At this point in the day, when we arrived at the Odell brewery, we had just finished off New Belgium and FCB, both of whom served up some stiff competition. Hell, even at this point in the tour we’d seen some heavy-hitting beers strut their stuff, so when we finally got to Odell (which was kind of a big deal for me) I had some pretty high expectations. If New Belgium has been eclipsed by any other brewery in Colorado, its fair to say that it would have to be Odell. Maybe not as widely distributed at New Belgium, but they’re certainly hot on their heels. And hey, what does distribution really mean? If that’s a mark of a good beer, then Anheuser-Busch has them all beat, but I don’t even need to tell you about the degree of inferiority which those beers stand by. Odell has certainly been on the up and up over the last few years, especially with their hardest hitting beers 90 schilling, 5 barrel, Cutthroat Porter, and their IPA. So when we got to the brewery, we brushed these “standards” aside in order to sample the plethora of other hidden treasures they had there only on tap. Yet, no one’s perfect, and though there are some great beers Odell brews, there were also some “okay” beers. Lets get to the snobbery…
90 Schilling: Likely their best bottled beer. Not exactly an amber, but not quite powerful enough to wear the kilt of a scotch ale, this beer instead lingers in limbo, but offers up such a smooth mixture of malts and hops that it indeed stands alone. As the bottle will tell you, the name comes from the Scottish way of taxing beer, by which only the highest-quality beers were taxed the English currency of 90 schillings. Not exactly sure how much that is here in America, where we’re really big on taxing, but I’m sure its worth it.
IPA: Another personal favorite. With this beer, I’m a little suspicious that it benefits from quality labeling. I mean, just look at that elephant dancing around, and that strangely hypnotizing orange hue on its label, as orange and seductive as the beer itself! Maybe not the most impressive IPA in the world, but certainly one of distinction, and one of distinction you can probably find at the store. Finely malted to match it’s hoppy soul, and potent a plenty.Myrcenary Double IPA: Though I’m a big fan of IPAs, I’m more importantly a fan of IPAs done right. This one wasn’t too bad, but it came on a little too strong and fruity. I could make a million jokes with that one, but this is serious business, people! Serious!
Mash of the Titan: Hold the phones! It’s a showstopper! We have a new champion! This stout conquers the weak! Rich in dankness, vanilla, dank, creaminess, thick dankness , potency, and more quality dank, this beer gave us the proverbial slap in the jowls. Left Hand still holds a special place in my heart with their miraculous Wake Up Dead, but this one may have ‘em down for the count.
Bourbon Barrel Stout: Holy sheep! Wait…Wait! We have another show stopper! A new NEW champion! Forgot that mash of the titan nonsense, no no, this is the beer to enslave humanity! Take your finest stout ever, than condition it in bourbon oak barrels, and you get the sweetest, smoothest gem of dark beer possible. If the rapture ever happens, and all those good zombies rise from the grave and queue up for an eternity of bliss, this is the beer they’ll be served while waiting. Yeah. Good.Rating: 46-50 penguin chili cook-offs.
