Otter Head

Cloudy amber beer, with a very small, fizzy lace - quite a yeasty and bready aroma, with a lot of caramel, toffee, and nutty character, and a soft underlying earthiness - the flavor starts off with moderate fuggles bitterness and strong herbal, tea-like qualities - this quickly makes way for brown sugar, toffee, and hazelnut - some subtle notes of citrus and fruit pulp - yeasty near the finish - there is a nice earthiness to this one throughout, which lends a nice dimension, and makes the beer stand out - very bready at the end - different and interesting.

Nothing very special here. Caramel predominates, but it has a certain crispness to it which was somewhat interesting. No head. Sometimes I find a real winner in these English ales, with their maltiness and their earthiness, they will present some underlying flavors, subtleties which make them memorable. This beer is not one of those.

Pours a two finger cream head that fades slowly to a thin layer, leaving some lace. Cloudy amber color. Light-medium carbonation and medium bodied. Caramel nose. Flavor is sweet caramel that changes to a slight bitter finish. $4.35 for a 500ml bottle from Colonial Spirits Acton, Ma.

Hazy deep copper brown body with a light tan head. Marischino cherries and light caramel notes come out at first in the nose. Then you also get some peanuts. Milk chocolate and iced tea are in the flavors. There is also some light hints of orange peel citrus in the finish. A nicely balanced and interesting ESB. More well hopped than many similar beers I have tried.

Name: Otter Head
Date: 04/06/2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Brewfest, Classic City

Appearance: hazy amber, frothy off white head,
Aroma: sweet caramel malt aroma with a brown sugar sweetness and light earthy hops,
Flavor: sweet malt flavor, dark caramel and brown sugar sweetness, light earthy balance,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 2.9/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **/4