Otter Creek Alpine Ale

Brewed by Otter Creek Brewing
Style: Amber Ale
Middlebury, Vermont USA

Body is a very dark amber with a alightly yellowish head. The aroma is rich and buttery with citrus and some bread crust. There is also a hint of maple. If I had just smelled this, I would have mistaken this for an IPA. The taste is bread with some light citrus. There is also a sweet finish of sugar.

Bottle from Premier - thanks, rudolf. Red-copper colour with a small head. Aroma is like a less potent barley wine - lots of caramelly malt and juicy hops. Flavour is pleasantly sweet, with caramel and brown sugar, and a citric hop finish. A very well-made & tasty brew.

Pours light copper with minimal off-white head and huge carbonation bubbles. Aroma of malt, caramel, hops, slight butyric acid. Tastes caramel malty, with some fruit in the finish. Decent palate, but not earth shattering.

Hazy orange colour. Low white head. Sweet caramelly aroma, hints of earth. Thin flavour of caramel and leaves. Short spicy aftertaste.

Reddish gold, thin head. Herbal sugar cookie nose - tea, toasty malt. Flavor has some caramel or maple, herbal hops, tangy fruit. Some alcohol in the finish. Nice!

12 oz bottle, bottled 11/11/04 batch 1647: Coppery amber w/ a lasting cream colored head. Malty aroma w/ some hints of ginger at first. Toasty malt, light caramel, and hints of floral hop & wheat; mild fruity aroma. Well balanced w/ a wheat malt flavor up front. Some toasty malt and light caramel. Some light bitterness at the finish into the lingering lightly fruity aftertaste...pleasant! Seems like some very light hints of nuttiness. Medium body, lower carbonation, smooth m/f. Nicely flavored, but a little light to call itself a warmer.

Sweet fruity nose. Caramel and burnt sugar. Hint of maple. Good malt character with fruity sweet hops. Medium amber clear with thin off-white lacing head. Medium bodied with smooth medium carbonation. Starts sweet with caramel and toasted sugar. Fruity notes throughout with citrus oily hops bitter finish. Smoooth pale ale, this is. Great bitter but not harsh, and the finish is a bit watery. Dry bitter after.

(12 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with slob, thanks Bert!) Lots of caramely sweetness and a little bit of roast, that’s mostly what I’m getting out of this beer. It’s very flavorful for an amber, that’s for sure, and the caramel and roast are nice, but it’s just too sweet, phew, especially in the finish. Moderate bitterness throughout, but it doesn’t seem to go well with the sweetness. The nose seems to mirror the flavor: caramel, roast, sweet. Medium bodied, with a full mouthfeel, but I think the constant sweetness on the palate really becomes tiring, and it’s going to be tough to finish this beer. Ruddy amber color with a small, off-white head that quickly fades to a broken sheen atop the beer. Lacing is decent though, leaving several patches and trails on the glass. Cut back on the sweetness, and this might be a pretty nice beer.