Shenanigans - Odell Brewing Company

Oxymoron

Colorado

4.5/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Shenanigans was a limited beer that was offered at the Belgian Big Beer Barleywine Fest and for a short time at the tap room. One of the first beers of many to come of American wood aged wild ales. Pours a mostly cloudy dark amber color with a brown hue throughout. A soft white head with good retention and lacing.

The nose is complex. There is a malty undertone that really holds the base of the beer. Some complexity aged quality that reminds you of a barleywine or an old ale. Some minor caramel and special b notes. A bit brown sugar-esk. The yeast comes out with a more brett quality but some lighter acidic notes as well. A noticeable ester profile with big sugar blums and fig notes. A light oaky finish that is a bit hidden compared to everything else going on.

The taste is right there. Some sweetness up front from the malt with complexity and the aged quality. The brown sugary notes back off, but more of a distinct caramel/special b malt flavor is there. The yeast is similar with more of a lacto taste and a minor brett taste. A light sourness that blends and balances the malt nicely. Almost like a sour milk without the infection notes. Very complex. The plum and cherry notes come out a bit more. As does the wood note, with a light vanilla taste that blends with the yeast.

The body is big. Maybe a touch too sweet and the carbonation is a touch light. But this is more of a nit-picking thing. Complexity is very nice (have I said that enough). Overall a very tasty beer, and Im looking forward to what else Odell's comes out with.

Serving type: on-tap

02-07-2010 21:35:05 | More by Oxymoron

Daniellobo

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nice brew, a bretty sweet amber, unusual an a tad repetitive but it does what it promises in a stimulating way.

Presentation: 750 ml dark brown corked and caged bottle. Simple label with a soft retro vertical pattern in cream notes with some orange typographic notes. Small side note with intent, and main description. Notes 5462-2011 vintage, and 9.1% Alc. by Vol. Served in a tulip glass.

A - Lightly hazy deep amber pour, nice frothy head, good retention with a fair surface ring and good touches of lacing.

S - Nice balanced nose, slight sweet funk with some fruity notes… Malty with a touch of funk…

T - And there is something not pleasing my companion across the table about a perfect amber ale broken by brett. But the sweet malty range, slight hoppy touch, broken by the funk, while unusual is working for me. Light tart fruity notes, malty sweetness with some caramel.

M - Medium body with medium/high carbonation, nice flow with a gentle lingering feel in the finish. Complex enough to entice the repeat...

O - Nice flow, well worth the try...

Notes: Long complex happy accident, not entirely sure when my mood would go after an an amber ale with brett but this was rather likable.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2013 14:24:06 | More by Daniellobo

SHODriver

California

4/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: pours a deep red with a huge dense and rocky cream colored head that is slow to fade
S: smells oaky, funky, tart, bretty yeast and slightly fruity
T: tastes of sour fruit, some horseblanket, oak, barnyard, some tannins and a bit like paint thinner. swallow is a nice and smooth oakyness with a bit of sweet fruitiness and vanilla
M: heavy side of medium. dances on the tongue with prickly carbonation. a bit of pucker and slight dryness on the finish but not overly so
O: very good. good flavors and solid complexity it would appear that this one needed a bit of time to get good. Seems to be that way with a few of their special releases.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2013 03:06:19 | More by SHODriver

ajtorres311

Florida

4/5  rDev +4.4%

05-31-2013 20:00:09 | More by ajtorres311

MinorThreat

Colorado

4/5  rDev +4.4%

05-28-2013 14:33:27 | More by MinorThreat

bluckbeyes

Oregon

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

05-10-2013 01:14:39 | More by bluckbeyes

facundoCNB

New Jersey

4.06/5  rDev +6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a beautiful amber (crimson red) pour with 4 fingers of foamy off-white head. cork made a nice loud pop sound, which hasn't happened with any other odell 750's i've opened up. a wonderful aroma of brett, apples, pears (cider-like scent), slight citrus orange-like, almost a cedar scent coming off. a strange vanilla flavor coming from the mix of brett with the oak which is wonderful, mixed in with that funky pear/apple flavor which is nice and subtle, a sweet malty backbone, and some caramel.
medium in body with pretty high carbonation. pretty refreshing.

a very nice beer overall, great use of brettanomyces to make an amber ale way better than it should be. slightly tart, would've been even better with lactobacillus added for some sour notes. either way, this was definitely worth trying. just noticed the heavy abv on the label.. honestly it feels like 5-6% beer.. it is very well hidden!

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 00:20:34 | More by facundoCNB

rfbenavi80

Missouri

4/5  rDev +4.4%

05-06-2013 05:25:43 | More by rfbenavi80

cfh64

Texas

3.25/5  rDev -15.1%

04-14-2013 19:34:00 | More by cfh64

hardy008

Minnesota

4.24/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Pours a copper to crimson color with a 3 finger off white head, with very good retention and a lot of lacing. The aroma has Brett, oak, green apples, dark fruit, and citrus. Smells nice and tart.

Tastes like a nice combination of sweetness and tartness. There are green apples, Brett, dark fruits, oak, citrus, caramel, and vanilla. I'm glad I waited this long to open the bottle. This might have been even better if I waited a little longer.

Medium bodied with ample carbonation. There is a tart aftertaste from the Brett, and a bit of a dry, sticky feeling in the mouth after each drink. A very nice wild ale. I wish I had bought another bottle to keep for a few more years.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2013 02:41:47 | More by hardy008

G-Hawk

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

03-10-2013 23:08:01 | More by G-Hawk

nzerbe

New York

3/5  rDev -21.7%

03-05-2013 02:36:21 | More by nzerbe

claspada

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer pours a hazy amber color with a some white head that slowly fades to spotty lacing.

Aromas begin with, no surprise wood barrel with nice caramel maltiness. As it warms you get the nice nuances of the barrel, mainly oak and a little spice.

The tastes begin with maltiness; caramel and breadiness. The oak comes in next with more increasing fruity flavors. As it warms you get more very pleasant mellow flavors of vanilla, some toffee, honey and a little hint of dark fruitiness.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. The barrel aging helps to dry out the full caramel and bready malt body and temper the ABV sweetness.

Overall this is a very good oak aged red ale, not the best or as good as the previous release Woodcut No 3 but still quite solid.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2013 15:07:50 | More by claspada

Gonzoillini

Illinois

2.75/5  rDev -28.2%

02-23-2013 21:49:24 | More by Gonzoillini

KajII

North Carolina

3.73/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

[Suggested Glassware: Tulip Glass]

The pour was a murky medium brown with a slight ruby hue and an average (1-2 finger) light brown frothy head that reduced to a thin cap which lasted throughout and produced excellent thick sheets of lacing.

The aroma was of a toasted grain malt and a funky Brett yeast with hints of caramel, green apple, overripe dark fruit (plums and grapes), citrus peel and bit of spice and a mild woody cask presence.

The taste was very malty and lightly sweet-tart with notes of caramel and dark fruit from the onset, progressing into a slightly bitter flavor with spicy sour presence and a woody alcohol ending. The flavor lasted an average time after the swallow with a sour citrus peel bitterness left to linger for just a tad longer.

Mouthfeel was just under medium in body and dry in texture with a ticklish carbonation.

Overall this was a very unique tasting brew: a bit sour, a tad sweet, a touch fruity and a nice bitter woody finish. All this working together to basically create this very tasty and memorable brew...

http://www.facebook.com/KAJIIsBeerReviews

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2013 02:42:10 | More by KajII

Haybeerman

Colorado

4/5  rDev +4.4%

02-07-2013 00:04:36 | More by Haybeerman

tobelerone

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +4.4%

02-04-2013 00:30:17 | More by tobelerone

WesM63

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -8.6%

01-25-2013 02:18:26 | More by WesM63

josephwa

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +17.5%

01-22-2013 19:32:46 | More by josephwa

imperialking

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -15.1%

01-13-2013 21:29:28 | More by imperialking

spoony

Colorado

3.53/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

From a 750 ml into a wine glass.

A-Huge (unmanageable) head for the first glass out of the bomber (which seems to be a recurring issue with Odell bombers...). After that, it settled a bit and produced a decent sized tan head that faded slowly. The brew was murky and copper/orange hued.

S-The smell was tart, oaky, and lightly vinous. I did not pick up any one fruit or flavor over the other, but there was a lightly fruity scent too...cherries maybe?

T-The taste mirrored the smell, i.e., sort of nondescript light fruits, lightly tart, with a bit of oaky vanilla, some caramel, and nuttiness. Mild flavors here for 9.1% ABV.

M-Lots of carbonation on the palate. The brew was medium bodied.

O-I don't know how Odell can call this beer Shenanigans because I found it kind of boring. The flavors aren't bad, but there was nothing going here that made me think of silly or high-sprited behavior or mischief. Anyway, this might be a good gateway to sour beers for those new to the style or those looking for something to pair with a cheese before dinner.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 02:01:23 | More by spoony

jrenn

Kansas

4.25/5  rDev +11%

12-18-2012 23:31:39 | More by jrenn

dt_gbpackersfan

Missouri

4.25/5  rDev +11%

12-14-2012 05:52:07 | More by dt_gbpackersfan

t0rin0

California

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

12-03-2012 03:57:28 | More by t0rin0

BeerHunter76

Texas

3.75/5  rDev -2.1%

11-12-2012 02:51:10 | More by BeerHunter76