Bottled on 7/6/05 and consumed on 8/4/06.
Glowing, canteloupe-copper with some auburn highlights and a sparse white head that recedes immediately to a ring and leaves a slight trace of lacing. Medium-sized bubbles still rise steadily all throughout the liquid.
Wow, this is some oxidized beer. The nose basically smells of the harrington barley, bit of toffee and caramel (very dry) and then the rest is heavy oxidation (madeira). No hop notes at this point. No alcohol detected.
Oxidation is quite prevalent in the flavor as well, but the lower carbonation levels by now (this is forced carbonation) allow a bit of a creamy-sweet caramel malt to camp on the palate. Some hop bitterness provides a lightly dry, spiciness towards the finish, but the oxidation and dry caramel are the main show. Some paper and nuttiness trail on the finish. Light acidity/astringency and some sour fruits emerge as well.

The way I see it, I’ve got no problem putting a review of this beer at 13 months old. The beer sat in Luke’s Liquors in Rockland, MA, on the shelf, but the store is cool and dry and 13 months for a 5.8abv beer isnt exactly a long time. No, rather it’s Otter Creek’s dedication to heavily filtering all of their regular beers (and most of their specialties too). If this had sat on some yeast, it would be perfectly fine. Because everyone knows that you can’t expect your beer to be fridged everywhere it’s sold. So do the right thing and quit skimping on the quality of your beer.

Poured a translucent bronze color from the bomber with a white, lacey head. Hoppy, but not overpowering, sweet aroma. Initial flavor is sweet and malty. The finishing flavor is sticky sweet and citrus. Nice IPA as it is not acidic or astringent, clean finish, nice beer. It’s billed as being very hoppy, which it isn’t but that’s ok. Subtle hops, solid flavor, nothing overwhelming.

Clear golden ale with a thin white head. Lightly sweaty malt with light notes of coriander and malt. Buttery sweet malt, oily mouthfeel, with loads of oranges and a medium bodied. On tap at BCTC 2006.

Bomber poured light orangy copper with a small head. Beer is completely lucid. Aroma is present - hoppy (amarillo?) but not as strong as expected. Don’t think its been"aging" to long, its a recent beer. SO i don;t thin kthe hops have had a chance to fade yet Taste is also malt heavy, didn’t expect a new hop beer to be this malt dominated. Don’t think the hop heads would enjoy this. Taste is rather sweet with a present hop bitterness at the end.

Good standard pale ale. Aroma is sweet citrus, and flavor is about the same. Nice hops.

Bottle. Dark orangy color. Citrus aroma, and a very crisp and clean flavor.

Bomber poured into a glass mug. Color - dark ruby with translucent edges. Cannot see through the beer. Aroma was weak. Just slight butterscotch malt and a wheat presence. Taste is much better, nothing pops out, meaning nothing is easily recognizable but really tasty. Some hop presence, with just a touch of bitterness. Mosty, just tasty malt.

Light amber color with a nice, frothy white head. Aroma is mild, but pleasant with citrus and hops. Taste is a smooth blend of malt, hops, citrus, and light floral tones. Although mild in intensity, the flavor is balanced and enjoyable.

2006 bomber shared with SuIIy on 6/8/06. Almost an inch of sediment sits solidly on the bottom of the bottle and boy did I leave it behind. Decanting, a huge beige/off-white head is well-retained. High clarity shows deep garnet-mahogany, with light crimson-auburn. Huge clove phenols are dominating, with dry, toasted, bready malts bringing up the rear, very lean and nearly astringent. Some oiliness and a touch of dry bubblegum, emerging as it warms, seem out of place, as it should be covered by sweet maltiness. Seemingly very highly attenuated. Not much more I can say, hopefully warming helps alleviate this fatiguing clove dominance. Surprisingly, in the flavor, some sweet chocolate and toffee, or chocolate-covered-caramel if you will, is quite noticeable at first, spreading itself out a bit lean, but much sweeter than the aroma suggests. Munich malt breadiness steadily builds, with a wheaty, oily-dryness. But with some breathing and more sips, a strong caramel sweetness definitely sticks and gives the bready, nutty, dry toast a battle. Some very light prunes and minor vinous notes, but the clove is also persistent, driving back the sweetness and what could be further malt complexity. Too much dryness and phneol dominance, with the wheat really dulling the palate as well. Carbonation is strong, mouthfeel is lightly chewy and very wheaty. Too young?? I’ll definitely revisit in about 3 months. Needs more lagering. Kind of sad Otter creek couldnt do that. Score reflects where I think it could be.