Ella
Otter Creek Brewing

12oz can into a red cup. Didn't take note of any freshness dating.

Appears to have a clear yellow body with a decent white head. Some lacing.

Lightly sweet and grassy aroma.

On tasting, sweet, floral, faintest of hop notes.

Mouth just about medium, finish clean.

Overall, decent straightforward lager. Might be a bit old, but a cooling drink on a hot evening.

L: beautiful hazy tangerine color, rocky head leaving thick, attractive lacing down the sides of my Magic Hat tulip glass.
S: not great, but good, not much to say about the smell. The one thing I need to say about the smell is that I knew the hops and malts would be well balanced upon first sniff, they nailed the balance on this strange brew.
T: deeeee-licious. The most important part of a beer is how it tastes, and this tastes exactly as it should. Again, the malts and hops are perfectly balanced, a rich, warm, sparkly, exciting flavor will bring your tastebuds to a whole new world. This is for the guy/gal who wants to like IPAs, but doesn’t want to get raped by hops and wants more malt to balance out the affair, I dig this taste something fierce, tasty stuff, bravo OCBC.
F: exactly as it should. On the thicker side of what you’d expect for a “lager” but this ain’t no lager. This is a different animal. A horse of a different color. The taste perfectly aligns with the mouthfeel. A bit astringent, a bit warm, a bit foamy, it’s perfect. Trust me. Try this stuff.
O: the only fault of this brew is being very slightly acrid smelling. Beyond that, everything else is very unique and appetizing. Try this beer!

 

 

 

From the can, it pours a hazy light amber with a large thick head that slowly diminishes. Definite hops in the nose. The mouth also gets a light malt flavor with a touch of hops.

 

Otter Creek Brewing "Ella"
12 fl. oz. can, coded "0323185404M"
$1.83 @ Cherry Hill Wine, Liquor & Beer (Wegmans), Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: For a lager it's surprisingly hazy. It's a light yellow gold in color beneath a bright white head and it looks kind of like a Belgian witbier. The aroma is hoppy, a little spicy, floral, and subtly fruity. I'd call it just slightly tropical. On to the flavor... it's fruitier than I thought it would be, and I'm assuming that's all coming from hops as there shouldn't be any yeasty fruitiness. A basic, slightly grassy, seemingly Pilsner malt acts as its base. There's enough malt there that the hops don't eclipse it, and it's balanced nicely. A moderate bitterness also balances it, along with a slight acidity, and it finishes dry and delicately bitter. I'm not impressed with the appearance, although I should point out that the head retention and lacing are quite good, but I am impressed with the flavor and balance. It's different, but I could easily substitute this for a Czech pils and be quite happy. It's crisp and medium to medium-light in body, and refreshing. I doubt this will win any accolades as a hoppy beer, but as an easy-drinking lager it does quite well.
Review# 6,365

 

 

L: Clear shiny gold with a pillowy white head. Excellent retention, with tons of sticky lacing left behind.

S: Big lemon and grapefruit upfront, then oats, honey, pineapple, honeydew melon, peanuts, and mint. The aromatics sing with immense clarity.

T: Enormous pink grapefruit flesh, white grapefruit pith, tart pineapple, honeydew melon, white peach, cracker malt, and grass. Nice nutty oats, like dried peanuts. Finishes dry with a moderate lingering bitterness, and residual grapefruit zest and pine character.

F: Medium, slick and creamy; a bit thin momentarily, well-carbonated, crisp and clean with a sticky resinous aftertaste.

O: A complex, delicious, flavorful and unique spin, making a dry-hopped, oat IPL. Extremely good and a huge win from Otter Creek.

Poured from the can into glass at Top of the Hub! Solid drinkability with some flavor. Nice pillowy head.

Pours a lighter dull golden with a nice billowing white head that leaves multiple broken chunks behind as it settles into a frothy mass.Bright and floral in the nose with deep fruitiness with not much bitterness at all coming thru,a sweetish malt base is there as well.Somewhat leafy and herbal on the palate with mild toastiness underneath,not very much sweetness.A good quaffing lager with a pretty good hop presence,the Ella hop is one I really don't know too much about I must admit.

-spiegelau ipa glass.

A: Beautiful golden-hay color is bright with a feverish pitch of effervesce. A cream froth head is dull white in color, and frumpy in texture, but shows a good longevity factor. A good full band lacing encircles the vessel.

S: Fruity strawberries with some fresh, wet, pineapple juice. Some peaches and fresh red cherries. Good awareness and durability. Some faint watermelon and starfruit. Light dried orange peel finishes out.

T: Tropical notes of pineapple and peach for flavor. Wet fruitiness, some flowery citrus and fresh greenery. Soft orange peel bitterness, pine and grapefruit, and breakfast melon. Some berry floral notes with some spiciness and earthy fresh greenery rounds out.

M: Soft lush mouthful, creamy with a quiet nature of carbonation. Grapefruit-melon bitterness on the tongue and inner cheeks. Juicy resinous hop oils and thick and lush.

O: Fruity and tropical. Really digging the Ella hop, getting a lot of berry and tropical notes. Flavorful, soothing and dry finish. Good drinkability and a good experience and introduction into the Ella hop.

Poured from a 12 oz can into the test glass.
A - Lemondrop yellow, a touch of haze, but clear enough to survey the carbonation. A thin white cap is quick to exit
S - Nice malts, biscuit, then some lemongrass, and spring herbal elements
T - Here the offering rings a bit single dimensional, in the best way. A tight band of light malts and great herbal hops
M - Light on the palate, carbonation is just right
O - A very well executed hop forward lager, strikes a great warm weather beer cord, worth seeking out.

 

I see that my local, in-person trader, tone77, has beat me to it on this one! Good on ya, mate, but now I need to make my entry for The CANQuest (tm).

From the CAN: "Hoppy Lager"; "Dry-hopped with Ella Hops"; "Creatively crafting, hopping and dosing brews since 1991".

I was very excited to review this one, so following the Crack! of the CAN's vent, I performed an inverted Glug for the first time in a while. If you are into head, this is the way to generate some! I got just over two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, bone-white head with great retention for my efforts. It was kind enough to leave behind a load of sticky lacing as its legacy. Color was a very hazy Straw-Yellow (SRM = > 2, < 4). Nose was very citrusy with grapefruit and orange leading the way, but followed by a cadre of tropical fruit, like mango, papaya and guava. Ooh. Mouthfeel was medium, but big for a Lager of any style. I was really kind of taken by surprise by its bitterness. It was more grapefruity than the nose had suggested & it was acCANponied by a lemony biscuitiness. 55 IBUs, eh? Nice. That said, it was not at all overwhelming. I could easily fill a cooler with CANs & hang out with some friends all day. Hey, wait, I just did that on Saturday during a monthly bottle/CAN share! Finish was dry, pleasant, refreshing & perfect for a hot, humid Summer day.

 

12 oz can...1/15/18 (to long in the can...what can ya do)

Hazed dull yellow pour, larger and loose bubble cap, lasting nicely and leaves some frothy lacing all over the glass.

Lemony/hoppy sniff

Tasty enough brew, moderate crispness and medium flavorful, more dull lemons and a moderate hoppy finishing snap...nice summery quaffer...