Otter Creek A Winters Ale

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

Chestnut brown. Sourish nose, medium bosied, medium sweetness. Crystal malt and toffee flavours. Rather low bitterness. I probably got an off sample, i remember it as being better a few years ago.

Name: Winter’s Ale
Date: 12/19/1998
Mode: Bottle
Source: Chevy Chase, DC

dark copper, whispy tan head, spicy malt aroma, rich malt flavor, low levels of spice and bitterness, slight belgian character

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.6/5.0
Score: *4
-------- /> The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

Dark chestnut; nose has oranges, some slight band-aid, plums, wood, munich malts; more dark malts in the palate - hints of wood, dark rye bread crust, and earthy maltiness. A little light on the palate for the style (like a lot of more famous ales in this style, like Belhaven Wee Heavy) for my liking. Finish gets quite sweet and sticky, with more smoke emerging.

(1-year-old, 2002 bottle) Luxuriously portentous, sweet chocolate port perfume with peremptory wet earth impasto, reminiscent of my old love, Corne de Brume...Quiescent flavor of mashed dates amongst the same earth tones within a very Old Ale-ish, velvety, rich palate...A cumbersome metallic finish with amplifying dry astringency upon incremental warming...The promised endeavours are not delivered, of sadness a quiver...

Pours brown with a thin white head. Smells of caramel and dark fruit. Tastes vegetal and spicy with a sweet finish.

This is a beer that definitely promises more than it delivers; gorgeous port-like appearance with a nice head, lovely smoky/wine-like aroma; but the flavor is a bit of a letdown, rather weak and thin if nicely malty and slightly alcoholic tasting. A bit too bitter going down, I thought; still, the best beer I’ve had so far from this overrated local brewer.

Malty, sweet caramel aroma. Clear amber-brown with low, off-white head that diminishes to ring. Liquorice and roasted malts with some notes of butter, peat and spices. Medium-light body with low carbonation. Bottle. Entered from notes.