Otter Creek 15th Anniversary IPA

Brewed by Otter Creek Brewing
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Middlebury, Vermont USA

Bottle from beer swap 2.0 - hurray for unfiltered beer - boo for unfiltered beer that doesn’t taste that great - the aroma is kind of faint sweet malts, with an almost artificial yeasty quality - decent, earthy hops up front, followed by a decent malt balance, but this quickly drops out of the picture, leaving a rather thin, tangy citrus flavor that couples with an aspartame-like sweetness - it has its god points, but it’s bad points are more numerous.

Interesting.... my version says "7.43% ABV". Anyhoo, Pours orange nut into the glass, with a thinly floating off-white head that leaves spider lace. The nose on this certainly isn’t classic IPA. I’m not really sure what I pick up.... initially some skunk and caramel. On the tongue, I detect real astringency (almost acetone/antiseptic), covering most citrus aspects, and completely losing any grapefruit whatsoever. The malts are toffee sweet, and the hops kick in so quickly that it’s hard to enjoy any real complexity. The finish is bitter (dry-hopped Saaz and Cascades???), but it all feels as if the astringency is what the beer is based on, and not complexity. I give a "tad" of credit, as I do detect trace amounts of pine and spice lingering at the end of the pull. Also, the mouthfeel is somewhat round and lively, I guess, but it’s just so unilateral, I can’t say it’s my first (or second) recommendation. Even after letting it sit for 20 minutes or so, as the beer warms it only seems to get sweeter, really losing the citrus complexity of a classic IPA. Sorry folks, just isn’t the best out there.

Skunky generic beer dirty boot and peanut butter toast aroma. Murky orange amber with big tufty beige head. skunky lager metal can flavor with some citrus buds and malt sweetness. semi sugary, tart, light. just ok, kinda unpleasant.

Clear light orange shade that is mounted by a tiny white head. Surprisingly, heady strong alcohol impression emanates from the glass, enveloping the fleshy orange and citrus fruit scents. Pretty light in terms of intensity besides that. In mouth, slight acetone and higher alcohols do surprise and remove from the otherwise rather juicy enjoyment. Really quite hot for its weight and rather disturbed in its bitterness that does not feel too clean. Light-medium bodied, medium carbonation. Under average ultimately.

bomber. Deep slightly hazy copper with a medium off white head with good lacing. Aroma, I got a touch of hops, but they are in the background. Caramel and heavy grains seem to dominate the aroma. The taste is sweet malts and caramel all the way, balanced by hops, but the hopping is not aggressive enough IMO to be an IPA. Lackluster for me personally.

Any first impressions?
-A ring of foam looks upon the glowing orange.
-Biscuity and caramel maltiness shyly welcome the orangey hoppiness.
-Earthy hoppiness is bored by the lenient caramelly cereals.
-The round mouthfeel and calculated carbonation showcase the well-structured body.

What if you dig deeper?
-Citrusy hops rise in the nose.
-Earthy hops offer mostly bitterness, lacking severely in flavor imho; maybe a sign of age?
-This remains a decent IPA throughout, although it surely won’t stand out in any flight of American IPAs. I don’t think it will satisfy most discerning hop heads.

Bottle; the one batch I guess?

Dark orange amber with a thin white head. A nice hoppy caramel, light alcohol, vinous notes, like an old ale. In mouth, good sweet caramel malt, light hops, a decent IPA, medium bodied. Enjoyed with the Mtl Crew Sept. 9, 2006.

Serviceable IPA. Good aroma, not overwhelming C hop. Saaz, noble hopped? Good lace, slight amber colour. Really bitter, taste of the leaf, also significantly malty. Stickly mouthfeel, a touch of chocolate malt. Mint.Average for style, a tad better than their regular IPA.