Otter Creek Helsinki Gold

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

Date: 01/26/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

clear dark gold, scant head, sweet malt aroma with a bready character and light spicyness, sweet bread pudding flavor, nice light spices, very tasty and not at all what you would expect from a gold

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.3/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **+/4

(22oz bottle) Clear amber body with medium white body. Aroma is medium sweet, caramel, some rye, juniper. Taste is medium sweet, caramel, some juniper. Light-medium body, light stickiness. Nicely done.

22oz bottle shared courtesy of jasonmech77. Poured a medium amber color with a smaller sized off whte head. Aromas of juniper, rye, and some citrus. Tastes of juniper berries, light vanilla, rye and lighter citrus.

Thin white head quickly disappears atop the opaque muddy pale orange hue. Rye grain feel rather dull, straight cerealic with no spicy depth and dominates the aroma. Feeling more spicy in mouth with the flowery (not perfumey) and peppery grainy notions of juniper, but also extremely husky in its strong graininess. Disturbingly husky, coating the mouth with a drying effect that is not astringency, just coating and lingering unpleasant after-texture. It had started out sweet indeed with that vanilla and cereals blast, bready and sourdough reminiscent, because there is an acidity trace in there, though it fits. Medium bodied, low carbonation. I guess it’s not at its freshest.

Bottle sampled on 1/20/07: Pours a transparent dark copper mahogany with a thin, wispy-lacing white head. Has a lightly sweet, toasty maltiness with hints of floral juniper. Body starts fairly full and sweet with a touch of spicy rye and juniper along with a touch of bready yeast. Very true to style and one of the better Otter Creek beers I’ve had.

Bottle... Clear light amber ale with a small, fizzy, off-white head. Fruity, perfume nose with notes of tropical fruit and peach. No real sign of the rye or juniper berries in the aroma. Well balanced flavor, but very bland and still no sign of juniper berries or rye. Medium-bodied and dry (there’s the rye) with lively carbonation. The finish is crisp and a bit dry. If this rendition is any indication, Sahti can stay in Finland. Very boring.

22oz bottle-pours a disappearing white head and gold color with effervescence. Aroma is yeast, bread, spice/juniper. Taste is medium malt-caramel, spicy, yeast. Nice, easier drinking than the aroma had me thinking. Light/medium body. OK/mild carbonation.

This is the first twist off bomber I’ve ever noticed. I didn’t know they existed. Pours copper with a white head. Smells of lemons, sweet malt, and some dough. Taste is sweet and tangy initially with some touches of vanilla, oranges and an underlying nuttiness that becomes quite pronounced as the beer warms. Mouthfeel is average with a nutty finish. Not bad.