Otter Creek Imperial India Pale Ale

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

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.

Dark amber. Very cloudy. 1.5 inch frothy white head. Very grainy aroma, even dominating a little more than the hops. Definately Amarillo. The character is so smooth and subdued it taste more like a 4% than 11%. Very dangerous. Very mellow. Not as hoppy as most IIPAs. Nice creamy floral taste and finish.

22oz. bottle, with thanks to j12601 for the great bonus! Pours a clear golden orange with a large creamy white head that leaves a thin layer of lace. Aroma is mostly pine and caramel, with a little background citrus and floral. Flavor is a nice balance of pine, citrus and caramel. Nicely balanced, thanks again Jay!

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.