Otter Creek A Winters Ale

Formerly brewed at Otter Creek Brewing
Style: Scottish Ale
Middlebury, Vermont USA

Pretty good for the style but not much of a winter warmer.

What is it with Otter Creek and sourness!?#! First their Mud Bock and then their Copper Ale seem a tad sour, and now the coup de grace is sourness in the Winter’s Ale. Maybe it’s because this beer was 10 months old, but I don’t think so. It was also a fairly dark brew with gobs of malt and a fair punch of spice, to boot.

I suspect I got an old sample. Head had large bubbles, like dish detergent. Flavor was sour, and it had a sticky mouthfeel. This one goes in the DNF (did not finish) category.

Nife auburn color. Wicked aroma, something not right, old dirty hops, little sour citrus, some brown sugar. I think that this beer was fairly old, tartness, some fruit, organic hop taste. Maybe fresh this would be good

Sour and slightly malty on the nose. Thin bodied with not nearly enough malt, which is interesting because the deep auburn color suggests a fuller beer. Caramel up front turning to a slightly hoppy character and finishing with a fairly intense sourness. I can’t tell if it is intentionally sour or if it was infected. Either way this is a dissapointing brew with the exception of its appearance.

2/23/02: Way too sweet. Thin. First rating: It is too thin and the sweetness is a bit much. There is some complexity buried in here, but it isn’t easy to find.

Decent maltiness with a bit of a roastiness. Brown with a hint of red. Not as good as some of their other offerings. It's not bad, but I expected more. Found the 2002 version to be better than previous years. A bit more body to it.

Not bad -not great. Thin for the style, moderatle malty sweetness. Does have a distinct hop character.