Otter Creek Alpine Ale

A malty amber ale, brewed with 2-row barley malt, caramel malt, and malted wheat, and four different varieties of hops, for a smooth, balanced flavor.
The perfect apres ski refreshment, or for any time you want to relax and warm up during the colder months to come.

3.1

160 reviews

Middlebury, United States

Community reviews

3.3 Bottle. Poured a clear dark amber with a moderate frothy off-white head that diminished slowly with good lacing. Moderate balanced sweet malt and spice aroma. Medium body. Medium sweet spicy flavor with a medium sweet finish of average duration.

3.0 Pours amber with minimal off-white head. Light sweet malt aroma with a little yeast. Light bodied flavor that matches aroma... nothing special here

2.2 Poured a clear amber, minimal head. Aroma is malty and sweet, a little bready. Flavor was pretty much the same, and I didnt like it very much. Very bland and watery. Just not liking it.

1.9 Pours out an cloudy amber color. aroma is sweet and malty. Flavor was the same with a really dry finish. Not a good brew in my opinion. poured this out.

3.4 Pours deep amber into a shaker. Head quickly subsides to skim rim. Sweet, creamy and malty - like an attempt at an HSA. -- but doesn’t quite live up.

3.0 Bottle from Shawan Liquors in Cockeysville, MD. Pours a very translucent amber with a fizzy off white head and large soda like carbonation. Very bready aroma. Thin texture. Initial flavor is mildly sweet with notes of caramel, toasted grains, and tea. Maybe even a little bit of winter spices are in the background. Very low amount of bittering hops.However, some herbal like hop bitterness comes out on the finish. Tea like flavors linger. This is an amber?

1.9 12oz. Bottle: Aroma is weak. Smells of malt and bread. Poured amber in color with a small off-white head that diminished. Clear and very sparkling. Flavor is quite malty and unbalanced. "Four different varieties of hops" not detected at all. Tastes like a brown paper bag. Not really sweet or bitter, but is sour in the finish. Light body. Lively carbonation. Sour finish. Maybe a bad bottle? I could not even finish this.

3.3 Caramel brown in the glass with not much head. Lots of Caramel/toast aromas and some soapy hops that carry a good amount of spice. Short palate with fleeting hops, malts hang around a bit longer. All in all, pretty smooth and generous with malt flavors.

3.1 12 oz Bottle: It looks great! A very good looking amber ale, people always talk about brewing to style, well this one appears to style perfectly. The aroma isn’t the greatest. Lemon wheat grass is the aroma. Kind of funky though, like a sweaty sock. The flavor was iffy. I’m sure its the fact that in the commercial description is say 2-row barley malt, but this what barley malt is like in my mind.

3.0 2/30/06: Bottle. Dark tea-brown body. Sweet and grassy nose. Balanced flavor. Sugary malt and bitter hop.

3.5 Lively honey colored pour. Small head with very little lacing. Grassy aroma. Smooth wheaty, hoppy flavor. I would it again.

3.0 A light caramel color aroma which tates similar to pale ale. It’s a kind of beer skiers and snowboarders can enjoy. This stuff’s not for me.

3.1 Poured dark amber, nice head which stuck around for a while......smelled like Anderson Valley’s Winter Solstice and tasted a bit like it, but not as sweet or flavorful. A good beer though and very enjoyable.

3.0 bottle, a decent red color (from what i could tell). a light easy drinking amber. not overly comple. ok

2.9 Bottle - Pours a mohogany red.. All i got in the aroma is fruity hops and a slight caramel... Mouth is a med mouthfeel.. crisp hoppy flavor with a medium bitterness... very dry bitter finish.. decen.. 11/20

3.2 Pours brown with a thin white head. Smells of caramel malt. The flavor is a rich caramel/roast blend malt. Burnt finish on this.

3.3 The matly nose, nice head and clear mahogany color make this an inviting brew. The wheat lends a spicy flavor to this medium bodied ale. Very balanced and thus doesn’t have a standout flavor attribute. A decent amber ale.

3.4 I like Otter Creek, their beers always seem drinkable and crowd pleasing. No exception here, just an easy drinking amber with enough malt and fruity hop character to hold your interest or pair with food.

3.5 12oz bottle bottled 10/05/05 - Poured a dirty amber color with a short offwhite head. Nose is quite hoppy with grapefruit and some orange peel, but underneath it is some very sweet caramel and roasted malts. Palate is medium bodied and carbonated just enough to give it a pretty nice mouthfeel. Not bad.. Definitely better than I expected.

3.5 12 oz bottle, lot #1817, bottled on 11/17/05. Pours an orangeish copper color, small off white head. Nice spiderweb lace. Nose is orange and grapefruit, some sweet malt. Pleasing mouthfeel, full but not heavy. Slightly sweet malt and caramel flavors, a touch of spiciness. Finish is mildly bitter, slightly spiced. Really well balanced, pretty good amber.

3.4 12 oz. bottle: Pours a dark coppery color with almost no head, and even that quickly faded away to just a few bubbles on the surface ( I poured this straight out of the refrigerator, perhaps a little TOO cold). Aroma is malty sweet. Taste (after letting the beer warm up for 20-25 minutes) has some maly and wheaty notes, a little caramel, with some hops sharpness on the swallow that lingers. Nice smooth mouthfeel, neither heavy or watery. All in all, a decent beer for when you’re in the mood for something satisfying, but not feeling experimental. Would make a pretty good everyday after work brew if it was available year ’round. good stuff!!

3.7 From a 12 oz. twist cap long neck brown bottle with a list of ingredients on the neck label and a bottling date on the back label, 10/19/05 Lot#1803. Made a good appearance, poured a slightly hazy copper hued amber with a large foamy white head that settled into a thin bubbly lacing, good carbonation. Had a floral hop and toasted grainy nose. A smooth, crisp medium bodied mouth feel, good drinkability. Toasted grainy and malty taste with a subtle piney hop bitterness, a little fruitiness and a dry toasted grainy finish.

3.6 12 oz bottle. Poured a clear amber color with fluffy off white head. Distinct milk-chocolatey malt nose accompanied by molasses and anise. The aroma really improved as the beer warmed up. Medum bodied and slighty bitter with sweet caramel malt flavor. Carbonation was on the low end, which was a pleasant suprise. Re-rate: The draught version is strikingly different. Flowerty hop nose and flavor with more of a caramel malt flavor than chocolate that is well balanced with the hops. My bottle rating was 7, 4, 7, 3, 13. Not suprisingly, draught was better.

3.1 12oz, bottle, bottled 10/19/05. Pours a copper amber with a small off-white head. Aroma of some caramel malts, some biscuits, and a little bit of citrus hops. Hops start up front, but give way to malty sweetness, and a fairly clean finish. About halfway through, while eating some peanuts, I can pick up on metallic flavor, which sucks. Pretty well balanced otherwise. Not bad.

3.8 Very hoppy aroma with strong malt also-surprisingly creamy, thick bodied malt flavor with a nice lingering hop bitterness-very solid, well rounded ale-found it for 5.99/6pk -definitely a good deal

4.4 A creamy head which lasts on a dark amber ale. Smooth and well balanced without being over hopped. Senseable in flavor and finish. Absolutly delicious.

2.8 Bouteille de 12 oz achetée au Cabot Annex Store (Waterbury Center, VT). Arôme: Légère odeur d’épices. Apparence: Couleur ambrée avec une faible densité de bulle. Présence d’un mince col mousseux beige et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de caramel et de poivre. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture mince. L’effervescence en bouche est moyenne. Amertume légèrement piquante en arrière goût. (Rating #423)

3.2 Dark copper with a lasting, cream colored head. APA/IPA-worthy aromas of citrus and pine with a malty background. Flavor has balance with hearty middle-malts and a bittersweet finish with lemon. Single bottle from Cost Plus World Market, Orland Park, IL 60462

2.9 Pours with amber-like color with somewhat frothy tan head. Nose has sweet malt caramel character. Flavor is spicy yet toffee-like. Medium body. Clean finish. Good session brew.

3.2 Bottle shared with HogTownHarry & tupalev -- courtesy of HogTownHarry. Pours a clear amber with a small diminishing white head. Nice aroma of caramel malt, brown sugar and hops. The flavour was quite surprising, there’s something odd in there and I’m at a loss to try and explain it. It did go away after the first few sips though and for the most part the flavour follows the aroma. This is definitely a unique beer and though I preferred the aroma to the taste I am glad I got to try it.