Belt’s Beer Garden: No Bones About It!

ODD Muse is located in Farmers Branch, Texas, a northwest suburb of Dallas and part of the Dallas-Ft. Worth metro area.

Their name comes from two places - the more traditional being that inspiration can come from anywhere. The other, from the owner’s daughters - their initials are O.D.D, which is why the ODD is all capitalized.

These guys are hard to find outside the Lone Star State, so when I had the opportunity to snag a few cans of their Skulls and Femurs, I knew I had to.

Skulls and Femurs is a Pilsner that was dry-hopped with Mosaic and Simcoe hops to give it more of a bite than most Pils. It was packaged on August 18th and has a lighter ABV, clocking in at 4.8%. A four-pack of 16-ounce cans runs $13 at the brewery, so it’s also quite affordable.

This Pilsner poured a bright, translucent golden straw color with just about two fingers of fluffy white head topping it off. When you think of a perfect beer pour…it was this. The foam sticks around for a little while, slowly fizzling away and leaving some nice lacing down the side of the glass.

On the nose, Skulls and Femurs was very light and crisp. Leading the way were malty characteristics that gave off big notes of biscuits and a hint of sweeter caramel. The dry-hopping was also evident in the aroma, as the beer had a slight bitter hop quality that showcased some citrusy notes, like that of lemon peel and grapefruit.

My first sip was everything you want in a Pils. Light, super crushable, a nice blend of flavors, and a clean finish.

It begins with those fruity notes, the lemon and grapefruit really popping early on. However, unlike with the aroma, there was no bitterness here. It was just sweet and juicy (and slightly tart) citrus flavors.

The malt sat underneath, balancing the brew out nicely and adding some additional bready flavors and a dash of caramel to sweeten it even more. The crackery flavors of the grist really counter-acted any bitterness and made this a really enjoyable Pils.

Towards the backend of the sip, some floral and grassy notes appear as well. It really is a perfect trifecta of flavors - malts, citrus, and earthy/floral.

As the brew ends, there is a small pithy grapefruit peel characteristic that meets a resinous grass quality and creates a slightly dry finish. But, outside of that quickly fading dryness, Skulls and Femurs ends quite cleanly.

Overall, this is a very nice dry-hopped Pils. Perfect for the Texas heat. Or for an evening with friends. Or really just any time you need a beer.