Otter Creek Copper Ale - Otter Creek Brewing / Wolaver's

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.2/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Crystal clear tangerine-amber. The golden ecru head has the consistency of whipped butter and is beginning to lay down a decent amount of lace. Ultimately there are several thin, concentric rings that fatten as work their way down the glass.

The nose is earthy (loamy to be more precise), an odd aroma for a beer and not an altogether good one. It also reminds me of Bit-O-Honey candy, a description that I know I've used before, but it fits here too. Might it have been another Otter Creek beer?

Unfortunately, the flavor mirrors the aroma. I'm sure the beer hasn't gone bad because a friend hand carried it from Middlebury and the bottling date is a mere three months ago. That must mean that the brewers intended for it to taste like this. It certainly doesn't taste like the few other altbiers that have crossed my palate.

That earthy, loamy, mineral-like flavor dominants the flavor profile as it did the nose. The malt backbone seems sturdy enough and provides a somewhat pleasant, somewhat sweet, toasted breadinesss. Words that describe the finish include short, bitter, dry and mineral-like.

I loved Otter Creek (Cascade) Pale Ale, but the other two offerings haven't exactly floated my boat. This one just tastes odd to me, although it's drinkable. I'd still like to sample the entire line from these guys, but I've had enough Copper Ale to last me a lifetime.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2004 15:12:44 | More by BuckeyeNation

mikesgroove

South Carolina

3.65/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle poured into a pint glass

A - Poured a very clear copper amber with some small visible carbonation and a decent two finger high head of white fomay lace. Decent retention left behind some nice side glass lace and a decent film across the top.

S - The aroma was really packed with tons of bready malts. Cereal grains taking over as it warms up with a decent musty sort of smell. Very much full of malt hear with a touch of barley.

T - Very sort of muted. A quick clean taste that really did not have much of a follow though to it. It really kinda was dominated by the cereal grains and earthy bread like malts that drown out anything else that might have been trying to make a run at coming forward.

M - Very smooth with a crisp clean finish. Not a ton of carbnation and the body itself was very light. It was a very light feeling, but non slick beer.

D - Very nice actually as there was nothing really holding you back from having multiples of this. Low abv and a very smooth flavor with a crisp finish lend itself well tothis.

Overall this was a decent beer, nothing really spectaculat just a decent beer, I would go to it in a pinch for sure. But faced with other options I would probably not.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2007 04:02:17 | More by mikesgroove

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.88/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle - $1.49 at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours out a clear, light amber-brown body with a frothy, wispy, off-white head. Slight smattering of lace on the descent.

Smell: A humble aroma smelling of dry biscuits, oven-toasted nuts, and caramelized sugars accented with a light background spiciness.

Taste: Biscuity, nutty maltiness sweetened up with a modest brushing of light caramel. Spicy, modestly herbaceous hops with enough bitterness to adequately balance things out. Slightly prickly carbonation on the tongue as you hit the drying, lightly bitter finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Medium-plus carbonation.

Drinkability: A solid, balanced, pleasant ale that goes down with ease.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2010 06:52:26 | More by ChainGangGuy

brentk56

North Carolina

3.53/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Clear, light amber body with a decent head; nice lacing

Smell: Vaguely malty with a subtle smell of rotting oranges. Not as bad as you might think based on that comparison, however.

Taste: A little bit of malt is quickly overwhelmed by a metallic, grapefruit bitterness that is a bit like an American IPA mixed with an amber ale.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with a refreshing carbonation

Drinkability: Refreshing but a bit too metallic in the bitterness to my palate.

At first, I thought this was going to be an Amber Ale, based on the name and I was shocked when I looked at it and tased it. Then, I read the label more carefully and noted that this is a Northern German Altbier, so the style became much more understandable. Not a bad beer, but I wonder why they didn't name it something else that would be less confusing to the beer consumer.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2004 21:41:41 | More by brentk56

oberon

North Carolina

3.68/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a nice copper color with medium head that stays for awhile,very malty appetizing smell of caramel and biscuit malt.Pretty sweet taste would like maybe for a liitle more dryness to make it more balanced,but still pretty darn good.Used to be a staple of mine on tap at the local beer I used to hang out while spending a winter in VT.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2003 11:57:05 | More by oberon

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.22/5  rDev +16.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Otter Creek delivers an authentic Dusseldorfer-style alt biere brewed in the good ol' US of A! It's clear, dark copper body is capped by a short head of white foam that holds fairly well and leaves some nice walls of spotty and splotchy lace about the glass. The nose is lightly fruity and peppered with leafy and spicy noble hops amidst a delicate, toasty malt base. It's fine-bubbled, restrained carbonation leaves it slippery-smooth across the palate with just a gentle caress on the tongue. The fruitiness is less apparent in the flavor than the aroma, but it's still there and it works exceptionally well to brigthen the maltiness and offset the grassy/spicy/leafy/floral hop flavors; and it's precision tuned bitterness is solid enough to balance it perfectly. Very well done!

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2005 19:09:15 | More by NeroFiddled

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.55/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: average amber hue, with a good helping of creamy froth atop.
Aroma repeats the "creamy" theme, smooth, slightly nutty, soft and pleasant.
Taste: full of it, with a brief cameo by hops at the front, then it's all malty sweetness, well-rounded, well-balance. Good flavor, nice texture, with a tasty finish.
An excelent example of an everday, no-frills, perfectly companionable ale.

Thanks go out to 36LbLoveChild for this one.

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2003 09:22:46 | More by feloniousmonk

WesWes

New York

3.58/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours an amber/copper color with a lacey white head. The aroma is good. It has the scen tof pale malts mixed with nutty, earthy notes. It is much different than most "copper" styles I've had. The taste is decent. It has a malty flavor with a solid pale malt base. Again, it has the nutty flavor of a nut brown ale, but without the presence of many crystal malts. The mouthfeel is good. It is a low/medium bodied beer with just the right amount of CO2. It is a different, but good drinking ale. It's smooth.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2004 19:09:01 | More by WesWes

zeff80

Missouri

3.3/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The appearance of Otter Creek Copper Ale is very good. It has a great copper color. Smells good, too. The taste, however, I found a little too bitter. Still it is very drinkable, but is not my favorite Otter Creek brew. I've been to the brewery and sampled many of their beers. I think the Stovepipe Porter is their best.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2006 21:00:47 | More by zeff80

metter98

New York

3.63/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is slightly hazy reddish copper in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high light beige head that died down but consistently left a thin layer of bubbles covering the surface.
S: There are light aromas of caramel malts in the nose.
T: Similar to the smell, the taste has flavors of caramel malts and a bit of sweetness.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and rather smooth on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is easy to drink because it’s relatively light-bodied and there’s only a little bit of sweetness. However, the taste is very one-dimensional and lacks flavors of other types of malts and hops.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2012 00:14:37 | More by metter98

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.15/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a light brown color, with a short dense off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of caramelized malts, spice and some hops.

T: The taste is malty with sweet flavors of caramel, brown sugar and spices. There's a decent hops presence that provides a nice balance. The after-taste is slightly bready and slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and very smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, very clean finish.

D: Very tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, decent kick, good representation of style, this is a nice beer to drink for a long time.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2008 02:15:36 | More by TheManiacalOne

russpowell

Oklahoma

3.6/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours an effervescent orange/caramel with 1 finger od eggshell white head. Great lacing & very good head retention

S: Nice breadyness, fades as the beer warms up

T: Cakey, dry with herbal hop bitterness up front. Some crackery notes along caramel as this warms. Finishes with slightly herbal/metallic hop twang, some toffee, honey malt & too much dryness

MF: Medium bodied with good balance & moderate carbonation

Drinks fairly good, compares favorably to some Alts I had over in Germany, too dang dry to session on

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2008 15:55:23 | More by russpowell

jwc215

New Jersey

3.65/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a nice copper color with a slightly off-white head that slowly and steadily descends to a slight covering. Plenty of rings of lacing stick to the sides of the glass. Had the head not thinned just a hair too much, it would have been perfect, IMO. Still, it's a very nice beer to look at.

The smell was at first malty (caramel), then grainy (barley), with some citrus notes. A tad on the thin side.

Toasted grains (esp. barley) quickly take over and mute the caramel. It merges with some citrusy fruits. It's pretty good, though not as complex as the label (6 malts, 3 hops) would quite have you believe. The flavors are all a bit on the light side. Earthy grains dominate with a moderate malt backbone. The bitter hops are present throughout though never really emerge fully (which is ok for style).

Overall, it's fairly smooth, but for a touch of a metallic tinge. It's not the best aftertaste, but not bad either.

A beer to go to once in a while. Pretty easy to drink and interesting flavors. It's one of those beers that grow on you over time.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2006 22:30:16 | More by jwc215

tempest

Pennsylvania

2.88/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Nice looking amber body with a 1" head. Leaves a little lacing and has good head retention.

Smells of amber malts, lightly carmelized. Tastes like amber malts with a tough of hops bitterness, no hops flavor or aroma. Easy drinking, but this is not what I'd call an altbier. It'd make a fine amber ale, but its definately up to par with a good alt.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2006 04:52:01 | More by tempest

akorsak

Pennsylvania

3.18/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This is a 12 oz beer served in a Naked Fish glass. The ale is cool.

Appearance: The ale has a copper red color with a thick expansive head that laces nicely.

Smell: The ale has a thick malty aroma that borders on fruitiness.

Taste: The ale has a chewy biscuit malt body that is strong to the point of sweetness. There is no significant hop presence here to even things out.

Mouthfeel: The malt is a bit too much, as the flavors have been allowed to go all over the place, there is no single caramelly malt presence.

Drinkability: Average offering, not my first choice for an altbier but not one I'd pass up either.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2006 11:31:25 | More by akorsak

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.8/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

This will be my first taste of an altbier, here it goes this one pours out a ruby copper tone with an off white cream hued head leaving even lacing rings around my glass. Aromatics are very nice within this little brew with an exotic floral hop with some very pronounced malt tones giving touches of toasted nuts and caramel not bad at all. Flavor breeds a wonderful balance between shots of hops, mildly sweet robust malts with a wonderful chestnut finish. Nothing is over the top but this medium bodied brew gives off many great qualities to ensure a clean crisp flavor with no offness just brewed to be drinkable. A great starter for the altbier category in my opinion I enjoy it and now I wish to venture toward other similar beers.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2003 04:06:34 | More by WVbeergeek

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.18/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Light amber color, clear. Very good lace as I drink it down. A thin layer of bubbles last throughout, while the initial pour provided a moderate head.

Dry maltish aroma with a strong off aroma of beef stew.

This is a hoppy beer, which covers up the astringent malt. Very dry, yet creamy. Good body and carbonation.

Not my style, but the hop picks up the taste enough to make it drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2008 19:19:59 | More by smcolw

Jason

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Crystal clear dulled copper, stunning lace sticks all the way down the glass.

Quite malty with a toasted grain and hints of caramel. Vague fruitiness and faint hops in the aroma. Very smoothly textured mouth feel, spot on for carbonation. A little high on the toasted grain as far as balance goes, a bit more malt and body would be what I would want to see. Just enough hops to go around, the hops meld well with the malt in the finish.

Tasty and drinkable, easy on the palate as well.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2003 20:50:35 | More by Jason

Billolick

New York

3.93/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle. Golden amber in color. Hoppy nose. White small bubble head, left some lacing. Smooth malty ale, with moderate grainy hopping present. Medium body. smooth finish. Decent version of an Alt beer. I prefer my Alt a bit more bold and hoppy, but this one is pretty drinkable and well balanced.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2004 01:08:44 | More by Billolick

ppoitras

Massachusetts

3.65/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12ozer received as part of a 12-pack for Xmas. Thanks Joe.

Poured into a Samuel Adam Boston Lager glass, formed a 3/4" eggshell head over the clear amber brew. Head recedes sedately, with lasting lace. Aroma is well-balanced. Taste mirrors the nose, nutty maltiness upfront, and a moderately intense citrus hoppiness. Mouthfeel is crisp and clean, and drinkability is pretty good. A nice fall-back if not a first choice when looking for a sessionable product.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2008 21:33:10 | More by ppoitras

weeare138

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appears a transparent copper toned amber with medium amounts of co2 quickly rising to the top of the medium sized white head.
Smell is of mildly spiced hops with toasted nuts, and toffee. Perhaps some light notes of vanilla coming through, as well.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas. The bitterness and malt seem to blend together nicely
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, crisp, with a smooth finish.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2008 21:55:37 | More by weeare138

Bighuge

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This copper ale is just a little hazy. Streams of CO2 surface at a leisurely pace. The aroma is fruity and sweet. An herbalness is present as well. The flavors are pretty clean (an indication that this alt was properly lagered??) Malt tones are biscuity and toffeeish. Hops impart a dry hebal tone. The finish leaves me wanting more. Fruitiness is present, but subdued. Medium full body and a mouthfeel that feels just a titch too carbonated for the style. That's being pretty picky though. This is an above average alt, not much more.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2003 23:34:48 | More by Bighuge

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

3.08/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

First had: on tap at the Farmhouse, Emmaus, PA

Not bad. Poured a coppery-amber color, clear, with a small cap of white head. Biscuity aroma, light sugary malts, woody. Taste followed the aroma pretty closely, with toasted bread, grainy, light sweet malts, woody and a bit, well, coppery actually, as in metallic. Hops came in a bit pithy with what seemed like some funky notes. Not overly flavorful. Light-medium body, and moderately drinkable, but just a bit too bland, and the metallic taste (and subsequent aftertaste) didn't make a good or lasting impression with me.

Serving type: on-tap

11-20-2011 16:57:51 | More by Rifugium

Gusler

Arizona

3/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The beer pours pleasant translucent amber to copper color with a robust and frothy beige head that desiccates to sheets of fine lace. Malt nose, citrus, light sweetness with a start that is mostly malt, the top skinny, the finish purposefully hopped, astringent, dry long lasting aftertaste. A decent beer, but as with most beer from this brewery, just "Average".

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2002 11:19:36 | More by Gusler

beerthulhu

New Jersey

3.9/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A: Pours a beautiful copper-red color with a off white head. Soft carbonation.

S: On the nose is some spiciness, cinnamon, fresh leaves, nutmeg, and a fresh kindling woodiness are detected. A very distinct burnt caramel is highlighted with a touch of smokiness and a very earthy feel.

T: For flavor there is some earthy leaves, kindling, and burnt caramel along with some earthy hop notes and toasted bread. Theres some sweetness in the start from the cinnamon hints and burnt caramel which fades to a nice fresh woodiness flavor.

M: The body and mouthful is light but very flavorful and autumn like.

D: Good drinkability with a great complexity of flavor. A great fall style beer with a very good flavor.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2008 01:02:16 | More by beerthulhu