Ocular Pat-Down
Odd Side Ales

Poured deep coffee brown with a very light brown head that left scant lacing.
The taste is, well, accurately representing what the label says: coffee and vanilla in what I’m thinking is a robust porter. Wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was impressed.
The feel is actually viscous, of course, the additives likely added some body, but not much.
OA, not sweet and discernible coffee and vanilla. Glad this one is local.

 

 

 

 

An excellent beer, very surprising in its depth, complexity, smoothness and richness. I expected a little bit less than a regular stout and this one really blew me away. Pours a very deep dark brown color which was nice and opaque, and had quite a bit of tan foaming head with some spotty lingering lacing. Smells of dark chocolate, medium roast coffee, vanilla, caramel, a little toasted nuttiness and malt. Taste follows the nose, and the smooth chewy chocolate is so well-balanced with the lighter coffee, caramel and biscuit notes. I’m used to coffee dominating this beer style so this offering was a pleasant surprise. Smooth, mild, slightly chewy and thick mouthfeel with just enough carbonation. Very, very easy to drink and worked well with both savory dinner and sweet dessert. Another great offering from a great local brewery.

 

Who said that alcohol is a depressant? Laden with copious coffee additions, the porter of Odd Side Ales may soothe the senses with vanilla, chocolate impressions and booze, but for the senses it's a bit of a pat down.

Thus the Ocular Pat Down rolls into the glass with a dark brown color and a dense blanket of sandy froth. Robust aromas fill the nose with strong coffee but also those milk chocolate scents and a hoppy twinge of pine. Soothing sweetness greets the tongue first with caramel, toffee, vanilla and chocolate for a malty first impression.

A slow release of sweetness allows for the coffee flavors to gently grow, going from sweeter caramels to milk chocolate, and then to bittersweet varieties before landing at a mocha latte character midway through. A rise of bitterness may be of hops but seem to blend into the cocoa and java bite to finish the session woodsy, earthy and sharp.

Medium full in body, the moderate hop resins and coffee act as thinning agents, giving the beer a great sense of drinkability despite its robust taste and firmly malted textures. Seeming nearly of black IPA, only the richness of vanilla and the linger of sweetness keeps the ale siding with porter.

 

 

 

 

 

Bottled on 1/26/19. 12oz bottle poured into a tulip. Pours almost black with a khaki head that fades leaving nice retention and lacing. The aromas have hints of milk chocolate and vanilla. Lots of malts. The coffee is subtle in the aroma department, but are noticeable, especially as it warms up a bit. The flavors basically follow the nose for the most part. More milk chocolate along with some dark chocolate. Some chocolate syrup. More vanilla. Mild coffee notes. Solid bitterness. It's really not sweet at all. Roasted malts are there. Alcohol goes unnoticed. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with moderate carbonation. It's fluffy, creamy, sharp, smooth and easy to drink.

This is a solid porter. Everything is balanced. It might not be anything super crazy, but it's enjoyable stuff. Not bad at all.

 

Pours a black color with a foamy tan head that disappears quickly. Aromas of coffee and vanilla. Taste is also coffee and vanilla, sweet and light bodied.

 

 

Look- poured from tap in a pint glass. Pitch black with one inch brown head. Sipped and it remains a bit of lacing on the glass.

Smell - smells like vanilla, a bit of bread, some coffee in the background and some chocolate (like white or milk chocolate).

Taste - so we had this in our favorite pub... Taste is vanilla up front, no bittering at all to speak of, a bit of coffee in the middle with chocolate on the end (if you have ever had Sam Smith organic chocolate you will get the reference)..

Feel - full mouthfeel... a bit of carbonation on front of the tongue

Overall this is a good dark vanilla chocolate beer. Most people talk about chocolate and they are referencing the color of the beer. THIS beer tastes of chocolate and vanilla. Not sure why others gave this a low rating.. if you like dark beers that taste like vanilla and chocolate this is your beer. I am going for a second right now...

Beer number 2 on the night. Losing twenty pounds to get back into shape is becoming quite apparent on my alcohol tolerance lol. Anyway, I adore OddSide so let's see what we get.

Look - Pretty damn black with a finger of mocha head. Carbonation is unreadable.

Smell - Vanilla and coffee as the print on the label would suggest though substantially more vanilla than coffee.

Taste - Follows the nose almost to a T. Vanilla takes the dominance at about a 75/25 percent ratio.

Feel - Rather light bodied with a low carbonation. A quick note is that this is an extremely drying beer. Probably the most drying I've ever come across throughout my beer drinking career.

Overall - Pretty tasty and it delivers on the labels promises. Keep some water on hand because your mouth will be a desert at the end of this one.