Castle Island & Otter Creek Special Delivery

The Stats
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 6.6%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.57/5
- Untappd: 3.74/5
- RateBeer: N/A

"The world is full of excellent people. The team at Otter Creek Brewing is no exception, and we had the incredible opportunity to join forces with them on Special Delivery, our first ever collaboration beer. Brewed with locally-grown whole cone Cascade wet hops, that were picked fresh from Addison Hopyard in Vermont and driven down overnight in the Otter Creek van, Special Delivery is more than just a clever name. This wet-hopped pale is fermented with Sacchromyces Trois, a brett-like yeast strain that creates pungent fruity, estery aromas during primary fermentation and leaves the resulting beer crisp and dry. The finished product is funky and provocative, but balanced enough to bring you back for one sip after another. Along with the team at Otter Creek, we raise our glasses to collaboration, creativity, friendship, and excellent people!"

Pours golden yellow with a mostly transparent body, but some haze. I got a healthy 2-3 fingers of pure white head.

The aroma is clean and herbaceous with green tea and mint at the front of the line. A grassy, mossy, earthy aroma is starting to dominate, but there is enough room left for a small bit of melon.

Interestingly, a juice extract was the first thing I got on the taste despite the fact that there was no trace of it on the aroma. Immediately following was a huge pop of bitterness, but on a dime, it switches back to the familiar earthy notes from the aroma. Notes of wet moss and dirt with moments of pine and sap are like a forest after a rain storm. I get some more fruity notes, but it is sweet citrus like blood oranges and tangerines. The finish is rather malty, but pleasant with more grassy flavors.

Mouthfeel is full and relatively calm. Carbonation is low, but the beer isn't flat. The abv is hidden and this drinks easily. Some residual matliness is left behind, but it isn't too bad.

Special Delivery was a great example of a wet hop ale. Lots of earthy notes with a strong malt presence didn't deter the drinkability and it had some good complexity for the style. A good collaboration.

Rating
8.0/10

Otter Creek Orange Dream

The Stats
Style: Cream Ale
ABV: 5.25%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: N/A
- RateBeer: N/A
- Untappd: 3.59/5

"We're stoked to set this flashback-inspired cream ale into the universe. Grab hold of this warm-weather treat and enjoy the subtle citrus notes of orange peel that are sublimely accompanied by a deliciously smooth vanilla presence, which won't wear out your sweet tooth.
Don't be fooled by the melting pop on the can, The OCB Crew worked hard to create a cream ale with orange peel and vanilla, putting proper emphasis and attention on the cream ale style."

Pours a hazy dark yellow, bordering on light orange with a finger of white head.

The base Cream Ale comes through nicely on the aroma. Orange rind and orange soda are prominent. An overall cream soda feel would be the basic BossTones (The impression that I get...*rimshot*)

The orange and vanilla take some time to develop on the taste as the base beer is what hits me first. The dessert ingredients make up a lot of the confectionery flavors, but the base Cream Ale adds its fair share of sweetness, mainly sweet corn and cereal with light malt flavor. No hop presence to speak of, but given the description, I didn't anticipate much. Letting this warm up does a world of difference as this is basically orange-flavored cream soda. I don't get a typical vanilla flavor, but more vanilla cream, but, hey, I guess that's what they were going for. I get more of an orange candy or orange Jolly Rancher rather than orange peel and it mixes well with the vanilla, so I can't complain. It really is shocking how the Cream Ale itself was dominating, but a change in temperature turned it into a completely different beer.

Mouthfeel is light, but feels bigger than 5.25%. There's plenty of carbonation to go around and this one drinks very easily. The orange makes it refreshing and drinkable and the vanilla does not make it too sweet.

Orange Dream has a good Cream Ale base to go with dessert-like flavors. Again, it is orange soda with vanilla in a can, so Kel Mitchell would probably get a half pack of Rolaids in his pants when he puts this one to his lips. As for me, I liked this unique twist on the style, but to get the full effect, do not drink it right out of the fridge.

Rating
8.0/10

Otter Creek Couch Surfer

The Stats
Style: Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 5.40%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.86/5
- RateBeer: 3.54/5

Another new addition to Otter Creek's lineup of year-round beers comes an oatmeal stout which is a slight departure from their other year-round offerings which are mostly IPA's or pale ales. I think it may be their first year-round stout, so hopefully it is worthy of being on the shelf 365 days a year.

Pours pitch black with ruby red on the edges. I got less than a finger of tan-colored head.

Sweet roasted malts on the aroma with some chocolate syrup and coffee. Very mocha-esque.

The taste is mostly dark roast coffee, but with hints of chocolate. It is a very sweet beer up front which transitions to those burnt or roasted notes near the middle. I also detect the faintest hint of cherry which adds a dash of darker fruits to compliment the sweet chocolate. The finish is noticeably bitter thanks in part to all of those dark, roasted notes, especially the burnt coffee grounds taste brought on by the malts.

Mouthfell is velvety smooth, and feels bigger than 5.40%. There's a small bit of carbonation, but overall it is flat, but silky.

Couch Surfer is a pretty standard oatmeal stout, but has just enough sweetness to distance itself from the majority of the pack. I liked the intense roasted characters combined with sugary chocolate. Again, it doesn't re-invent the style, but it's still a sweet-tasting, easy drinking beer.

Rating
7.8/10

Otter Creek Backseat Berner IPA

The Stats
Style: American IPA
ABV: 7.0%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.07/5
- RateBeer: 3.8/5 (Two ratings)

One of Otter Creek's latest releases is their first ever year-round IPA which is bursting with multiple, juicy American hop varieties like Citra, Cascade, and Simcoe. At 7.0%, it is flirting with Double IPA status, so hopefully it has serious hop bite, but mellow enough to showcase the juices and be drinkable.

Pours a hazy, glowing orange with two fingers of white, frothy head.

The aroma has an orange juice, almost Sunny-D quality to it. It reminds me a lot of the Foundation Epiphany, and that's a great thing. It also has some grassy hops in there too.

Hop bitterness is pretty damn big on this one, especially for a non-imperial. There's an initial wave of citrus, but it is a tease as it is immediately washed away by the dank hop character. Now, I don't say that like it's an unfortunate thing. It's bitter up front, in the middle, and on the finish. Actually, the more I take it in, the end does come back to the juicy hops with somewhat of an orange juice pulp that lingers on the back of my tongue.

Considering how bitter the hops can bite, this does tend to be slightly dry, but also remarkably refreshing at the same time. It's a rare combination, but it has worked here for Otter Creek. Your palate isn't fighting the dry bitterness because the juicy hops help combat them, but the juice lets up just enough to let the bitterness linger in a beautiful way.

Backseat Berner could easily compete with tons of Imperial IPA's on the market, but those Imperials would not have the same smooth mouthfeel and drinkability, which makes Backseat Berner the better choice. It's a full-bodied 7.00% IPA with all the bitterness of a Double IPA, but at a more drinker-friendly cost to your palate.

Rating
8.7/10

Otter Creek/Lawson's Finest Liquids Double Dose IPA

The Stats
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8.50%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.38/5
- RateBeer: 3.96/5

Last year New England was hit with a collaboration that sent waves through the Northeast. Those outside of Vermont have rarely had the opportunity to try a beer from Lawson's, so this offering was many people's first chance. The best part was that the style they chose to do (Double IPA) was right in the Lawson's wheelhouse. Sometimes when brewers team up, they choose to collaborate on a style they aren't accustomed to, but it's always good to see two great brewmasters stick to something more traditional and knock it out of the park. This year marked batch two of Double Dose and I could not be more excited after last year's home run.

Pours a beautiful hazy, golden orange giving off almost two fingers of white head.

The aroma is a lot of bitter, piny, hops with splashes of orange and mango.

This year's batch seems to be more bitter than juicy, but I'm not saying that in a negative way. Not sure of they changed anything, but I am getting significantly more floral and grassy notes than last year. The juicy flavor is big on the finish and has an acidic quality like fresh-squeezed orange juice. It's a really solid combination of earthy, piny, and citric hops with just a touch of onion and garlic.

Mouthfeel is medium with a slight syrupy quality at times, but also good carbonation. The bitterness lingers for a while on the palate, but the finish remains relatively clean.

Double Dose was a winner again this year, but for different reasons. As I said before, I remember this being a hell of a lot juicier the first time around, but I'm not going to lodge any complaints with this year's batch as the hop oils and resins produce a satisfying, piny bitterness that I will be looking forward to next year (hopefully!).

Rating
8.7/10

Otter Creek Black IPA

The Stats
Style: Black IPA
ABV: 6.30%
Current Beer Advocate Rating: 3.81/5

Vermont is a mecca for the craft beer community on the Northeast. With so many highly-touted breweries it's easy to let some great beers slip through the cracks. I first remember having Otter Creek Black IPA almost two and a half years ago at a beer tasting and it was one of my favorite's of the day. I have never actually had it since, so this was pretty cool for me.

Black IPA's are hit or miss due to the taste being either too black (malty) or too IPA. Thankfully Otter Creek has found the right blend of both worlds.

The aroma is a flood of roasted malt and plenty of hops. Neither of which overpower one another.

A few sips in, you are hit with a combination of pine needles and juicy hops. A strong roasted presence is backed up by a citrusy, orange juice flavor. A very subtle, almost iced coffee bitterness on the finish along with that big, hop presence. It has a fluffy mouthfeel that goes down smoothly.

Easily one of, if not the best black IPA's I've ever had. It is such a robust beer for the style and almost stout-like with it's roasted qualities and fluffy mouthfeel.

Rating
9.3/10