Odell 5 Barrel Pale Ale

Brewed by Odell Brewing Company
Style: English Pale Ale
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

The girls brought this back with groceries when we were at a family reunion in Colorado. Nice drink between tasting the 17 top 50 beers we had accumulated for the reunion. Takes me back to growing up on the farm with bread rising in a warm oven and the smell of grain a earth seeping in the windows and apples ripening in the sun. A little watery but easy to drink. A bit of citrus at the end adds to the experience. Kind of unexpected quality for something just picked up on a whim.

12 ounce bottle in pint glass. Golden with lasting flat head and lace. Mild toasty honey orange aroma. Mild honey citrus fruit with medium assertive very dry citrus hop finish. Very clean. Sessionable. Perfect mouthfeel for style. Excellent.

Sample from a bottle at Jonesy’s Eatbar in Denver. The beer is a pale amber color with a medium thin off-white head that recedes steadily Stringy lacing on the glass. Floral hops aroma with citrusy undertones. Medium body with herbal and floral hops flavors, as well as some citrus and malt. The finish is hoppy up front with a citrusy aftertaste. Decent all around.

Bottle. Nose is subdued earthy hops with a little bready malt. Flavor is the bread and biscuit, cut with a nice tart bitterness and floral hop. Good easy drinker, but a little water and just not a lot of very pronouced flavors. Points for the fact that I wnated another one for reasons not readily apparent above.

Bottle. Pours a clear, orange body with a fine, jiggly, white head. Laces fairly well. Sticky, resinous hop aroma of citrus and flowers. Not as herbal as anticipated from an English PA. Some bready malt underneath the hops. Flavor is of light biscuit, sticky pine and resin and a dash of flowers. Somewhat soapy. Light-medium body, mild carbonation, moderate bitterness and a touch of lingering resin. Overall pretty decent.

Bottle from Big J. Clear orange body, lacing clear-white head. Nose is delicious, of musty hops with cookie dough and light caramel in the Stone strong ale tradition. Taste is bitter with a touch of sourish citrus and a touch of resin. Medium body with a lasting sort of cola aftertaste (again, citric acid?). Very good nose, but taste has no more character or distinctiveness than the similar-tasting Amber Bock.

Pours a medium amber, and quite appealing too. Generous rocky meringue head. Dissipates after a few minutes but is quite spectacular at first. Bravo! Nose is a clean, soapy note that is actually good. Ivory soap? A hint of vanilla and green apples. Very smooth body, smooth taste. Everything meshes well - seamless. Slightly high carbonation, moderate malt, moderate hop bite, and a vanilla w/slight creaminess is there. Finishes with hop tartness and a mildly syrupy sweetness. Overall very good for an everyday beer.