Otter Head

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

It was hard to discern the appearance since it came in a brown bottle, but what I could see looked quite drinkable. Aroma is strongly malty upon first opening the bottle. Flavor is thin but pleasantly malty, with fruity hints and a smooth finish that has a slight hoppy-bitter undertone. Pleasant and refreshing to drink.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Clear copper colored beer with light brown lacing foam head. Aroma is lught caramel, some yeast, some barley. Taste is bitter with some gras notes. Turning more bitter in time. (Velp 201311)

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

River water brown body, reddish tint along the edges. Diminishing, foamy head and little to no lacing. Medium bodied with a surprisingly hot aftertaste. Nice bitterness although the beer starts out sweet. Strong toffee and tobacco aromas with some prunes mixed in. Raisin and toffee taste with a peaty flavor. Bitterness is there, but little hop flavor. Applesauce aftertaste proves interesting.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

A very vigorous pour into my 25cl tulip glass barely summons forth a bit more than a finger-thick head. The beer is a dark red color that shows a brilliantly clear, pale cranberry hue with just a touch of copper when held up to the light. The aroma is at first quit malt focused with an almost molasses like note. A touch of earthiness is here as well contributed by both the hops and a somewhat overly caramelized malt character (is it starting to show signs of oxidation?). Some slight fruity hop notes are here in the aroma too contributing a mix of light, but sweet citrus and a soft berry note.

Sweet tasting and only slightly carbonated, the beer finishes with an oxidized sherry like note that definitely shouldn't beer here this soon. A touch of herbal hops, some light bitterness and a touch of berry character struggles to be noticeable through the oxidation and the malt character, that should be so vibrant, is just muted and dead.

Definitely disappointing, this is a fresh to AZ beer as far as I know and should be in much better condition than this. It seems that something likely happened at bottling time with this as it doesn't even reach an English level of carbonation. Perhaps this is a single off bottle, but at $6 it is hard to justify buying another one to test that theory out.

Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

Pours a murky clear brown with a thin head. Low carb. Aroma is vanilla and sweet malt. Mouthfeel is THIN. Flavor is of beer water and alcohol. Unfortunately this beer is missing a quality, and I think it is ...beer. BOring. Blah.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Cask@GBBF2007. Amber colour, not much head. Aroma is wooden, caramelly and earthy. Flavour is quite the same with some spices conifer wood and some juniper.

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

The most interesting thing about this beer is the color: stir some brown dirt into a glass of water and you'll have a good idea what it looks like. Even the light head has a "dirt" look. With that said, this beer isn't all that bad. It's moderately carbonated, which helps give it its smooth, creamy mouthfeel. The Maris Otter and Golden Promise malts give the brew a rather "coffee"-flavored taste which is sharpened with the addition of English-developed Challenger and Fuggle hops, leaving no wonder as to why it's a local favorite of English brewpubs.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

This bitter/ESB pours a deep brown color from a 500ml bottle. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is caramel, orange and sweet. A medium bodied ESB. Malts are toffee and caramel. Hops are earthy and floral. Hints of orange and citrus. Nice balance. Lively carbonation. Nice soft malts with a touch of chocolate. Seems a step above a lot of other ESB/bitters I’ve had lately. Mouthfeel is full. Finish si clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

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

Just spotted this brew on my local shelves and wanted to give it a shot. Aroma is sweet and raisiny with hints of figs and some caramel with maybe even some butterscotch that is slightly detectable. Appearance is a flat reddish-brown in color and thick and cloudy with a medium head on top that took some vigorous pouring and is a light-tan in color and leaves lacing on the glass. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with decent malty complexity with only muted hop balance with a palate that is wet-like and thick. Flavor starts out warm and sweet with some figs, caramel, maltiness, and some dark berries with an aftertaste that is a bit dry and smooth with less sweetness with a finish that turns dry and a bit hoppy with some very slight citrus or grapefruit overtones. Overall, not a bad offering but a would bet it would be fantastic off a fresh cask in a pub in England but, nonetheless, not too bad given it was bottled and sent to the shores of the United States...

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

Pours aluminum color with minimal head. Hops present in the nose, with vanilla, oaky aromas. Medium bodied brew, about what I expected from a strong ale, with nice malt presence balanced by gentle hop flavors. Some alcohol present, but not too much for the style. Very well balanced: strong back bone, but allows plenty of malt subtleties to unfold as it warms, accented by "background" hops.