness. The light tartness is totally appropriate. This is a full and highly drinkable. Another solid brew from Colorado. And to think this state is full of cattle ranch with cows eating cereals that could otherwise be used to make more kick-ass brews. I say let’s make some leather jackets and more beer.

Draft at Falling Rock Tap House in Denver. Pours a dark amber with little head. Aroma is hoppy and sweet. Flavor is assertive and hoppy, with pine and grapefruit being the main players. A doughy maltiness rounds it out. Finishes hoppy and dry. Nice IPA.