Otter Creek Brewing
Middlebury, VT
Available: VT, NH, ME, MA, CT, RI, DE, NY. NJ. MD, DC, VA, NC OH, PA, IL. WI
Local artist Woody Jackson painted the Vermont scene on the label especially for this release.
Alcohol (wt.): 6
Alcohol (vol.): 7.6
Color: 10 Lovibond
Bitterness: 65
Original Gravity: 1070
Final gravity: 1012
Malts used: 2 row malt from either Briess, Cargill or IMC and Pauls medium
crystal
Hops used: Chinook and Cluster for bittering. Palisade for aroma. 0.5 lb/bbl in the whirlpool and 0.5 lb/bbl dry hop in the fermenter during maturation.
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Balance, thy name is Otter Creek. This is one India pale ale worthy of anniversary celebrations, with a full, perfumey aroma of orange, pineapple and peach paired beautifully with nutty, leafy hoppiness. In the body, there’s an equally balanced mix of fruity, caramelly malt in the front and assertive, resiny, citrusy hop in the back, all leading to a lingering, bitter-nutty finish. I can enjoy this quite happily on its own, or pair it with duck breast or a celebratory roast goose.
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A great drinking ale! Not notable in hop aroma, but the flavor says it all. Great balance of malt and hop flavors. Medium body. Approachable IPA from any direction. Some may argue that the lack of screaming hop aroma disqualifies it from style. But I doubt the original IPAs traversing the route from England to India had any hop aroma. Fifteen years at Otter Creek is reason to celebrate.
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Hazy orange in color, this beer pours thickly as motor oil, and I wonder what I’m in for. The heads drops quickly to a collar. The aroma is full of earthy hops and tropical fruit. The hop attack is brisk and sharp, but stand back and lets the malt show through. A fruity center leads to a clean dry finish. A well-balanced and pleasantly aromatic beer, well suited to the classic Thai dish of red snapper with a sweet and sour chili sauce.
