Ottos Five Year Ale

Formerly brewed at Ottos Pub & Brewery
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
State College, Pennsylvania USA

brown/amber. little head. sweet aroma. Very rich, yet balanced flavor of caramel, yeast, sight spice. A great super full bodied belgian.

Draft. Brownish pour with minimal head. Complex aroma of candi sugary malt, figgy fruits, hops, some floral spices, and spicy molasses. Tastes dark fruity, with citric hops, some funky notes, and some candi sugary molasses hints. Not bad at all.

12oz handbottle, courtesy of mj. Thanks, Mike! Pours a bright, viscous honey-amber color; oily and clear; headless with slight legs. Dense, maple syrup and candy sugar in the aroma; pretty sweet and sticky with a bit of alcohol coming through. Full, chewy candy sugar and maple syrup core; minimal carbonation, and quite viscous and heavy on the palate; tasty stuff: plenty of doughiness, sugar, and malt density. Lengthy, sticky sugar and maple syrup in the finish. I was surprised to see how low some of the other ratings were.

Mostly clear medium dark amber colored body with an off-white head. Bright and crisp appearance. Nose of sweet candy sugar, light and clean yeast esters, light candy spice and fruit. Taste is sticky and sweet, not overly cloying, but still too sweet for what I like. It resembles a bigger tripel because of the lack of earthy brown sugar, heavy yeast phenolics. The light candy sugar is probably the most dominant flavor, along with some pear and white grape and light, bready spice, and overall it’s well made and without brewing flaws, but I don’t exactly like the recipe, especially if the goal was a Belgian quad. Otto’s makes some superb beer, but Belgian styles don’t seem to be their biggest talent.

(11/3/07, 12oz handbottle, thanks mj) Crystal clear amber body with virtually no head. Aroma is sweet, boozy, caramel/toffee, light anise. Taste is sweet, caramel, plum/raisin, wood, bread, some alcohol. Sticky full body, minimal carbonation.

On tap at Otto’s. Sweet aroma. Tobacco and raisins, plum, vanilla, Twizzlers. Light oaky notes and a bit of hoppyness. Amber coppery clear, with thin off-white lacing head. Medium-heavy oily body, with medium-light carbonation. Silky and smooth. Starts with huge sweet sugary malt. Brown sugar, candy sugar, oak, vanilla. Treacle, perhaps. Very little bitterness to counteract the sugar. Cloying. This should sit down for a year or two, and I’d love to try it then. After is sweet and thick, with alcohol warming.

Handbottled from mj, Dark bronze, leaves a white ring of foam around the glass. Wood, pear, caramel and a slight whiff of alcohol. Very sweet and caramel-y. Light phenols, a tinge of alcohol, pear/apple and some bread. Full bodied with light carbonation.

(hand bottled sample)bronze body with no head.aroma is a mix of butterscotch,alcohol,and citrus.flavor is about the same with a slight tobacco finish.