Otter Creek Double Decker Olde English Holiday Ale

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

It is nice to see the ever so conservative Otter Creek Brewing Company has cooked up something a little bit left of center. The beer is full flavored and appropriately malty. It is the kind of beer that I like to sip on during the colder months. Hops are just for balancing the beers rich malt background. The finish is full of roast coffee and chocolate. Hopefully, the new beers in the world tour series will be worthwhile also.

Clear, deep copper body with a fading, filmy beige head. Aroma of toffee and real maple syrup. Flavor is of medium sweet English malt with light bitterness and qualities of brandy and black tea. A pleasant, smooth sipper.

dark red color, spicy and malty smell and taste. easy drinking, a little spicy, but still pretty good. an unusual taste to the typical english strong ale, but good none the less. worth trying, espcailly for its lower price tag.

Head is medium statured, tan and short lived with a scant bit of lace left behind. Clear mahogany colored ale. Medium bodied, cutely chewy and lightly oily. Ringwood yeast notes in the nose? Hints of cola and licorice. Semi sweet malts on the palate hints of chocolate and a bit citrusy, Grand Marnier like flavor combo. Finish is lightly sweet and spicey.

Poured a reddish copper color with a small, off white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of cereal, sweet caramel malt, toasted grains, citrus fruits, and spices. Roast, tobacco, and caramel malts dominate the taste. Spices, nuts, bitter hops and alcohol in the finish.

Orange to copper body is crowned by a filmy off-white head. Mild roastiness accompany the straightforward toffee malts for a direct sweet and toasty global feel. The hops surprise though, they are much more present than you’d expect, very herbal. A beginning of oxidation is betrayed in mouth by developing oldish apple notes coming through in a tartish fashion. Otherwise, it seemed pleasant enough, well herbal and gently caramelly with active rather than passive hops. Sparse bubbles, medium bodied.

Very nice beer. Big and malty with a nice sweetness kick. Obviously big due to its wonderfully long and complex aftertaste. If anything, this beer lacks something new on the tongue, up front is rather full, but as the beer leaves the palate... hmm.

Mild chocolate and dried fruit in the sugary, candylike aroma. Clear deep brown body is topped with a low off white head that recedes to thin ring and cover. Fruity, dry, powdery cocoa flavour with light sourness. Medium body with moderately lively carbonation. Sampled on tap at American Flatbread with beerbuzzmontreal, MartinT, muzzlehatch, Rastacouere and Yowie.