Odell Isolation Ale - Odell Brewing Company

jtfest

Oregon

3.73/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours an orange highlighted amber, somewhat cloudy, with a thin white head that leaves lots of lacing. Slightly alcoholic and fruity aroma (watermelon and peach), it has a light mouthfeel but a rather full flavor. I liked the taste -- somewhat peppery with a sweet aftertaste -- yet despite those flavors it was highly drinkable. Overall a nice brew, but I wasn't "wowed".

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2004 02:32:46 | More by jtfest

Crosling

Colorado

3.38/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Sampled on cask at the brewery.

Light copper in color with a nice deep dense head that laces well and lasts.

Aroma is faint. Sweet hops and some malt presense but barely...

Toasted malt, slightly tart, wood and caramel were well represented in the flavor profile. The hops seemed a little juicier on cask than in the bottle.

This was ok.

Serving type: cask

01-25-2004 02:10:59 | More by Crosling

Beaver13

Colorado

4/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The Isolation poured a copper-orange with a thick and creamy white head that had pretty good retention. The aroma is kind of bready and toasted malt. It has a toasted malt initial taste with a very mild hoppy, piney finish. Overall, a very nice winter warmer that goes down very smoothly.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2004 03:55:40 | More by Beaver13

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.98/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: a deep copper color, with slight haze, under a fine chunk of creamy foam that too-soon gives way and deteriorates.
Aroma: intriquing...mysterious...that only begins to describe the olfactory investigation, dominated neither by malt or hop, suggesting no particular flavor, vegetable before bequeathing fruit, rich and squalid, languorous while luxuriant, a copious compendium of complexity and contradiction.
Taste: bitterness up front, a swift hoppy cameo, then supported by hearty malt, brimming with sweet, yet dark fruit, with some touches of tartness conquering the palate at times, like a lemon to match the peach. A mad mix this is, really, a curious winter warmer that complies to no particular style, and conforms to no ale I've yet to sip. That, though, makes it hard to judge, for though I admire it very much, I never quite got chummy with it.
...no, wait, that's what I thought 15 minutes ago...now, I'm starting to come around...yeah, I could do with more of this! Not a lot more, but a bit, at least...and give thanks to vitriola for the sample!

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2004 07:30:46 | More by feloniousmonk

elmocoso

Nebraska

3.85/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A bold caramel color and a reddish hue. Off-white to biege ring and doily of head? covering the liquid. A Solid looking old ale.

The taste is malt but not sweet until the second sip. On the third drink, it is obvious this is a decent beer. Malty, easy on the tounge and slippery on the throat. Nice balance of flavor and carbonation.
An undertone of bitterness makes it harmonious.

Not much smell yet, but i will see as it warms up.
A malty smell comes with a warmer temp, but still not impressive. But the beverage as a whole is solid. Quite a tasty beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2004 22:08:28 | More by elmocoso

Gusler

Arizona

3.93/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On the pour a somewhat beclouded copper color with the head is middling in size and light tan in color and the texture frothy, the resultant lace a fine covering sheet upon the glass. Nose is quite sweet, over ripe fruit, toasted grains, light hints of caramel, start is richly malted, sweet, top is moderate in its feel to the palate. Finish is light to medium in carbonation with the hops mild and pleasant and the aftertaste very dry, overall a decent drinking beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2004 22:52:43 | More by Gusler

ipogios

Cyprus

3.9/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

2002-2003: Pours an amber colou topped by a tanned head. Looks quite good. The aroma is dominated by malts and hints of malts. Taste was fantastic. Really nice beer. The aroma reflects the taste and gives a combination of malty and hoppy taste. Goes down quite easily and has a sweet mouthfeel. Great beer!!

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2003 11:18:35 | More by ipogios

TXHops

Texas

3.68/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Reviewed in Jan-00

OG: 1.062, 15.21 P
FG: 1.017, 4.33 P
ABV: 6%, 4.66% ABW
Attenuation: 71.55%
Real Extract: 6.29
Calories/12 oz: 205.54
IBU's: 27

This Winter Ale (Strong Ale) is wonderfully smooth, fresh and well balanced. My sample's bottling date was 11/30/99, and I drank it on 1-24-00 (almost 2 months later), yet the flavor was fresher than some beers I've sampled at brewpubs with half the aging. Very impressive: sweet, malty, complex and perfectly balanced by a well-thought-out hopping rate, Isolation Ale is a very thoughtfully crafted microbrew.

Isolation Ale starts with an inviting amberish, peach tea-colored body and an off-white head with late-arriving circles of splotchy head. The aroma is fresh, sweet, and only slightly hoppy and the flavors follow suit. Malt is the feature here, and Odell does a commendable job of not overpowering the sweet, complex flavor of the grain with citric hoppiness. (Their restraint is unusual among brewers of non-spiced winter ales; much like the musician that understand that a band sometimes sounds its best when it’s silent....) The flavors vacillate between biscuity maltiness and faintly orange-like sweetness: reminiscent of orange jam, or citrus hard candy. Hops are there (27 IBU's worth), and do a difficult job of keeping the fairly sugary body (only 71.55% attenuated) from being cloying. Isolation Ale does finish with a very slight sour flavor, which is common among beers with residual sweetness and lower hopping rates. This phenomenon is similar to the sensation of drinking a sweet soft drink: a minute or two after you've swallowed, the sugar creates a faintly sour sensation in the back corners of your mouth. Don't worry, another sip will remedy that.

The body is smooth, if a bit sharp in its carbonation, and the finish is long, sweet and lingering. If only there were a touch more alcohol in this brew, I’d say it was very nearly a perfect Winter Ale. As it is, Isolation Ale is not very warming, and winds up somewhere between a Strong Ale and a standard American Amber Ale. If I were to really go out on a limb, I'd say that Isolation ale tastes a lot like a French Biere de Garde.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2003 07:22:21 | More by TXHops

Dogbrick

Ohio

3.25/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to prAna for this seasonal. I'm not sure if I would want to be isolated in a snow-covered log cabin for any great length of time with only this beer, but it's not too bad. Pours a standard amber color with a medium light tan head. Thin but sticky lacing. Aroma is spicy and sweet, with faint hops. Flavor contains malt and spices, but neither in good quantity. Sweet finish but it falls flat toward the end. I think a boost to the ABV would help this beer a bit.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2003 07:26:12 | More by Dogbrick

Quaffer

Nevada

4.4/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: This beer was a reddish, amber color. It had a thin, tan head that dissipated quickly and left hardly any lace on the glass. Not the prettiest beer I've ever seen.

Smell: A light malty aroma that had a roasted hint to it.

Mouthfeel: While this beer was fairly smooth and full, it could have had more body for my tastes.

Taste: Damn, this was one good beer. It had a crsip, refreshing hoppiness to it that I wasn't expecting, especially since I didn't detect much hops in the aroma. It was balanced almost perfectly with a wonderful maltiness. This glass went down smooth and fast, leaving me wanting more.

I really loved this beer. It was my first tasting of this brew, and I plan on picking up more sometime soon. It was different than other beers I have seen labeled as a winter ale. It was lighter in color, had less malty sweetness, and had a much more pronounced crisp hoppiness than most other beers that I have tried in this style. But, man, was it delicious.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2003 16:45:31 | More by Quaffer

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.18/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottled on 11-27-02.

Nice looking scarlet red. Thin creamy beige head. Excellent retention and lacing. Sweet malts and hearty hops are joined in by a leathery quality on the nose. Unique tasting winter brew here. I like it. A dry, dusty woody quality begs my attention first. That is followed by a Belgian yeast like breadiness. Abundant hop nuances add a clean, dry, subdued bitterness. Seems to be well fortified by alcohol without being overbearing. Mellow tasting. Almost like it has been cold conditioned for a while. Nice changeup to my winter beer lineup.

Bighuge thanx to Senior Shit and Jerry for isolating me with this Isolation Ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2003 19:42:22 | More by Bighuge

BeerBob

Nebraska

4.18/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Isolation Ale for the Season of 2002-2003 from Odell Brewing Co. pours a dark red from a 12oz brown glass bottle. The light tan head makes two fingers with no effort at all. The head then gets rocky, i. e. changes from a head of fine foam to a mix of large and small bubbles with an uneven surface, lacing well on decline.

Nose is a spicey citrus, and palate is a citrus zest with winter spice that roll along the tongue well.

A tasty winter offering from the nice people at Odell Brewing Co.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2002 20:30:42 | More by BeerBob

bditty187

Nebraska

3.85/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Isolation Ale is quite drinkable and quite agreeable. This beer was served to me with a thin, slightly off-white head that hung around awhile and laced very well… it was an amber-orange color. The nose wasn’t powerful but sweet malt and hops could be detected along with some spice. The flavors were a mix of hops, malt (sweet and caramel), and spice… it was simple and kind of thin. Nevertheless it was tremendously drinkable. Go ahead and try one.

Serving type: on-tap

11-12-2002 18:50:48 | More by bditty187

Jason

Massachusetts

4.75/5  rDev +21.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Presentation: 12 oz brown long neck bottle with a bottling date in the bottom left hand corner of the label. Label has a blurb about the beer and showing that this beer was brewed for the 2000-2001 season.

Appearance: Mild chill haze, slightly reddish hued amber. Pours to form a with a thick rocky head that takes forever to dissipate.

Smell: Hints of buttery diacetyl and earthy hops, cookie like malt aroma and suggestions of chocolate and toasted biscuits.

Taste: Medium body with a crisp and smooth mouth feel and an unobtrusive carbonation. Hop bitterness is clean and leaves a semi sharp bitterness all the way through the beer, an oily flavour hits middle to end. A sweet brew, lots of cake-like malt flavour with caramel and toasted grain flavours to boot. Great finish, some residual sweetness a mild herbal hop taste.

Notes: Well balanced and a more than decent “Winter Warmer” style brew, aiming more for a “I’ll have another one” winter seasonal brew rather than a monster of a beer that weighs you down after one. I’d happily drink this one all through a cold blustery night.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2001 22:33:30 | More by Jason