Otter Ale
Otter Brewery Ltd

Otter AleOtter Ale
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From:
Otter Brewery Ltd
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
Extra Special / Strong Bitter (ESB)
Ranked #60
ABV:
4.5%
Score:
86
Ranked #19,830
Avg:
3.75 | pDev: 9.6%
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
16
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 17, 2023
Added:
Nov 16, 2006
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
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Ratings by MAB:
Photo of MAB
Reviewed by MAB from Canada (AB)

3.68/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Probably the best beer that I had on my recent trip to England.
It was darker than most bitters I'd seen previously, and the promise of more malt came through in the taste.
If it was a just a bit more carbonated, it would have scored higher from me. Great taste, though, hoppy and malty at the same time.
Oct 24, 2011
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.21 by dymott from England

Nov 17, 2023
Photo of JonnoWillsteed
Reviewed by JonnoWillsteed from England

3.63/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Blind-tasted except for the beer's name and brewery/country, zero reviews below read (yet!)...
L- Bright paler chestnut bown, clear, pours with a modest patch of bubbles.
S- Mildly toasty.
T- Quite bright, into some toasted malts then a hoppy dry finish.
F- Very trad, sessionable, solid hops, well balanced.
O- A good quality trad English Bitter, which made for a surprise find right in the midst of the urban jungle.
Review/scoring all done, now the reveal, I get to read the bottle lables to see what I missed!
500ml bottle BB: @neck but rubbed/can't read. £1.80 Bought from Tesco, Edgeware Road, London.
Jun 28, 2021
Photo of James94
Reviewed by James94 from England

4.09/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
L: Dark amber colour, little head or lacing
S: Rich malts, vanilla, dark fruits, toffee
T: Dark berries, hints of malt loaf, slight vanilla, lemon and lime
F: Balanced carbonation, somewhat complex

O: 4
Feb 18, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by travelguy from Ohio

Jun 11, 2018
 
Rated: 3.25 by jeschaefer from Texas

Nov 16, 2017
Photo of vinicole
Reviewed by vinicole from England

3.75/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Cask. Deep clear amber. Thin but lasting head.
Fruity aroma. Indistinct hoppy smell.
Again the stone fruit is in the taste. Diacetyl present. Light bitter completion.
Medium body. Quite smooth.
Aug 05, 2017
Photo of CwrwAmByth
Rated by CwrwAmByth from England

3.41/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
On cask/hand-pump at The Pen & Wig, Cardiff.
Clear dark-ish golden colour. It's a simple, crisp, biscuity bitter, though there are many better.
Mar 08, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by atpca from California

Jul 16, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by atrocity from Virginia

Apr 29, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by SGToliver from Washington

Aug 25, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by brutalist from Pennsylvania

Jul 04, 2012
Photo of Trizzle
Reviewed by Trizzle from England

4.25/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Quite something to look at. Darkish Amber to orange body poured from the cask with a large head (15mm). Head has retained all the way down with good slathers of lace gathering as I drink.

Aroma is sweetish fruit - dates, raisins and figs - backed up with dry straw malt and some butter and yeast.

Taste is more figs and raisins, drys out with some darker malts, very light low aroma bittering hops. Finishes very long, peppery and dry.

Mouthfeel is medium thin. Textbook for the style. Smooth and buttery with low carbonation.

Goes down a dream.

These low hopped, fruity dark amber old school real ales have never been a favourite of mine. I generally avoid them. This bad boy is excellent. Im guessing it's very fresh. A credit to the cellarman at The Anglesea Arms Hammersmith.
Jan 30, 2011
Photo of wl0307
Reviewed by wl0307 from England

3.58/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Tasted recently by a pint at my local JDW pub, John Russell Fox, in Andover. Served by a non-sparkler pour in a straight pint glass.

A: bright dark amber in colour, coming with low carbonation and a thin yet well-lasting light beige foamy head.
S: nectar, goose-berry juice... aromatic-fruitiness overall on top of juicy malts that play the second fiddle.
T: refreshingly fruity comes the foretaste, consisting of un-sweet grapefruits, sweet flora, goose-berry fruitiness, on a par with nutty, bitter-sweet malts... turning more and more semi-bitter in the aftertaste, with a lingering aroma of 50-50 fruits-malts and some traces of nectar. The end shows moderate bitterness with a dry-ish palate.
M&D: with mild fizziness, a medium-light body, and assertive fruitiness, this is an easy-drinking and quaffable fruity bitter all in all.
Jun 13, 2010
Photo of benclimbs
Reviewed by benclimbs from California

3.8/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
pours a creamy looking tan in a pint glass with a one finger head and a good bit of lacing throughout

smell is nice - subtle vanilla and caramel malts...along with a bit of ripe fruit from a smooth hoppy character

taste is more of the smoothness, not quite as nice as the nose would imply...but just a really well balanced, raisiny bread? character filled bitter. enough alcohol/gravity to carry the great hop profile.

had a couple pints of this the other night and really really enjoyed it, its a great drinking bitter.
Feb 14, 2010
Photo of mdagnew
Reviewed by mdagnew from Northern Ireland

3.83/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Pint sampled on cask at The Market Porter, London on 13th November 2006...

Poured a fairly deep coppery orange / amber colour... light fluffy white head poured fairly sparsely then faded quite quickly to light ring around the edge. No lacing... some light carbonation...

Aroma - Lightly toasted caramel maltiness, breadiness, nice juicy fruits (oranges, pears, figs, some raisins), some light nutty sweetness, grassy, spicy / floral hops...

Taste – Nice juicy fruits (oranges, some figs, some grapefruits), light toffee sweetness, definite nuttiness, nice floral / perfumed hop bitterness, some nutmeg notes, toasted bread...

Feel - Quite sharp then mellows out....Medium body... Very very drinkable - good session beer...

Overall - Another good beer from the Otter Brewery and served in perfect condition at the Market Porter.... well worth a try...
Nov 16, 2006
Otter Ale from Otter Brewery Ltd
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 16 ratings