Odell's Cutthroat Porter

Odell’s Cutthroat Porter

Doug Odell, founder and owner of Odell Brewing Company, started his passion for brewing in Seattle and in 1989, took it to Fort Collins, Colorado, to start his brewery, Colorado’s second microbrewery. Odell is a true do-it-yourself-er and innovator in the craft brewing community. In the beginning, Odell recalls having to deliver the kegs to restaurants himself in his old Datsun pickup. As the demand for his beer grew, so to did the brewery. Undergoing upgrades in 1994, 1996, and again, in 1997. In 1994, Odell’s brewery nearly quadrupled in size, going from a 15-barrel brewhouse to a 50-barrel brewhouse. In 1996, Odell Brewing Company added a bottling line and in 1997, a smaller 5-barrel pilot system to do their single batch series, like the Imperial Stout or the Double Pilsner. Odell Brewing Company brews about 40,000 barrels annually and is on the forefront of the green movement, which I found incredibly honorable and interesting. They harvest all of the electrical needs from wind energy. They invest in, use, and promote the use of biodiesel and other renewable energy sources. Now, I know what you are thinking, did I drink the beer or not? I did and it was delicious.

Odell’s Cutthroat Porter is your typical porter. It has a rich, dark brown colour that fades to a lighter tan at the edges. This beer pours very nicely with about a finger of head that stayed remarkably fresh for a couple of minutes. Like with any other porter, the nose is going to be big. This porter doesn’t shy away from that fact. Coffee, coffee, and COFFEE… this beer was so fragrant with roasted malts and chocolate, I could have easily confused it for my Vente Mocha Frappuccino that I had this morning, only this tasted so much better. This beer has a good mouthfeel, with a velvety aftertaste that lets the hints of coffee and chocolate linger on your tongue for your taste buds.

Character: 18. Reviewing this many porters back to back, it will be difficult to find enough descriptive words to replace “rich”… a fantastic dark coloured beer is like a bell to Pavlov’s dogs for me… mouth-watering… the brief but nice retention of head, allowed the beer and all of it's aroma and flavour to stay hidden from me for only a couple of minutes.

Nose: 18. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine that this beer’s aroma includes coffee, chocolate, cocoa, roasted malts, and the slightest hint of nuttiness.

Character: 17. A good bitterness to sweetness makes the Odell Cutthroat Porter a representative of what porters are supposed to taste like. It’s smooth with a great mouthfeel and a great aftertaste. This beer is very drinkable.

Originality: 17. Odell didn’t have to spice up this porter with fancy flavours or anything. He just brewed a damn good beer and let it speak for itself.

Versatility: 16. Porters are best drank after a meal, but in this case, drink one with the meal, too. So when you go to build your six-pack, pick up two…

Overall: 86/100. This beer is good. If it were an amp, it would be turned to “10” and you just wished it could go to “11”, meaning I just wish everything about this beer was just a little more.


Beer: Odell’s Cutthroat Porter
ABV: 4.8%
Brewer: Odell Brewing Company (Fort Collins, CO)
Availability: Year-round
Reviewed by: Jeffrey Ward