Otter Creek Holy Otter

Brewed by Otter Creek Brewing
Style: Abbey Tripel
Middlebury, Vermont USA

“I’ve smelled worse attempts at a triple. Granted those were all from Quebec.” – Hogtownharry. <P> Hazy golden yellow body, tiny white head. Strange, fruity/yeasty aroma, touch of pineapple and apple juice. Sweet, fruity yeast character crosses an alcoholic path that quickly turns harsh and a bit unpleasant. Average palate. Pretty rough around the edges, fails to capture the style in ruinous fashion.

Very pale golden colour, lightly hazy. Aroma is slightly yeasty. A bit of mint, light spice (clove/coriander) and pale Belgian malt. The malts seem a bit fatty and underattenuated though. Warming brings a peach/pear fruitiness to the nose. The flavour is a bit malty, light mint and herbal hops. Sweet and definitely underattenuated. Light clove and yeasty phenolics. Okay, but not great.

Bottle (650ml). Shared with blankboy, GregClow and jerc, my bottle. Murky pale gold, virtually no head even with a vigorous pour. Aroma - trippel? - maybe cheap white wine and apple juice - cheap apple juice. Taste - ugh - vegetal, sour but not in a good way, boozy yet thin - blech. Watery, alcoholic, slick horrible mouthfeel - really, really bad.

Another stop on the Otter Creek one-off world beer tour arrives in Belgium. Abbey Tripel starts with banana yeast and clove aroma and a flat golden body. Bready, woody, spiced malt abbey Tripel from Otter Creek. Tripel style character has been lost Otter Creek’s interpretation. At four bucks a bomber this is more for fans of the brewery. I am a fan of Otter Creek and will try the next offering on their world tour of beers.

Bottle. Good clear yellow color, bright and inviting with a solid white head containing medium sized bubbles. Nose is a bit unpleasant, with some old, moldy grains, straight sugar and really no noticeable yeast present. Taste is similar, with some soggy grains tempered only a little bit by some sweet lemon and wheat. Overall there’s really not a lot to like, it’s syrupy, there’s some cheap lager characteristics present, and I hold triples to a high standard, so this one misses.

22 oz. bottle. Pours a clear, golden-yellow with a small, white head. Strong aroma of banana with a little clove and some orange peel. Flavors a similar to the aroma - banana and clove. It’s a little on the sweet side and the alcohol is definitely present. Pretty good brew.

22oz. bomber: This beer pours an almost crystal clear lighter golden (almost yellow) Mine had a small white head that dropped off quickly. Not the full head that you expect with a tripel. It smells like a tripel, but the aroma is incredibly weak. This didn’t bode well for the taste, and my premonition was correct. The taste was incredibly thin and weak. Good, but it seemed watered down. I’ve had more tasty Abby Ales than this, and this is supposed to be a tripel. I’m glad this is a one-of offering, because I wouldn’t buy this again.

22oz bottle-pours a dissipating white head and yellow color with effervescence. Aroma is grain-barny, yeast, dry. Taste is bready-light malt, pepper/spicy, dry. Secondary hops. Finishes thin and spicy.