Otter Creek Alpine Ale

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

Deep, clear, red-brown, thick, creamy off-white rootbeer-esque head. Nose caramel, a bit thin. Body lacks carbonation and thin. Taste a bit nutty, maybe toffee or caramel, but has a bit of an odd tanginess to it.

A deep copper color that is topped by a tan head. Fairly clear though not brilliant. A malty biscuit-like aroma with some hoppy notes are immediately evident in this beer. This is a nice beer, it has lots of malt flavors that ends in a bit of roastiness. Notes of dark fruit: plum, raisin and perhaps some concentrated orange. The hopping is pleasingly bitter in the finish with some piney-citrusy hop flavor up front. The balance between the malt character and the hops is well done with both complimenting the other.

Pours clear red with a thin film of off-white carbonation. Sweet, bready aroma. Flavor is sweet and bordering on cloying but contains a nice array of caramel, bread, fruit, and chocolate notes. Earthy hops are light but evident. Nice complexity but something about the beer screams "sugar water;" this beer would be better if it had a toasty, dry bite balancing the sweetness.

Nice start with a sweet fruity nose, deep amber color, and an attractive head. Cracker-like maltiness with some apricot fruitiness. Medium body. A good party beer. Not too heavy. They could have diverged a little from the typical ale canon as Otter Creek often does.

Nice copper color, mildly hoppy with a dry finish. I'm not all that impressed with it but it wasn't horrible either.

So, I have decided to give up beer after this weekend until St Patrick's Day. What was I thinking? Well, if nothing else, it gives me a chance to drink excessive amounts of beer this weekend before I start my stupidity. BTW - This beer, not that great.

The malt flavors are nice in this one - chocolate and caramel, little hint of coffee. The finish is dry, but it becomes overly sweet at the end. Color was a deep copper red with a medium tan head and good lacing.

Decent moderately hoppy, slightly bitter/astringent smoky/woody, slight pepperiness, strong bitter finish, pretty nice. Nose sweeter than flavor. I'm not a big fan of this brewery, but this puppy ain't too bad.