Odell Brewing Good Behavior
Odell Brewing Good Behavior
IPA / Odell Low / 4%
Good Behavior is built like an IPA with bright hop flavors of tropical fruit and juicy peach yet balanced with a light body, slight haze, and crisp finish that’s truly crushable.
There are any number of reasons that a consumer might be interested in drinking beer that is lower in both calories and alcohol without being entirely devoid of the element of booze. Maybe they are trying to live healthier and lose weight. Perhaps they have suffered through one too many hangovers and would rather be able to enjoy a beer and still wake up clear-headed the next morning. Or maybe they find that when they enjoy brews heavy in abv they end up making some questionable choices.
Craft breweries are well aware of all of these possibilities and have begun marketing low-abv beers in such a way to appeal to these customers. Odell Brewing Company, operating out of Fort Collins, Colorado, has gone farther than most other beer makers by cutting straight to the point and naming one of their brews Good Behavior. I am not sure what the rules are on beer classification either, but they are labeling this one a Crushable IPA. It comes in at just 4 percent alcohol by volume and 110 calories per 12-ounce can, stats that do indeed sound “crushable.” If a brewery is able to craft something that has all the character of a delicious IPA with about half of the negative health effects, there is no doubt that’s going to be a successful beer. Let’s see if that’s what we have here through this Odell Brewing Good Behavior review.
Odell Brewing Good Behavior Review
The label on a can of Good Behavior stands out from the crowd in that there is an actual piece of art on the front rather than simply a colorful design. It depicts Lady Justice blindfolded, holding her scales in one hand and what I believe is a beer-making implement in the other. I find a nice touch to be the golden halo encircling the first “o” in the word “Good.” Not as appealing to me, and this is likely just personal preference, is the blurb on the back of the label describing what the company themselves thinks this beer tastes like in the best terms possible. It’s not that important, but I find those things are rarely accurate.
Poured into a glass, this beer definitely has the color of something crushable. It is a shade of yellow reminiscent of straw, mostly clear with just a little bit of haze. It is topped by an established yet minimal fluffy white head that shows a decent amount of lacing and minor retention.
The aroma is predominantly a combination of fruit flavors and hop presence, with a little bit of grassy wort mixed in. This is a very common mixture that I have come across in both low-abv and NA IPAs. What ends up making it good or bad is the balance that they end up striking. For whatever reason, many beers of this type have too much of the vegetal-like wort flavor and not enough of the fruit and hops.
This one at least smells to be leveled out in a better place. There is a good amount of Citra and Amarillo hops, though I could still use more. And there are nice notes of both peach and grapefruit. The wort is more grassy than vegetal and toned down properly. But if we really want to answer the question, “Is Odell Brewing Good Behavior good?” then we need to dig in and take the first sip.
Is Odell Brewing Good Behavior Good?
Upon first tasting, I am happy to find that the tongue follows the nose pretty well. While this doesn’t add up to anything that blows me away, it maintains the nice balance of flavors that I found in the aroma.
If anything the fruit even comes through more strongly, but it is by no means overwhelming. It’s almost a chore trying to discern all of the different fruit flavors that arise. In addition to peach, which is the most dominant, and grapefruit, I also get hints of lemon and tangerine.
Again, I still wish there was more hop character, but this level is probably more welcoming to the general drinking population. That grassy wort takes a rightful backseat and even gets mixed in with some touches of pine and bread. There isn’t much to speak of in terms of malt, but that’s too be expected.
The body is quite light, and the hop bitterness is nice and smooth. Overall, there is a very good mouthfeel, not biting on the tongue or lingering down the back of the throat. Finish is am important characteristics to me, and while this one is neither the cleanest nor most crisp, the lasting flavors are timid enough and fade within a reasonable amount of time.
While all of these aspects are common, each brewery does them a little bit differently, and Odell seems to have found a pretty good equilibrium with this easy drinker. What will that mean for my final Odell Brewing Good Behavior rating? Finish reading below to find out.
Odell Brewing Good Behavior Rating
I do my best not to penalize any of these low-abv IPAs for tasting similarly to others in the industry. It seems that many of these breweries decided on the same recipes that they think the consumers want and made their own versions of it. Light. Moderately hoppy. With a little bit of fruit and a little bit of wort. They don’t all put these elements together equally well. But I will say that this offering from Odell Brewing does it better than most. Drinkable and refreshing is essentially what anyone is going for when deciding on a low-abv beer, and this one is both.
The classification of Crushable IPA gives people a certain idea when picking this beer up off the shelf, and to me this brew fulfills that idea. While it may not have much wow factor, I don’t think many would be disappointed to sip on a few of these while spending a hot summer day on a boat. For these reasons, I am compelled to finish off this Odell Brewing Good Behavior review by awarding it 4 out of 5 stars. A good score for what has become a very familiar style of beer.
Photos Credit:
https://www.odellbrewing.com/
https://thefullpint.com/
https://www.beeradvocate.com/
