Otter Creek Imperial India Pale Ale

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

Very nice. First pour is quite clear and orang, 2nd pour was the same color but had small bits of hops and/or yeast -- not a big deal. Nose is unforunately hardly there but has slight citrus notes. Flavor makes up for the nose, though, it is delicious. Slightly grassy with a nice citrusy hop flavor at the start and a pleasant lingering biterness on the back of the tongue. I was very surprised to read on the side of the bottle that this is 11% ABV as its balance more towards the hopping hides the high ABV very well. Style wise it seems to be a cross of a IIPA and American Barley Wine. Too much alchohal to be an IIPA, but too light in colour to be a Barley Wine. Regardless, it was delicious. But for a better over-all experience, and a far better nose, I’ll take Stone’s Ruination IIPA.

Thanks for the 22oz bomber Santa! Nose is wonderfully sweet hoppy IIPA. Grapes lemon melon and cider. Hazy orange amber with helluva tight dense head. Strong lace and gooey frigging glass. Strong sweet to bitter. Yummy. Is that cocoa hiding in there? Coffee? Definite dark bitterness under the initial quick burst of sweetness. Sweetness definitely overpowered by strong bitterness. I like it. Sweetness is medium body. Melon? Oily? Definite gooeyness in the back of the throat. Ilike this’un.

Reviewed 10/29/2009 (bottle): Pours a golden amber color body, with a big foamy off-white head, lasting. Very hoppy dusty aroma, green smelling. Some citrus and hops. Hoppy malty taste, some nuttiness. Citrus and lots of bitterness. Too much. Better as it warms up.

Thick white head, nice retention and lacing, orange with a slight haze. Pine, toffee, hint of ginger in nose. Lots of malt, booze and lots of hops too, very chewy palate. I didn’t think the hops were overdone. Maybe a touch heavy on the booze. Nice stuff. They keep making these beers bigger and bigger.

In short: A boozy, brutal, harsh, sweet and very bitter Quadruple IPA. Acceptable in small servings.
How: Bottle 22oz. A few times, from fresh to about 6 months of age.
The look: Clear golden body topped by a medium white head with medium retention
In long: Nose of fruity hops, mainly citrus fruits. Taste is brutal. A ton of honey, a ton of resinous woody hops, a ton citrus fruits, a ton of alcohol. The least I can say is that the alcohol is not well hidden, this is boozy. Bitterness is strong and harsh and also very much welcomed to distract from the heavy sweetness and boozy nature of the beer. There is no brewing flaw with that beer but it is just way too brutal to be really enjoyable. This beer has all the finesse of a speed-addicted stressed out jackhammer operator. Working in watch repair store.

Pours a clear autumn orange with little head.. Aroma is mostly earthy hops with slight notes of pine

Pours a slightly hazy amber with a 2 finger fuzzy beige head that has great retention and leaves a few specs of lacing. Aroma is sweet citrus, light pine, light toast, some fruity/berry notes and nice french bread crust. Flavor is sweet malt up front, grainy notes, pineapple, citrus, orange rind, grapefruit, light caramel and some brown sugar. Finish is grapefruit, bitter, burnt sugar and toasty grain, bitter grapefruit and berry fade. Notable ethanol comes out throughout the flavor profile as it warms. Palate is heavy bodied with a pretty creamy feel throughout and a light, velvety carbonation, very nice. Really good stuff overall, pretty bitter, not sure about the 135IBU’s but it is damn bitter. It could use some brighter citrus or floral notes to back up that bitterness.

Bottle. Moderate malt aromas of roasted and caramel, light herbs and juniper for the hops, light broth for the yeast, and hints of alcohol, pepper and dates. Head is small, wispy, slightly off-white with good lacing and good legs, and is almost fully diminishing. Color is clear pale orange. Flavor is lightly sweet and moderately acidic to start, then finishes lightly sweet, moderately acidic and heavily bitter. Palate is medium, oily with a soft carbonation and finishes moderately astringent. A pretty good DIPA with, it seems, more of a bittering than an aromatic variety of hops.