Odell Woodcut Oak Aged Ale No. 01

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 8

thanks to joey, both times .. . great head, murky brown .. . wood and fresh cut rare tree aroma .. wow, sweet and amazing.. wood in the mouth to, but balanced! .. . one of the finest beers around!!!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

750ml bottle - number 44 dated 8/15/08. Pours a hazy dark amber with a huge fizzy big bubbled off white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is a little subdued - sweet caramel and molasses, some fruit (apples and raisin), wood, and alcohol.

The flavor is sweet caramel, molasses, vanilla, and a little fruitiness with some grassy hops and alcohol in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with sharp carbonation that mellows as it sits.

Overall, an interesting outing from Odell. It's a bit pricey ($25) and a bit one dimensional with sweet caramel and wood.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottle Number 847, 2nd RB Tucson Tasting, Sampled September 2008
This pours with a full tan colored head. The beer has a dark red to full amber color to it when held up to the light, but shows a dark brown hue as it sits on the table. This is definitely has a very oak influenced aroma to it; notes of vanillin are noticeable, but spicy oak aromatics are even more noticeable. Aromas of Butterscotch also come in to play, but the base beer is just barely noticeable underneath all of the oak influence; perhaps a touch of caramel notes mix with the more noticeable vanillin and butterscotch aromatics, but that is about it.

This is sweet and fruity tasting up front, and the oak-vanillin character kicks in towards the finish. There is a lot of caramel character here in the flavor though and it really mixes in with the oak flavors. This has a very fizzy texture from the carbonation and the body is only medium-light for a beer of this strength; this is still a sipping beer though. There is a lot of spicy oak character in both the aroma and flavor; in the flavor this combines with the alcohol to be aggressively hot at times. As the beer loses its carbonation it begins to soften up a fair amount.

'This is an interesting beer, perhaps a touch too oak dominated (especially in the aroma) to be great, but when allowed to warm it really helps to tame the harsher / alcohol-enhancing oak character. I would definitely have loved for the base beer to have come through more here, but not bad and fairly tasty over all.

Purchased: Liquor Max, Loveland CO