The Meddler - Odell Brewing Company

Beaver13

Colorado

3.88/5  rDev -3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 ml bottle. Pours a hazy amber brown with a medium creamy tan head that goes to a thin film and leaves some lacing.

The aroma is sweet caramel and candy fruit with a sour twang. It's a little subdued.

The flavor is sweet caramel malts and fruit with a big sour (candy apple) twang. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with smooth carbonation.

Overall, a nice lacto sour. This is much more intense and more sour than the first bottle I had.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 04:49:04 | More by Beaver13

Alieniloquium

Florida

3.88/5  rDev -3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

750 mL bottle poured into a snifter.

Appearance - Pours with a huge cream head. Deep red/brown body. Never quite settles.

Smell - Very acidic. Nice cherry acidity. Lots of malt and vanilla.

Taste - The malt comes out more here. Malt, oak, and vanilla come through nicely. Extremely sour, but it drops off after the initial taste.

Mouthfeel - Well carbonated. Over sour, but nice.

Overall - I rather enjoy this. Great barrel flavors.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2013 00:54:14 | More by Alieniloquium

russpowell

Oklahoma

3.85/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours mahogany with a pinky of tan head. Average head retention & lacing

S: Tart cherries & raspberries

T: Follows the nose, a touch of figs & raspberry sourness up front. Oaky dryness, cherries & figs, plus other jammy notes intertwined with sourness as this warms, a little bit of boozey peach juice too. Finishes warming, slightly boozey with raspberry vinagrette, leather & oakyness

MF: Medium bodied with slight carbonation that builds as this warms

A nice Old Bruin, one that will age well. A bit of time would smooth out some edges

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2012 03:47:54 | More by russpowell

chugalug06

Colorado

3.81/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Nice three-finger, straw colored, loose foamed head. Brew is dark murky brown.

Smells acidic, lemon, orange, horsey, and grapefruit. Grassy.

Not nearly sour enough, IMO. Slight tartness, but no pucker factor. More barnyard funk then bite. Lots of horse blanket. Mostly dry and bitter. Carbonation is huge and well done. There's something in the brew that makes my head *twinge*

I thought Odell was going to finally ball-up and make a nice deep sour. Sad day. Recommended, but not as an extreme sour. Perfect 4.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2012 01:40:28 | More by chugalug06

UCLABrewN84

California

3.78/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Bottle pour for New Brew Thursday's 3rd Anniversary event held at Beachwood BBQ & Brewing in Long Beach, CA.

Pours a murky brown with a foamy khaki head that settles to a small cap on top of the beer. Foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is sour and tart with some malt, fruit, and acidic aromas. Taste is much the same with a woody flavor on the finish. There is a mild amount of acidity on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is tasty but has a better smell in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2013 01:18:30 | More by UCLABrewN84

kojevergas

California

3.73/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Brown glass bottle with hood and wire cap over a cork served into a Guiness goblet in me gaff in high altitude Castle Rock, Colorado. Reviewed live.

A: Pours a two finger light khaki head, fairly thin, of decent cream and good retention. Body colour is a dark amber-black. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show.

Sm: Sourness and bacteria, great yeast, and basic pale malts. An average strength aroma.

T: Sourness and bacterial notes. Neutral malts. A nice body. Quite well balanced. Well built. Nicely acidic. A tasty beer.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Good palate presence. Near ideal carbonation. Complements the aroma quite well.

Dr: Quite drinkable. An incredibly tasty sour beer. I'd definitely have this again. A very worthwhile sour. Hides its ABV well.

High B

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 06:23:33 | More by kojevergas

BeerNFoodDood

Colorado

3.68/5  rDev -8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The Meddler

This beer pours a dark plum purple, near black color. Pours a pretty nice two finger head that is a caramel tan.

The nose consists of sweet dark fruit that is tangled in with lactic acidity. There is some oak on the nose but not overpowering. Definitely some blueberries and currents on the nose as well.

There is a lot of oak on the first taste. A little too much oak even for me. I taste more fruit on the second go at it. Lots of blueberries and lactic intermingled with a smoky maple flavor. Pretty complex taste, needs to lose a little oak.

Overall pretty good for an american shot at Oude Bruin, maybe not worth the price tag but good.

Cheers

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2012 02:55:52 | More by BeerNFoodDood

TotallyHosed

Illinois

3.53/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The cork blew without any help -- POP! After staring at a snail paced gusher for a second, poured into a tulip which formed an aggressive khaki foam crown. The head gently receded into a one-eyed veil. The color is such a dark brown that no light is allowed through. I didn't know it was brown until I reached the end of the glass.

The nose is full of sour cherries and tart plums. The wood is very difficult to detect, but overall the smell is inviting.

Upfront I taste sweet malts, followed by a tart bite that doesn't linger. The flavor finishes dry and offers some wood character.

The creamy feel is sublime, with pleasant carbonation.

This is an enjoyable example of the style. The tart flavors are aggressive, but do not overpower others. My palate does not resonate with the sweet flavor and smell that this brew offers. My favorite aspect is the velvet feel.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2012 21:31:12 | More by TotallyHosed

beergoot

Colorado

3.5/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Cloudy brown body, topped with a rich, chunky, light brown head. The bottle foamed up and out of the bottle despite sitting sedately for a good, long time. Sour and acidic scent.; lots of booze to the nose; phenolic; very light hint of malt; sour green apples. Per the style description for Flanders Oud Bruin, very vinegary on the initial taste; definite Lambic sourness; some alcohol warmth; no real hop presence. Medium-light body; clean and smooth feel.

Not being overly familiar with the style, the beer does exhibit plenty of acidic sourness overall, so it would seem to meet the basic style characteristics. Still, I didn't detect any "hints of malty sweet chocolate and vanilla" as listed on the label. Lactic sourness: yes; malt-like flavors: no. Not something I would usually search out, but seems fair enough for what it is.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2012 00:23:28 | More by beergoot