2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins Colorado (June 25, Brewery Stop #2)

2015 BEER DISCOVERY TOUR: Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins Colorado (June 25, Brewery Stop #2)
The second day of our journey to the east coast on our beer discovery tour (click here to read about the whole trip) in late June we made our way from northern Utah into southern Wyoming and then into Colorado to Fort Collins, just north of Denver. The first brewery stop for the day was Odell Brewing Company. We got there just as they opened for the day, and discovered they had a food cart truck and live music over the lunch hour on their patio (see pictures below). The facility is quite large with lots of seating inside and outside with lots of interesting artwork and things to keep you distracted. The brewing production areas can be viewed if you go on one of their free brewery tours which you have to sign up at the bar.

The surprise for us was that we didn’t think that they would have so many beers on draft on site (18 the day we were there). We knew that they had a lot of varieties that they distribute across the west coast, but it was quite a surprise to get to sample such a variety. We did go outside and grab some sandwiches from the food truck there, as drinking 15 samples on an empty stomach is never a good idea, especially at elevation.

So, as shown in the pics below, there’s three taster trays with five on each (classic, local, pilot). I’ve provided my feedback and reviews of the beers below. We didn’t do the special beers that were not on the regular tasters, as it was a bit much to do at lunch for the three of us as it was. Overall they have a great lineup of standards and one-off’s that do provide a taste of Colorado while representing both east and west coast style IPA’s and traditional ale’s.

Odell Brewing Company
800 E Lincoln Ave
Fort Collins, CO 80524
Phone:(970) 498-9070
E: cheers@odellbrewing.com
Web: http://odellbrewing.com/
Face: https://www.facebook.com/OdellBrewingCo?ref=hl&rf=109897092365776

Perel White IPA Odell Brewing Company • IPA • IBU: 50 • ABV: 5.5% • 18 SRM Cloudy, slight orange/red hue with a white foamy head that drops quickly with little/no lacing. The nose is sharp with floral, citrus, and grassy hop notes. The front mouth is full bodied, slightly dry, with wet hop of grapefruit pith, lemon, floral, and earthy acidic profiles. The lemon bitter profile is expressed further on the back end.

St. Lupulin Odell Brewing Company • Extra Pale Ale • IBU: 46 • ABV: 6.5% • 4 SRM Bright yellow hue, frothy white head that settled to a sheen on the beer. It has a floral, dry-hoppy resin nose. This pale ale is thinner and has a distinct mild and earthy, pine and citrus pith based hop profile. It’s got a nice balance of malt to hold back the stronger hop citrus notes.

Odell IPA Odell Brewing Company • IPA • IBU: 60 • ABV: 7% • 8 SRM Clear golden hue with a smaller white head that left decent lacing on the glass. The hop resins, orange citrus, herbal aromatics are really pleasing. The front mouth is clean with hints of mint (spicy?) and earthy characteristics that end with a slight oily feel. There is a decent malt balance with IPA without being sweet or too bready.

Myrcenary Double IPA Odell Brewing Company • Double IPA • IBU: 70 • ABV: 9.3% • 14 SRM Nice yellow/orange hue, solid white head that lingered and left a nice lacing on the rim. The nose is pretty dank with notes of tropical hops. The front mouth is a big with a lot of pine, tropical fruit, hop oils and some sticky/lingering acidic characters as it moves to the back.

Cutthroat Porter Odell Brewing Company • London Porter • IBU: 71 • ABV: 5.1% • 40+ SRM This dark brown porter pours with a nice off-white frothy head that left a good amount of lacing. The nose is pretty forward with coffee and hints of cocoa. The front to mid have characteristics of roasted coffee, dark bitter cocoa, some roasted nuts, and hints of charcoal. The back ends dry, but smooth bodied.

Spring Creek Wheat – Honey Orange Wheat Odell Brewing Company • Pale Lager • IBU: ?? • ABV: 6.7% • 6 SRM This cloudy and yellow hued lager has a nice head, and a orange yeasty nose. The front is a little chewy with the unfiltered quality one should expect, the orange rind and dry hopping are balanced with a slightly sweet sugary mid. Lingers a little dry and sweet.

Trouvere (single malt red) Odell Brewing Company • American Amber / Red Ale • IBU: ?? • ABV: 4.9% • 12 SRM Clear pour with a bit of red-orange hue, and small white head that dropped to a film quickly. The nose is grain forward with some sweet nutty aromatics present. The front mouth is a little bit thin, slightly sweet, slightly bitter with a dry hopped approach. The mid and back are pretty defined with biscuit, nutty like flavor profiles.

Town Pump Odell Brewing Company • Pale Ale • IBU: ?? • ABV: 5.3% • 14 SRM Pale amber colored, nice white full foamy head that left nice lacing on the rim. Nose is floral and hoppy with hints of dry-esters and orange pith. The front presents a light bodied ale with decent hop balanced between floral and pine-oils. The mid to back have good amount of malt build up (biscuity) which lends to a full mouth-feel and a complex end.

French {Hop} Connection Odell Brewing Company • Saison / Farmhouse Ale • IBU: ?? • ABV: 7.3% • 12 SRM Lighter amber hue, full white head that drops to a film, but leaves spidery lacing on the rim. The nose is yeast forward, hints of spice, citrus, peppercorns and clove. The front expresses lots of floral, pepper, and yeasty funk. The mouth is full of citrus pith and lingering oily feel in the back.

Barrel Thief Oak Aged DIPA Odell Brewing Company • IIPA • IBU: ?? • ABV: 9.4% • 16 SRM Cloudy and slightly red/orange hue, solid white foamy head that drops quickly. The nose is somewhat dank with forest floor and a hint of oak with dried fruits. The front mouth is alcohol forward and slightly sweet with not much hop bitter present. The front mouth if full, chewy, and nutty. The mid washes over with hints of almonds (nuts), dried apricots to orange, and a somewhat tropical back end.

Loose Leaf Odell Brewing Company • American Session Pale • IBU: ?? • ABV: 4.5% • 6 SRM Yellow clear draft with a nice white foamy head that persists. The nose is a bit grassy, slight yeast, and citrus present. The front mouth is somewhat thin, but sharp with a lot of lemon-grassy characters and hints of malt/grains. Flavor profile is a bit weak, this is really a thinner IPA.

Easy Street Wheat Odell Brewing Company • American Pale Wheat Ale • IBU: ?? • ABV: 4.6% • 4 SRM This is a cloudy yellow draft with a frothy head that drops after a few minutes, but leaves a nice lacing on the rim. The nose is lemony-yeast and a little sweet/dry notes. The front mouth is thin, yeast forward, lemon zest and a sharp bitter from the citrus.

Levity Amber Ale Odell Brewing Company • Amber Ale • IBU: ?? • ABV: 5.1% • 12 SRM Lite amber draft with a white foamy head that lingers a bit then drops off. The nose is full of grains, caramel, and sweet sugars. The front mouth is somewhat fruit driven (apples?) with a little crispy dry-hopped approach. Full bodied, not terribly bitter, but sharp to some.

5 Barrel Pale Ale Odell Brewing Company • English Pale Ale • IBU: ?? • ABV: 5.2% • 14 SRM Draft has a deep golden yellow hue with a slightly frothy egg-shell foam that settles and leaves minimal lacing on the rim. Nose expresses sweet bready caramel malt, slight hints of citrus, and a touch of floral. Front mouth is medium bodied, good carbonation, shows pine and floral with hint of citrus to grassy edges. Mid to back express a lot of grains and balances well with the hop profiles.

90 Shilling Odell Brewing Company • Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy • IBU: 27 • ABV: 5.3% • 24 SRM Draft has a somewhat darker reddish-orange brown hue. Nose presents a lot of roasted grains and sweet bread. Front mouth is full, but hints at a bitter, hoppy flavor. Mid mouth to back expresses a lot of toffee, caramel, and brown sugar. There is a lingering oily quality to this draft on the back.