Today's beer is one of my all time favorites, folks. I've been saving it's debut on the blog for a special occasion: Opening Day. A civic holiday here in Cincinnati. The return of our beloved Redlegs and the unofficial first day of Summer. There is almost nothing I love more than sitting in the setting sun in the Moon Deck at Great American Ball Park drinking an OTR with friends. I love baseball. I love beer. Nowhere else are the two more inexorably tied for me. The Reds are Cincinnati's team and OTR, I believe, is Cincinnati's flagship beer. I could wax poetic about baseball and beer for hours but I have things to do. To the beer!
OTR pours a beautifully clear chestnut reddish color capped off by a tall, thick, bubbly white head. That head does not quit. I was about halfway through the beer before it finally settled to a thin layer on top of the beer and it left gorgeous lacing all the way down.
The aromas on this one are nice and balanced. Toasty bready malt character is backed by herbal slightly fruity hop notes. There are also some hints of caramel and a hint of some spiciness.
OTR is a medium to light bodied beer. The spicy hop bitterness leads the way here. It's mostly herbal in character but it's backed by some faint tart sweet fruity flavors. Think grapefruit. OTR is hopped with Fuggle and Cascade, hops that are very traditionally English and American respectively. What it creates is almost a hybrid of an English and an American style pale ale. Very interesting.
The hops are backed by a great biscuity malt sweetness that tempers the hop but never really lets it leave the forefront. This is definitely a hop forward ale, but is still very well balanced and drinkable. The hops also leave a nice lingering bitterness on the finish.
Like I said at the open, this is one of my all time favorite beers. And with good reason, it's a darn good pale ale. I grabbed a six pack to enjoy while I watched the Reds put on a dominant performance on Opening Day. I've got tickets for the opening night game on Saturday to watch Mat Latos' Reds debut and hopefully another Reds victory. You can rest assured that at some time during the game I'll make my way over to the stand out behind right field and return to my seat with an OTR in hand. Life will be good. Go Reds!
HD
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