Otter Creek World Tour: Cuckoo Bock
Otter Creek Brewing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review from BeerAdvocate Magazine July 2007.

Part of the Otter Creek's World Tour of limited release beers, this one is a nod to the traditional cave-aged, spring-released beers of Germany.

Rich golden pour with a very healthy, creamy white lacing that sticks to the glass. Soft and bready Vienna malt greets the nose, which is estery and highlighted by faint floral hop notes. Fairly light on the palate, but with a firmness from the malty body that provides some chewiness while flexing a perfect amount of sweetness--very creamy palate, too. Bready, slightly toasty, buttery (not in a diacetyl sort of way, though); hints of grape and a honey-like edge. Orange suggestions here and there. Estery, with some alcohol spice and warmth segueing nicely to a distinct herbal hop character that provides balance and wakens the palates with a gentle peaking bitterness. Some grain in the finish, semidry, with residual sweet toasty lingers and some herbal coarseness.

This is a most excellent Maibock! Balanced, tasty, traditional and so damn mellow. It's hard to get a fresh version from Germany, so this will do just fine-- shame it doesn't come in a six-pack. Pairing? Use it to breathe some life into a plate of wiener schnitzel mit spätzle.

22oz bomber poured into a Duvel tulip.

Pours a really clear bright amber color with a small white head. Nose is rich and malty, sweet and crisp.

Taste is rich and malty, very creamy and tasty. It's super malty and it's got a lot of caramel. Very smooth and easy drinking.

Poured from 22oz brown bottle into a clear pint glass. No freshness date. Purchased at Ancona's (Ridgefield, CT) for $3.99.

A: Light amber-straw with fizzy 1-finger off-white head. Short head retention with scattered lace.

S: Honey and caramel malt aromas with a light nerbal hoppiness

T: Delicious bready flavor with caramel sweetness and a mild herbal hops bite that leaves a pleasant pepperiness.

M: A nice mouthfilling quality with light body and lively carbonation. Higher-than-average ABV is not detected.

D: A great Maibock at a great value. A real surprise as I had not loved Otter Creek's previous offerings. Excellent brew.

Poured a cloudy medium apricot color with rich off-white creamy head. Much sticky lacing.

Smell has some nice rich malt aspects.

Taste is nicely delectable. Good rich malt character with a nice light underlying dryness.
Really a tasty beer. Alcohol completely hidden.

Great taste retention.

Perfect drinkability. An excellent beer.

Copper to orange pour with a fluffy white head and tight bubbles of lively carbonation.

Sweet malt aroma with just a hint of citrus and perhaps somewhat grassy.

Deep sweetness of toffee and caramel. Bready malt and just slightly metallic with the slightest touch of hops.

Very smooth, medium to light in body, lively carbonation and just the slightest hop bite on the palate.

This is a pretty good offering. An easy drink, very refreshing, and one to throughout the evening.

A refreshing easy to drink brew. This beer is a nice oraange shade with a fair head. The smell is somewhat of vanilla and some hops. The taste is like a cream ale but a little richer. The beer is smooth with the abv being a little deceitfull. Drinkability is very good and I could easily put down a few bombers of this...although I probably shouldn't. Two thumbs up to a brewer from my wife's home state.

Was happy to see this beer come back again after a brief hiatus. Pours a lively orange color with many tiny air bubbles, and a small white heading. Aroma is musty, with notes of honey, melon rind, and freshly baked bread. Taste is big on caramel and buttery notes, with fruit in the background (cantaloupe?). Starts off carbonated on the palate, but ends in a big buttery malt way. Sort of reminds me of short bread cookies, with that extra bit of unique lager flavor. Mouthfeel is just right being somewhere in between medium and heavy. Sweetness is somewhat of a factor with this brew in that it impairs the drinkability slightly IMO. I am very glad that I chose the bomber of this Maibock over the one from Smuttynose. It has all the elements I like in this style. Definitely a beer full of personality, and probably my favorite from the World Tour series by Otter Creek. Cheers

appearance - Poured a dark amber color with a small head that descended but still left some lace on the glass.

smell - Lots of malt here with some honey, and spices.

taste - Nice balanced beer, up front it has swet malt taste, finished up with some hops at the end.

mouthfeel - Medium body with some carbonation.

drinkability - Yummy, very good drinking beer, I enjoy these World tour beers that otter Creek comes out with.

Appearance: Pours a hazy honey color with a modest head that retains fairly well and leaves a few streams of lace

Smell: Slight toffee aroma with a surprising, though modest amount of grassy hops

Taste: Malty, as expected, up front, with a toasty toffee flavor that is joined, by mid-palate with a reasonably discernable amount of grassy hops; after the swallow, the malt flavors predominate

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: A bit to hoppy to be true to style, this was nevertheless an enjoyable beer

22oz bomber, served in a pilsner glass.

A - clear, yellow/orange color with a fairly small white head that went away pretty fast. A few bubbles from the bottom of the glass for a minute or two and then nothing... no lace whatsoever.

S - some maltiness in aroma, smells like a pilsner.

T - sweet malty flavor with a gentle hop nibble on the finish.

M - light bodied, very light carbonation.

D - I wouldn't drink this all night long, but it was worth tasting.

Picked up at bruisin ales in Asheville in Late July

Poured orange/amber with 2 fingers of cream colored head. Superior lacing & average head retention

S: Malty & grassy notes

T: Rich breadyness, a bit of iron, some grainyness up front. Hints of caramel & lemony hops show as this warms. Finishes bready with caramel notes & herbal hops

MF: Rich & chewy with low carbonation, plus great balance

Drinks great, a real easy sipping bock

Poured from the 22oz bottle into a pilsner glass. Dark amber in appearance with a nice, white head. Dissipates rather quickly but there is some serious lacing going on here.

Aroma is sweet and slightly alcoholic. Nothing but malty goodness here. Caramel and hazelnuts with some chocolate. If there are any hops, besides some Saaz, I cant smell them.

Nice flavor profile. Creamy and nutty, lots of caramel, and even a touch of hop bitterness in there. I wasnt expecting that but it balances out very nicely in the end. The alcohol is pretty well hidden as I really dont detect much of it in the flavor.

I was very surprised with this one. I didnt know exactly what to expect, and wasnt expecting much, but I am glad I gave this one a go. Very pleasant mouthfeel. The carbonation is perfect and makes this one light. Medium dry finish that is very crisp and clean. Stays on the palate for a millisecond and then disappears; nice. I would certainly purchase this one again and may give the style another go-round or two.

Appearance: Pours a clear, pale orange body with a thin, wispy ring of white bubbles.

Smell: Faint aroma of sweet, golden honey and steeped grains.

Taste: Sweet, grainy taste with some notes of caramel and honey. Light floral hoppiness. Faint bitterness on the otherwise sweet finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-thin body. Medium carbonation.

Drinkability: A fine example of the style that drinks very easily despite the 7.4%.

Very nice beer. Just pulled out of the box at Ryan and casey in Greenfield, Massachusetts for $3.90 a bomber. Kind of lame in apperance, virually no head with minimal lacing. Nice hop/malt nose profile, nothing special, but pretyy inticing. Mouthfeel is outstading, nice hop body with a vey strong malt presecnec thoughout.

The World Tour can be a bot off, this one however, is not. a good beer and well priced.