Otter Creek Pale Ale

simple, well-hopped American pale. Substantial hop aroma with pine. Tasty hops, nicely carbonated. Lots of foam there. Grapefruit and malt finish.

Clear amber body, creamy white head with decent amount of lacing. Decent sweet and sweaty cascade hop aroma that I quickly realize is nothing special. Its okay though. Same goes with the taste. There is some underlying buttery sweetness behind the hops, and the finish has a slight astringency bite to it. Decent drink but typical.

Pretty stuff, shining copper with a big puffy white head. Smells like an APA, some hops, no real citrus, bit of malt. Quite hoppy, but mostly just plain bitter, no real Cascade-esque character for a brew whose label advertises it so proudly. At one point, a caramel/toffee maltiness tries to assert itself but gets smacked down by bitterness. Generic, thy name is Otter Creek Pale Ale.

Bottle. Bottled on 01/06/05. Pours a light orange color with thin off-white head. Aroma is of berries, citrus fruit and pretty strongly of hops. Taste is fairly balanced. Some sweet malts lead to a bitter citrusy hoppy finish. A little dry in the finish. Nice average body. Not a bad pale ale but definitely not one of the better ones.

Decanting from the 12 oz. bottle reveals a golden, light amber body with a large off-white head; good lacing. A hefty and bold floral hop aroma also reveals some citrus. The initial smooth malty sweetness gives way to grapefruit and spice in the mid-palate, and is quickly followed by a drying but mild hop finish with a short-lived aftertaste. This is a medium-bodied ale with good carbonation.

(12 oz bottle: Chevy Chase Liquors in Washington, DC) The nose suggests a hoppy, but fairly bready pale ale is coming, but rather, this is a fairly hoppy and moderately bitter pale ale, and only as the beer warms up does a mildly toasty, lightly sweet maltiness emerge in the background. Light to medium bodied, crisp on the palate when cold, more balanced with increased temperature. Golden amber in color, slightly hazy in appearance. Smallish off-white head gradually fades to a ring around the edge of the glass, leaving behind a few strands of lace. Not especially interesting, and is unable to separate itself from the crowd of average pale ales, but this beer certainly seems to improve as it approaches a true cellar temperature.

maybe the hops have subdued in age, but the better half of the aroma seems malty, and filled with nuts and caramel. same for the flavor as well. the citrusness that i apparently should be tasting and sniffing (?) is near hibernation, but it’s very welcome. this brew is pretty good. it’s cremey, smooth, just a bit spicy, also. i suppose the hops are what gives its spice and citrus; there is grapefruit, some flowers. i could have another! wooh! i don’t say this often when it comes to Pale Ales. the only thing i don’t like about this brew is its aftertaste, which seems to fall short, and stale--sort of a dry grapefruit sweetness resides; not bad, though. good stuff!

Orangey Gold, no head. Great orange, citrus hop aroma - the best part of this beer, it turns out. No noticeable malt, and a peppery, spicy hop profile. Ultimately a bit watery, which is acceptable (to me, anyway) for this type of beer. Not bad session ale.