Otter Creek Double Decker Olde English Holiday Ale

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

Bottle. Pours a hazy deep brown with a medium to large creamy tanned beige head that deflates slowly. No idea of the age on this, apart from knowing that I’ve had it a little under a year, and it was probably around the shop where I bought it for a few months already. It has developed some really nice barley wine like notes though. Old malt, plums and prunes, and a little bit of spice. Medium mouthfeel. Some light cola flavors, oxidized malt. The finish is a little puzzling, oxidized malt, but the barleywine aspects of the nose come back bringing some dark malt and prune with a light tingly bitterness. No idea what this was like fresh, but this bottle held up quite well. I was pleasantly surprised.

Pours copper with a white head. Smells of earth, some spice, tea, some sweet hints. Tastes sweet and earthy with a light spicy finish. Enjoyable.

Deep brown coloured body with a strong copper coloured tint and a thinnish tan head. Aroma of strong roasted malt, nuts, a bit of toffee and almost no hops. Medium to Full-bodied; Strong malty taste with toffee, nuts and a bit of coffee and little else. Aftertaste shows some of the toffeeied sweetness and a bit of the nuts. Overall, a strong nut brown with no spices or anything to speak of. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased at Oliver’s Beverage in Albany, New York on 26-December-2005.

50cl bottle from Swann Avenue Market (Tampa, FL). Pours a maple syrup brown color with thin off-white head. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of toffee, caramel, spice, malt, honey, nuts. Flavor is also sweet and malty with notes of butterscotch, malt, honey, some slight spice. Medium body with a slightly sweet finish.

Shared by member of tasting group. Amber brown pour with nose of malt, maple, and vanilla. Flavor is same with water, and some sweetness. Nice.

22 ounce bottle from mcbackus. Thanks! Pours a hazy orange tinted brown with a thin head, low retention and low lacing. Big caramel malts in the aroma with a slight nuttiness. Nutty and earthy taste with subtle hops and some caramel notes. Medium bodied. Alcohol well hidden. Quite pleasant.

Bottle courtesy of sebletitje. Pours a slightly hazy amber brown with a one finger off-white head that leaves good lacing. Aroma of sweet malt, caramel, and slight earthy notes. Taste is the same as aroma. Medium mouthfeel with a mild amount of bitterness. Good

Courtesy of Sebastion (Sea Bass or sebletitje) pours sort of dirty brown with thin tan head. The aroma has sizable dark fruity esters of prunes, figs and dates followed by some earthiness and maltiness and that is followed by what smells like yummy goodness. The taste comes across as rather watery over attenuated first off and then brings in dark fruity esters, brown sugar and earthiness to go along with hints of metal in the finish.