25th Anniversary Double IPL
Otter Creek Brewing

 

Otter Creek Brewing "25th Anniversary Double IPL"
12 fl. oz. brown glass bottle seemingly without production codes or freshness dating
$3.99 @ Roger Wilco, Pennsauken, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: It's poured a surprisingly cloudy golden-amber body beneath a finger-thick head of off-white foam. The aroma is malty and hoppy, mainly floral and herbal, and really not that strong. Many standard pilsners have a stronger hop aroma than this although this would certainly win out on maltiness. On to the flavor, the same is true although it's fuller, richer, and more complex. It's lightly sweet, bready, maybe even doughy, and the hops are peppered throughout with a little bit of a floral note, some additional citrus with a mix but certainly some lemon, some herbal notes, some tea, some cedar, notes of apples and berries, and some spiciness. It's very nicely balanced between the two components and a solid bitterness backs it and keeps the malt in check, leading to a fairly dry and somewhat hoppy conclusion, although they do linger quite nicely. It's really quite nice. Looking back the head has dropped to a thin but almost solid surface covering, and there's some minimal spotty and streaky lace left about the glass. In the mouth it's medium bodied with a dextrinous feel, and gently crisp-then-smooth. As it warms I'm getting a slight bit of alcoholic strength, which is to be expected. Overall it's not as big and bold as I might have expected but it's also quite enjoyable and seemingly drinkable in quantities - that alcohol will hit you though at some point, so it's a question of would you have another one if you could based on your previous enjoyment. I would.
Review# 6,182

 

 

 

 

On tap at Vermont Tap House. Though they poured this into a tulip, I get what’s going on as if it was poured into correct glassware. The appearance was a burnt glossy orange color with a thin white bar pour’s kind of slim white head that dissipated immediately. No lacing. The aroma has oily fresh green hops, semi-sticky resinous, subtle floral, light backing malt. The flavor rides the gamut of the previously mentioned aromas, semi-sweetly with a balancing bitter. Rides on in together on into the aftertaste and finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a nice sessionability about it. Carbonation rides at a nice pace. Nice bitterness sticks but still feels good. Overall, Imperial pilsener, yup, works for me, damn nice.

 

 

 

 

 

I love the way the eradication of the Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody is going! Beers appear out of the depths like drunken little puppies, happy to see their master come to reclaim them. I am happy to see them, also.

From the bottle: "A big, bold boom box in a bottle[.] This Double IPL brings the beat & delivers a hip-shaking hoppiness that dances around the palate."; "From our bash to your glass"; "Creatively crafting, hopping and dosing brews since 1991".

There were a LOT of lees visible on the punt, so clearly a gentle pour was in order, following the Pop! of the cap in the hopes of maintain some semblance of clarity. Sadly, I must report that my efforts were only moderately successful. I still wound up with a light haze. An in-glass swirl raised two fingers of dense, foamy, tawny head with modest retention, leaving behind some nice lacing as it fell. Color was a slightly hazy Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7), for which I can only hang my head. Nose had a citrus & tropical fruit smell, like grapefruit, mango, papaya & guava. Mmm. As an unabashed, self-avowed, self-described hophead, this kind of thing just sets my mouth to watering, akin to Pavlov's dogs at the ringing of a bell. Mouthfeel was medium, but decent for a lager. The taste was absolutely riotous! The tropical fruit flavors were prevalent, but then there was a coconut-like woodiness as though it had been aged either in oak or with oak chips! OMFG! I do not think that I have ever tasted anything quite like this! Fruity & woody could be inspired by me except that I only swing in one direction & that is towards the kitty cats. Man, I could lap this up from a bowl all day! I really find it difficult to believe that this is a Lager. Great Uncle Fritz, a German lager-slurper if ever there was one, never envisioned the likes of this! A one-off?!? Ach. Probably expensive & time-consuming in its production. I vote for its return. Finish was semi-dry with a lingering oaky woodiness that had me licking my lips & wishing for more. Watch these scores, kids!

 

From the bottle, it pours a slightly hazy lighter amber with a modest head. I get a bit of piney hops in the nose. The mouth enjoys the pineapple and citrus hops and light malt. Yum!

-spiegelau ipa glass.

A: Nice dense orange juice coloring, with a milky light beige capping, slight in size and average hold retention. Small lace speckling.

S: Fresh pineapple and orange juice, wet spruce, orange peel and lightly dry whole grains. Spicy and fruity hops, canteloupe, and peaches with a nice strength, wet and fresh and very pleasing to intake with a lasting impression and duration.

T: Fruity and spicy orange and citrus pine hops for flavor right from the start with a high rate of dry, bittering flavor. Flowery appeal, dry fruit, dry orange peel, and leaves with a big, beautiful dry warmth of piney hops and dry fruitiness of pineapple and peach.

M: Medium full body, creamy texture, good carbonation.

O: Very worthy of an outstanding rating, nice fresh wet nose followed by a wallop of piney-orange hops and dry fruitiness. Flowery bite. Otter Creek is one of the older breweries in Vermont that gets overshadowed for the most part, but manages to produce outstanding ipas like the rest with less fanfare. High dry hop flavor, wish this was more then a one-off. Must try.