Otter Creek Imperial India Pale Ale

Brewed by Otter Creek Brewing
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Middlebury, Vermont USA

Bottle. Pours a coppery orange with a very large frothy/sudsy head. As I wait, a thick layer of foam coats the glass where the head has receded. Aromas are pretty good... there seems to be a pretty good mix of hops and malt... caramel and biscuity malt aromas with citrus and floral and pine on the hop side. First sip reveals that this is pretty good stuff. It has an octane kick like jet fuel (it is unabashedly 11%, but I’d say it seems like more), a very nice hops mixture and enough malt to mostly hold it all in check. Maybe the alcohol is a bit over the top, but this sure isn’t one of those boring malt bomb IIPA’s. I can feel the chest hairs growing with each sip (and I’m pretty sure I don’t need any more.) So, if your nancy-boy frat buddy is looking for a beer to help him be a man...

Bomber from Carrboro Beverage Co. Turd recommended that I buy this, and my man was not wrong! Very surprising to drink a DIPA of this quality from Otter Creek. Lustrous pale orange pour, with very prickly carbonation and a nice creamy one-finger head. Soft, earthy nose with pine and some very mild fruit notes. The mouthfeel is very fine, thick and lasting. Flavor could be a bit bolder, but there’s a nice blend of pine, orange rind, and flowers, with a bitterness that meshes splendidly with the malt backing. Surprisingly unassertive and drinkable for 11%. Nicely done.

Quite a surprise. A big bad IIPA. The high ABV was the only real detractor, though half way through the first glass even that no longer mattered. Citrus wrapped in evergreen caressed by a sweet caramel wrapper. Goes down swell.

22 oz bomber. Amber pour with a white head. The nose is loaded with bright citrusy hops. A lot of heavy sweet citrus. Some grapefruit and a heavy pine/pineapple character. There is a pretty sweet sticky note of sweet pale malt. Orange peel and light citrus. Fairly sweet and fruity with a lot of heavy honeyed sweetness. Fairly boozy as it warms, but it’s pretty tasty nonetheless.

Poursamber with a large white head. Smells of resiny hops, some perfumy hints, sweet malt. Tastes of citrus, perfumy, some sweet malt, crisp finish.

On tap at Vintage in Boardman, really nice place. A pale lager looking beer but it has a big giant foamy head that hangs for a while. Hoppy flowery aroma. Oily mouth feel like chewing on grapefruit rinds. Surprizingly fruity when compared to other IIPA. Long bitter lasting finish that just won’t go away. More acceptable to me than most IIPA. What can be said but just palin on style. Too much for a lager lover.

The ratings on this are making me question my palate, but this thing smelled like boiled broccoli and tasted like someone had left a bad piece of chocolate wrapped in a a lettuce leaf in the back of a hot car. And the alcohol burn was just stupid. Blech. Drain pour all the way.

Bomber, pretty sure this one came from the Whole Foods in Vienna, VA. Pours a nice rich golden orange with a tan head. Nose is sweet, with a nice punch of hoppiness and a touch of citrus. Taste is sweet, with a nice resin pine punch, pretty damn good overall. Pairing it with dinner, take in Thai, and damn it works well.