I visited Otter Creek in the winter while touring breweries in Vermont and left with two growlers. It was by far my favorite brewery tour in the “Freedom and Unity state,” and the building also sits right next to the Cabot cheese factory. Talk about great aromatics. The staff was knowledgeable and friendly and the tasting room also offers free popcorn, brilliant.
Needless to say, I am already a fan of what they can do - so when I plunked down on the patio at the Precinct in Somerville, and saw that their new summer ale, Wildflower Wheat was listed on draught I ordered it without hesitation.
The server brings it over to the table and it looks like the tap lines haven’t been cleaned in years. This beer is murky; but it’s cloudy, yellow color wasn’t enough to deter be from throwing it down the hatch … this is all in the name of research after all.
The smell is sweet and spicy; like honey, cinnamon, molasses and flower blossoms and the taste followed suit. It’s as if you blended a cider and hefeweizen together. It’s interesting that this was released as summer ale, because it reminds me of the fall season.
I tasted a lot of pumpkin, malt and clove. Perhaps they are looking to appeal to their pumpkin fans and blend it into the summer drinking season? Either way, this is a heavy, rich and filling pint. My friend took a sip and stated, “It’s delicious, but it’s like a whole meal.” Enter wheat from stage left.
While it WAS a delicious (I am a HUGE fan of pumpkin ales) it was a hot day and I wanted something lighter and more palatable. I didn’t order another one. For that I grade it with a B.
I hope they extend this batch through the fall season so I can enjoy it on a cooler October night.
Keep em’ coming Wolaver’s, I always enjoy what you do.
2 comments:
That's so funny that you just had this beer... the local packy around here JUST suggested the same thing.
While I love the post, and you know my affinity for Pumpkin Ales (the REASON we started this)... I could not disagree with you more.
From the bottle, my pour was as you described it... murky. I split the pour btw me and a friend and I was the unfortunately one to pour the "SCHOMUTS" into my glass. I don't know about you but I'm not a fan of stuff floating in my beer. That alone changed the complexity of the beer. Very little lacing on the glass and hardly ANY noise to write home about.
The taste was ok... I mean, as the Boys from Beercoasters say, "It's drinkable", but this did not spark my interest whatsoever. A weak mouthfeel, mild citrus notes and a dry almost chardonnay finish.
So, I'll have to take your word on this cousin... come to think of it, MOST beers are better from the tap so I think I'll have to wait and try this again on draft. But in bottle form?
No sir... didn't like it.
Tony sent me over here after reading my new review on it, and hes right. Almost a year to the day, Nuts. but a good review, we parallel on a lot of thoughts about it. Nice!
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