Otter Creek Imperial India Pale Ale

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

My bottle [650ml] shared with the gang at ’WaterlooWeekend Oct.’09’. Pours a deep orange-amber with a small diminishing fizzy white head. Aroma is mostly lots of resiny hops, some citrus too, with caramel malt way in the back. Flavour’s the same, very hoppy, resiny, along with citrus notes, caramel malt, some alcohol and a long bitter finish. Medium bodied. Very good, a bit one-dimensional but I really liked it!

On tap at The Old Toad in Rochester, NY. Hazy Aubren with a frothy white head and lots of characteristic IPA lacing. Citrus and floral notes in the aroma. A suprisingly earthy nose with complex hop and grapefruit body. Nice long finish of bitter citrus. A nice Imperial IPA overall. There was something perplexing and unexpected in the body that I couldn’t identify that was a little off putting at first but only made me want to drink more in the end.

(draft @ The Old Toad - Rochester, NY) Hazy orange pour with a fizzy white head. Aroma is citrusy and floral with a nice amount of malt to compliment the hops. Flavor is very bitter at the beginning with a juicy citrus middle. Finishes very bitter and hoppy. Flavor lingers for a while.

[2548-20091024] 1pt6floz bottle. Rich orange hops aroma. Hazy, orange amber body with a medium-lasting creamy white head. Bitter rich orange hops flavour finishes bittersweet. Full body is quite bitter. Super rich bitterness, more evergreen as it warms.
(c/o HogTownHarry, w/ him, blankboy, jerc, tupalev)

I believe this was originally released back in May of ’09, but the hops were still very much in tact and this ended up being a very tasty drink. Citrus hop aroma with an emphasis on oranges and grapefruit. Clean evergreen scent coupled by a good biscuit malt effect. Golden copper pour, big white head and heavy lacing. Full bodied, dry with a great bitterness. At this stage the flavor was crossed between a pale/dry American Barleywine and a big hoppy monster. Hops are still involved after 6 months in the bottle with plenty of spruce and pine and citrus. Pale malt flavor biscuits, toast and caramel. I bet this was amazing fresh, and I also bet this would age very well and transform into a killer barleywine.

750ml bottle? Obtained in trade. Orangish amber pour with a light white head. Spicy hop aroma on top of grainish malt. Spicy/grassy hop flavors with a caramelized malt and plenty of crystal toping up the grain bill. Semi-dry mouth feel. Not bad.

Bottle acquired via Sparky27...ERIC ROCKS!!! Deep, dark copper pour with orange at the core and 10 karat edges. Thick, frothy ivory head that leaves delicate lacing splattered on the inside of the glass. Nose is non-descript citrus and caramel but inviting. Excited to take a drink. Flavor is fairly balanced, but tilts a bit toward the sweet. Thick for the style but was shocked by the ABV in this one. A good brew.

Pours to a three finger head. Good ring lace on the glass. Orange amber in color and respectably cloudy. Definitive hop presence, but not as much as most IIPAs. Smells fresh (as opposed to pellets), but it doesn’t have the distinctive smells of grapefruit or pine. Well balanced. Lots of darker bitter hop flavors up front that last through the swallow and aftertaste. The malt is strictly a delivery vehicle for the bitterness. Good body with a relatively low level of carbonation. Very little alcohol presence, which is remarkable given the 11% ABV.