Otter Creek Imperial IPA Review
Otter Creek has never been known for their "big" or "extreme" beers. That all changed with the recent hiring of their new brewer, Mike Gerhart, formerly of Dogfish Head Brewing Company in Delaware. Mike came on and Otter Creek released a delicious and much-raved-about Russian Imperial Stout. But Mike had to prove that the RIS was not just a fluke... following it up with the Otter Creek Imperial India Pale Ale surely proves that he has earned the praise that his brewery has recently garnered! It pours a clear copper with some major head that isn't going anywhere... great for catching the delicious smells this ale puts off!
The first thing you notice when you pour this beer is the aroma of crisp, clean hops permeates the room. Not sweetness. Not dank, wet hops. Hops! The beer smells dry, which is impressive for its 11% abv which would normally indicate some residual sugar. Furthermore, the alcohol is hidden much better than we expected it to be for such a dry, high alcohol Double IPA.
Once you take your first sip you get a solid hop bitterness offset by just enough malt so that this is clearly more of the supposed "East Coast Style" of IPAs (meaning more balanced than just pure hop water). The hop flavor is distinct in that it stays away from the normal grapefruit-, citrus- or pine-bomb that some of these can be. It's just a solid hop bitterness that features a delicious malt profile and a touch of pineapple almost at the end. Again, the alcohol is still nowhere to be found! Even as the beer warms over about 45 minutes, we don't taste the solvent-like flavors we've come to expect from beer that is this high-test.
Overall, this is an amazing beer. Otter Creek is definitely proving themselves as purveyors of beer for the serious beer enthusiast as well as the casual craft beer drinker. On top of this, these bombers are some of the best values you'll find around at about $6 depending on your choice of retail venue. Grab the Otter Creek Imperial India Pale Ale while you can, and while it's fresh!