Otter Creek Quercus Vitis Humulus
Otter Creek Brewing

Otter Creek Quercus Vitis HumulusOtter Creek Quercus Vitis Humulus
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From:
Otter Creek Brewing
 
Vermont, United States
Style:
American Strong Ale
ABV:
12%
Score:
82
Avg:
3.62 | pDev: 14.09%
Reviews:
107
Ratings:
134
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Dec 05, 2016
Added:
Oct 30, 2009
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  4
No description / notes.
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Ratings by jtingue:
Photo of jtingue
Reviewed by jtingue from New York

3.83/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Poured into a snifter.

Appearance. Reddish amber in color. Pours with about a finger of off white head, which quickly reduces to a layer on top of the beer.

Smell. Very musty overall. Underneath, though there is some raisin and dark fruit. The nicer elements of the smell are, unfortunately, overwhelmed by a resinous, very oaky smell.

Taste. The mustiness is not as present in the taste as it was in the smell. Rather, there is a lot of fruitiness and pleasant malt notes complemented well by lighter oak flavors with vanilla and hazelnut. Grape flavors are dominant throughout, but tending more toward the sweet side. A slight fruity bitterness comes after these sweet flavors. The finish is dry and full of white grape flavors.

Mouthfeel. Nice full body that is slightly creamy. Carbonation is low, but not missed very much.

Reminds me a lot of Southern Tier Cuvee 1. Starting to see a trend with beer aged in French oak.
Aug 11, 2011
More User Ratings:
Photo of johnnnniee
Reviewed by johnnnniee from New Hampshire

3.75/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottle shared by Mike I think, thanks for the opportunity!
Deep amber with a reddish hue and a small bubbly white head that dissipates quickly. Sweet bready maltiness with hints of caramel and toffee. Big grape fruity flavor with faint vanilla and earthy oak. Interesting brew for sure, glad I got to try it, but thinking it might be on its way downhill.
Dec 05, 2016
 
Rated: 4.25 by wrightst from Maryland

Oct 02, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by GClarkage from California

Jul 03, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by Kegatron from Pennsylvania

Jun 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Latarnik from New Jersey

May 24, 2014
Photo of TheManiacalOne
Reviewed by TheManiacalOne from Rhode Island

3.31/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Poured from a 22oz bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep golden brown color, with a large off-white head that fades quickly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains grapes, champagne yeast, caramelized malts, oak essence and a touch of hops.

T: The taste starts out mild burst of grape sourness followed by some caramel sweetness. Then a significant alcohol sting comes in along with a hearty malt character. The hops presence is mild but complementary and brings a little balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and a little smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: Not very tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, very strong kick, decent representation of style, I appreciate the concept but the beer just doesn’t work well for me.
Feb 11, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by jaydoc from Kansas

Dec 28, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by Evan from Maryland

Nov 02, 2013
 
Rated: 2 by chippo33 from Vermont

Jul 30, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by jaxon53 from Connecticut

Jun 27, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by DmanGTR from New York

Jan 29, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by t0rin0 from California

Dec 05, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by andthevolcano from Delaware

Nov 07, 2012
Photo of jondeelee
Reviewed by jondeelee from Massachusetts

3.77/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Quercus Vitis Humulus opens to a light, sweet aroma that is most immediately noticeable for its range of fruit esters: pear, orange, berry, grape and grape juice (both white and purple), lemon, and even touches of fig, raisin, and prune. These sugars are matched by a nice brown sugar and light molasses base, bolstered by wildflower honey, and altogether these sugars give the beer a mead-like overtone. But there is also a good layer of oak and vanilla that adds complexity, as well as solid pink grapefruit and pine resin from the hops, and even hints of floury baguette and yeasty bread dough near the base. As a whole, the nose is very intricate, and while it comes across as delicate because of the lighter nature of the fruit esters, it still manages to be strong and long-lasting. And above all, it’s quite enticing, coming across like a fruity sweet champagne mixed with grapefruit, molasses, and vanilla oak, and is thus one of the more unique aromas on the market.

On the tongue, the beer opens with a shot of sugars and unexpected bitterness, the fruit esters here swinging from lemon, berry, pear, orange, and white grape to purple grape juice, raisin, date, fig, and lychee nut, and the bitterness coming across like concord grape skins, grapefruit rind, lemon zest, lemongrass. The immediate effect is discordant, with both light and dark fruit esters, as well as bitterness fighting for attention, and below this a thick runnel of brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, and wildflower honey adding to the confusion. Hops bring in more lemon and pink grapefruit, as well as grapefruit zest and pine resin. The champagne yeast adds a considerable amount of carbonation, but also adds to the champagne-like quality of the beer, bringing in a touch of dryness that plays strangely off of the sweet and dark fruits, somewhat like a slightly over-vermouthed berry martini. The oak chips do add a good layer of wood, which adds a plant-like fibrous bitterness to the mix. Late in the mouthful, as the sugars die off, a stronger champagne and merlot wine flavor comes through, as well as a surge of Welsh’s grape juice. The aftertaste is a fast-fading berry, grape, hops, and bitter oak mix, that ends up leaving a grapeseed and wood mixture coating the tongue, this latter coat lasting much longer than the initial aftertaste flavors. Mouthfeel is a dry medium, and carbonation is medium to medium-high.

Overall, while I can appreciate the effort that went into this brew, it seems to me that it suffers from simply having too much going on at one time: there are dozens of flavors fighting for attention here, some of them complementary and some of them strangely jarring, and the overall effect reminded me of champagne-based jungle juice, with a few shots of sherry and vermouth thrown in for good measure. The beer is by no means undrinkable, and it does say much for the brew that the 12% ABV is barely noticeable, but in the end I found myself wanting something a bit simpler and more focused.
Nov 03, 2012
Photo of bluejacket74
Reviewed by bluejacket74 from Ohio

3.92/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
22 ounce bottle. This one has been in the fridge for quite a while, so I'm sure it has some age on it. Served in a snifter, the beer pours a reddish/amber color with about an inch light tan head. Head retention is good, and there's a small amount of lacing. There's also some sediment floaties noticeable. It smells like dark fruit (raisins, grapes), caramel, oak, candy sugar and some apple. The taste is similar to the aroma, it tastes like grapes, raisins, oak, white wine, and caramel. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit creamy and has moderate carbonation. I liked this brew, but I'm thinking I probably should have drank this one sooner.
Sep 14, 2012
 
Rated: 4.25 by generallee from Virginia

Sep 02, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by JMBSH from Colorado

Jul 15, 2012
 
Rated: 3.25 by halo913 from Connecticut

Jun 24, 2012
Photo of thecheapies
Reviewed by thecheapies from Pennsylvania

3.41/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Hazy brick red color with some orange hues. Still hanging onto a retained ring of foam after half-an-hour (I'm letting this one warm up).

Pungent sweet and semi-metallic malts with some raisined grape aromas. Stale caramel, like an old IPA, with a nose hinting at oxidation (not sure when it was bottled).

Barely picking up the grape juice. Definitely the sweetness to match a fruit juice, but it's musty like an English Strong Ale. Tastes a bit like Cooper's Vintage Ale, but sweeter and stickier and fuller. Picking up some spiny woodiness from the Chardonnay barrels. Finishes a little astringent, and much drier than the opening and middle. Rich and malty, for the most part. Hints of medicinal hops. Lingering booziness. Too simple to be messy, too bumbling to be truly good. Once tasted, the grape juice comes out in the nose more. Better warm, as it's criminal when cold.

Feels like carbonated grape juice. Tacky and full with sparkling carbonation. Well, maybe the carb is a bit brushy, after all. Big 12% alcohol strength. Ok feel.

I like the subtle woody notes of barrel aging, and how the fruit comes out in the nose after tasting it warm for awhile. Still not a fully-realized beer. Lacking much complexity. Lacking drinkability. One and done for me.
Jun 14, 2012
Otter Creek Quercus Vitis Humulus from Otter Creek Brewing
Beer rating: 82 out of 100 with 134 ratings