A few days after returning from my January 2015 Bay Area trip, I went to Tacoma to visit a couple cousins, and we decided to do some of our familial bonding at one of the new breweries in town. The cousin who lives there had been to Odd Otter Brewing a few days before and enjoyed it, so that’s where we went. The name “Odd Otter” made me a little nervous, and they go a little overboard with otter names for their beers, but they’re located in a cool space on the north end of Pacific Ave and the woman working there was pretty nice. So it all kind of balanced out.

Sampler flight at Odd Otter Brewing — Tacoma, WA

Rob’s Picks
• Blind Otter – 14+% – Barleywine. Raisin and plum aroma and flavors. Some maple sweetness and bit of alcohol edge. Very warming.
• Jolly Otter ESB – 5.7% – Caramel with a bit of floral hops. Touch of breadiness and hint of spiciness.
• Otter Nonsense – 7.4% – IPA. There were calling this “Notteronsense” that day, but, yeah, that’s just too silly. Anyway. Creamy smooth. Caramel malt with citrus, resiny, earthy hops. Maltier than the usual NW IPA.
• Screeching Otter – 9.2% – Double IPA. Bigger caramel, citrus, resiny, earthy flavors. Lingering bitterness that blends back in well.
• Luck o’ the Otter – 5% – Irish Stout. Nice and dry. Light coffee and chocolate with a citrus edge. Goes right down.
• Winterface Holiday Ale – 8% – Made with cucumber, lavender, juniper, and orange zest. Fun botanical flavors with sweet caramel base.

The Rest
• Comrade Otter’s Russian Imperial Chocolate Stout – 11.7% – Chocolate and coffee, fairly dry, with a touch of molasses. Medium body.
• Momma Otter’s Pancake Porter – 8% – Sweet maple syrup. Hard to pick up other flavors other than a little bit of honey. Thought there’s be breadiness but nope. Pretty light body.
• Ottzel Quatzel – 5.6% – Peruvian purple corn pale ale. Some floral hops, some caramel malt, a bit of honey sweetness, and lots of bitterness. Not much corn flavor.
• Coconut Chai Porter – 7.2% – Chai aroma and flavor. Underlying chocolate and coffee, with a bit of coconut on the finish. Some honey sweetness, too. Fun, but a 5oz taster was enough.

This reminds me that I haven’t visited Tacoma in quite a while. There are at least three breweries down there I have not yet been to, and of course it’d be good to get in some more cousin-time. Gotta make that happen sooner rather than later.