Small Batch Beer Festival

Submitted by jordan on 3 June 2008 - 12:14am

Jebb and I went to the 2nd annual Odell Small Batch Beer Festival this weekend. If you are a beer geek of any renown, you will of course know Odell as the "other Fort Collins brewer", maker of fine beers such as 90 Shilling, 5 Barrel Pale Ale, and Easy Street Wheat. They have a history of brewing new experimental beers in 5 barrel batches (a barrel is the equivalent of 4 kegs) as a test run to share with friends and family. If the beer is popular enough, it gets added to the regular rotation (I bet you can now guess how Five Barrel Pale Ale got its name).

This year, they had 23 beers that they were serving. Some of them were new, and others were the old classics. Here's what I tried out:

Beer Description Verdict
Double Pilsner The double pilsner is fermented twice for that "take your clothes off and splash in the fountain" feeling. It had a kick, but still retained the smoothness of a pilsner. A winner!
Bourbon Barrel Stout This is the classic stout aged in a bourbon barrel trick. The bourbon flavor really came through in this one - it had much more complex flavor then other bourbon barrel beers I have tried. Very tasty, but you can't drink many of them in one sitting
Hop Scotch This was a Scotch Ale, or at least as I imagined it (I haven't had yet tried any proper Scotch Ales for comparison). It did match the classic description, it had a dark carmel color and was smooth with only a hint of hops. An enjoyable but forgettable brew
Market Ale A ale with nice golden color. Fairly smooth, with less hops then I like in an ale. Meh
Hop Light This was a new one for me - the beer was very light, but it was loaded with hops. And when I say loaded, I mean loaded. The smell and taste overpowered the senses. Esentially, this was hop juice. The lighter beer made it really easy to drink. I adore hoppy beers, so this one was a winner for me. Unfortunately, its probably not destined for the masses :(

For his part, Jebb tried the Town Pump Pale Ale, the Bourbon Barrel, the Viking Malt Liquor (verdict? It was good!), and the Stone Barn.

I'm not sure if any of these beers will eventually hit the mainstream, but it was good to get out with the people, listen to some pretty good southern rock bands, and try some special brews.

PS: Marc Jones tells me that the Double Pilsner is available in bottles around town if you are lucky to catch them. I think many of these will be available at the brewery if you happen to be up in our neck of the woods.