Odell 5 Barrel Pale Ale

Every now and then, I go through this site in search of what I need to search for, the holes in the collection, especially the most glaring omissions and the easiest catches. Scanning the list of beers under "Odell", I found no mention of 5 Barrel Pale Ale. A quick trip to Chicago Lake Liquors uncovered the winter Montage collection, this one featuring IPA (of course), that missing 5 Barrel, Isolation Ale, and a new one, exclusive to this set, Gramps Oatmeal Stout. So, two beers I need, and two that I always enjoy. No brainer.

But there was one question that remained: had I written about this one before? I checked BeerAdvocate and found my notes from...May of 2010? I had begun trading for beers in 2003. Many of my traders sent me Odell beers over the years. But not this one? Or maybe, I did review it, but when it was available locally, at last, I gave it a better review and deleted the old one from my beer-reviewing infancy? That make sense, I'll go with that. So, here we go...

Odell 5 Barrel Pale Ale, Odell Brewing, Fort Collins, CO. 5.2% ABV. 32 IBU.

Clear, amber/bronze appearance, creamy, bone white layer of foam, good, lasting 1/2 ".

Floral aromatics in the nose, caramel and toffee malt tones, a minor splash of citrus. Bit buttery. Really classic British pale ale feeling.

Taste: hops up front, nice bitter buzz, not gonna be able to guess what hops are in play, but they have to be British. This bitterness continues on the palate and revisits with every new sip. Tasty, juicy malt, tropical fruit....mmm, I wonder what malts are in here. Scottish? Pineapple and banana, meets caramel and vanilla.

This a tasty, complex ale, one I'm going to have to give some consideration to again and again. Delicious hoppy pale ale, with tasty, tasty malt. Mmmmm.