Oak Wizard | Saugatuck Brewing Company
Brewed by:
Saugatuck Brewing Company
Michigan, United States
saugatuckbrewing.com
Style: American Brown Ale
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 7.00%
Availability: Winter
Notes / Commercial Description:
An Oak Aged Imperial Brown Ale with tons of oaky, woody flavors. The base brown malt profile provides a huge caramel, coffee and chocolate body with minimal hop bitterness match perfectly with the complex flavor profile of the oak chips.
25 IBU
Added by Zaphog on 11-20-2015
HISTOGRAM
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Ratings: 81 | Reviews: 23
Reviews by the Alström Bros:
None found.
More User Reviews:
4.1/5 rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 12/7/2015. Pours clear very dark reddish brown color with a 1-2 finger dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of big caramel, brown sugar, maple, toffee, brown bread, nuttiness, toasted oak, chocolate, light coffee/vanilla, herbal, light pepper, and oak/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malt, oak, and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, maple, toffee, brown bread, nuttiness, toasted oak, chocolate, light coffee/vanilla, herbal, light pepper, and oak/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal bitterness and oak spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, maple, toffee, brown bread, nuttiness, toasted oak, chocolate, light coffee/vanilla, herbal, light pepper, and oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance dark/bready malt, oak, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/bitter/oak spiciness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light dryness from bitterness and oak spice as well. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready, and lightly sticky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is an excellent oak aged brown ale! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance dark/bready malt, oak, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; and very smooth and easy to drink for the ABV. This had very pronounced oak character; but was not overdone, and had good balance against the base brown ale. A very enjoyable offering.
1,787 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 12/7/2015. Pours clear very dark reddish brown color with a 1-2 finger dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of big caramel, brown sugar, maple, toffee, brown bread, nuttiness, toasted oak, chocolate, light coffee/vanilla, herbal, light pepper, and oak/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malt, oak, and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, maple, toffee, brown bread, nuttiness, toasted oak, chocolate, light coffee/vanilla, herbal, light pepper, and oak/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal bitterness and oak spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, maple, toffee, brown bread, nuttiness, toasted oak, chocolate, light coffee/vanilla, herbal, light pepper, and oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance dark/bready malt, oak, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/bitter/oak spiciness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light dryness from bitterness and oak spice as well. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready, and lightly sticky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is an excellent oak aged brown ale! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance dark/bready malt, oak, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; and very smooth and easy to drink for the ABV. This had very pronounced oak character; but was not overdone, and had good balance against the base brown ale. A very enjoyable offering.
1,787 characters
3.99/5 rDev +5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This brown is way better than you might expect. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and depth of this brew.
It is not a flashy looking beer, just deep brown with little head. Clear but dark. The aroma is a mild barrel aged smell on top of a nice balanced malt and hops smell from a brown ale.
The taste is a nice, not too sweet but balanced malty effect. Very little bitter pokes through, but it is there. Again, nice balance. This is a very drinkable, more interesting than the norm brown ale. Highly recommended.
522 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This brown is way better than you might expect. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and depth of this brew.
It is not a flashy looking beer, just deep brown with little head. Clear but dark. The aroma is a mild barrel aged smell on top of a nice balanced malt and hops smell from a brown ale.
The taste is a nice, not too sweet but balanced malty effect. Very little bitter pokes through, but it is there. Again, nice balance. This is a very drinkable, more interesting than the norm brown ale. Highly recommended.
522 characters
3.75/5 rDev -1.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.93/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.08/5 rDev +7.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
I bought a bottle of this off the single shelf at Binnys. It poured a rich mahogany with thin off white head that is not leaving any lace. The scent had nice oak and hints of bourbon. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with bread base and oak barrel hints. The Mouthfeel was medium in body with smooth carbonation. Overall it's a solid beer and worth a try.
371 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
I bought a bottle of this off the single shelf at Binnys. It poured a rich mahogany with thin off white head that is not leaving any lace. The scent had nice oak and hints of bourbon. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with bread base and oak barrel hints. The Mouthfeel was medium in body with smooth carbonation. Overall it's a solid beer and worth a try.
371 characters
1.22/5 rDev -67.9%
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5
Unusual. I get spruce bark - quite earthy - in the smell. Smells like the inside of a florist shop that specializes in plants other than flowers. Flavor has a bit of acridness. I detect nothing I would describe as sweet in the least. There are little to no hops, but what's there is... not entirely pleasant. And the smell is almost overpowering each time I lift the glass to take a sip. I know this is a very unflattering description - but this looks, smells, and tastes like what I imagine a mud puddle on the forest floor might taste like, only with carbonation.
It's probably me. Maybe I just don't "get" this attempt. People who like bark-y beers will probably enjoy this one. For me, it's a no-go.
704 characters
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5
Unusual. I get spruce bark - quite earthy - in the smell. Smells like the inside of a florist shop that specializes in plants other than flowers. Flavor has a bit of acridness. I detect nothing I would describe as sweet in the least. There are little to no hops, but what's there is... not entirely pleasant. And the smell is almost overpowering each time I lift the glass to take a sip. I know this is a very unflattering description - but this looks, smells, and tastes like what I imagine a mud puddle on the forest floor might taste like, only with carbonation.
It's probably me. Maybe I just don't "get" this attempt. People who like bark-y beers will probably enjoy this one. For me, it's a no-go.
704 characters
3.58/5 rDev -5.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.48/5 rDev -8.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.58/5 rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a cola color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of oak, some nuts. Taste is woody, coconut,some nuts and alcohol are present. Feels full bodied in the mouth and overall is a unique take on the style, and a pretty good beer.
258 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a cola color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of oak, some nuts. Taste is woody, coconut,some nuts and alcohol are present. Feels full bodied in the mouth and overall is a unique take on the style, and a pretty good beer.
258 characters
4.06/5 rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Got this in Puducah, KY.
Having had this twice now, I can verify how impressed with this beer I am.
Earlier this evening, I had Dogfish Head's Indian Brown (7.2%) and although it was good, it did not have the mouthfeel or overall complexity of this beer.
This has a great appearance, a complex aroma, a great mouthfeel and taste. I'm glad I have four more.
First impression: Overall, I was impressed with this beer.
421 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Got this in Puducah, KY.
Having had this twice now, I can verify how impressed with this beer I am.
Earlier this evening, I had Dogfish Head's Indian Brown (7.2%) and although it was good, it did not have the mouthfeel or overall complexity of this beer.
This has a great appearance, a complex aroma, a great mouthfeel and taste. I'm glad I have four more.
First impression: Overall, I was impressed with this beer.
421 characters
3.99/5 rDev +5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Looks too dark for a brown. Hardly any smells, but the flavorsame are there. Subtle oak and roasted notes. Easy to drink, nice light mouthfeel. I wouldn't call it an imperial, too light. Overall it's a bit weak but I like it. It is balanced.
246 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Looks too dark for a brown. Hardly any smells, but the flavorsame are there. Subtle oak and roasted notes. Easy to drink, nice light mouthfeel. I wouldn't call it an imperial, too light. Overall it's a bit weak but I like it. It is balanced.
246 characters
3.93/5 rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
I picked up a bottle of Saugatuck's Snow Wizard for $1.59 at The Lager Mill. This one sounds interesting, so lets see how it goes. 2016 Vintage. Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a snifter.
A- The label looks good, it goes well with the name and it's eye catching. It poured a dark brown color which took on more of a slightly lighter brown color when held to the light with just a fingers worth of bubbly light tan head that died down to a thin ring that eventually faded away and it left hardly any lacing behind. This is a nice looking beer, but I wish it had some lacing.
S- The aroma starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the oak barrels being the first to show up and they impart a nice and noticeable oak, vanilla and a nice toasted coconut like aroma that goes into the malts which impart a little bit of chocolate like aroma with lots of caramel and caramel malt like aromas with some sweet malts also. This beer has a very nice aroma, the oak barrels work nicely with the Brown Ale base.
T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma and it starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the barrel still being the first to show up and it imparts all the same aspects that it did in the aroma with the toasted coconut showing up the most. Up next comes the malts which impart all the same malty aspects that they did int he aroma with that caramel flavor still showing up the most. Towards the end there's a little bit of a watery flavor with hardly any bitterness with not much sweetness taking it's place and in the aftertaste there's some caramel and toasted coconut flavors. This is a good tasting beer, I really like that toasted coconut aspect, but I wish it wasn't a little watery on the finish.
M- Smooth, pretty crisp, slightly prickly, on the lighter side of being medium bodied with a lower amount of high carbonation. The mouthfeel is nice, but I wish it was thicker with a little less carbonation.
Overall i thought this was a good beer and I thought it was a pretty nice example of the style, it had some really nice flavors and aromas, but it seemed like the mouthfeel held it back. This beer had nice drinkability,I could drink a couple, but that would be my limit, it would make for a nice fall time beer.. What I like the most about this beer is the oak barrel aspects, they worked well with this beer and I really liked the toasted coconut aspects. What I like the least about this beer is the mouthfeel, it was a little too light and over carbonated. I would buy this beer again if they make it next year and I would recommend giving it a try, but because of the body I don't think it's a must try. All in all liked this beer, but I didn't love it and I think if the body was worked on it would be a very nice beer. It's one of the better Saugatuck beers I've had and it's above average for the style. Nice job guys, this is a good beer.
2,953 characters
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
I picked up a bottle of Saugatuck's Snow Wizard for $1.59 at The Lager Mill. This one sounds interesting, so lets see how it goes. 2016 Vintage. Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a snifter.
A- The label looks good, it goes well with the name and it's eye catching. It poured a dark brown color which took on more of a slightly lighter brown color when held to the light with just a fingers worth of bubbly light tan head that died down to a thin ring that eventually faded away and it left hardly any lacing behind. This is a nice looking beer, but I wish it had some lacing.
S- The aroma starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the oak barrels being the first to show up and they impart a nice and noticeable oak, vanilla and a nice toasted coconut like aroma that goes into the malts which impart a little bit of chocolate like aroma with lots of caramel and caramel malt like aromas with some sweet malts also. This beer has a very nice aroma, the oak barrels work nicely with the Brown Ale base.
T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma and it starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the barrel still being the first to show up and it imparts all the same aspects that it did in the aroma with the toasted coconut showing up the most. Up next comes the malts which impart all the same malty aspects that they did int he aroma with that caramel flavor still showing up the most. Towards the end there's a little bit of a watery flavor with hardly any bitterness with not much sweetness taking it's place and in the aftertaste there's some caramel and toasted coconut flavors. This is a good tasting beer, I really like that toasted coconut aspect, but I wish it wasn't a little watery on the finish.
M- Smooth, pretty crisp, slightly prickly, on the lighter side of being medium bodied with a lower amount of high carbonation. The mouthfeel is nice, but I wish it was thicker with a little less carbonation.
Overall i thought this was a good beer and I thought it was a pretty nice example of the style, it had some really nice flavors and aromas, but it seemed like the mouthfeel held it back. This beer had nice drinkability,I could drink a couple, but that would be my limit, it would make for a nice fall time beer.. What I like the most about this beer is the oak barrel aspects, they worked well with this beer and I really liked the toasted coconut aspects. What I like the least about this beer is the mouthfeel, it was a little too light and over carbonated. I would buy this beer again if they make it next year and I would recommend giving it a try, but because of the body I don't think it's a must try. All in all liked this beer, but I didn't love it and I think if the body was worked on it would be a very nice beer. It's one of the better Saugatuck beers I've had and it's above average for the style. Nice job guys, this is a good beer.
2,953 characters
3.58/5 rDev -5.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
4.03/5 rDev +6.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.16/5 rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Love the oak and coffee influence. Feels like fall/winter. Typically not a brown fan but I’m enjoying this one.
115 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Love the oak and coffee influence. Feels like fall/winter. Typically not a brown fan but I’m enjoying this one.
115 characters
3.85/5 rDev +1.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.63/5 rDev -4.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Another 3 dollar single from the house of 1,000.
A - Very dark reddish tones see through with a 1/4 inch of foam that settles rather quickly.
S - Sweet brown sugar, tones of oak and mild brown malts. Smell is nice.
T - Oak leaves for a rather bitter finish but body is mostly nice with some sweet malts and brown malts. Bitterness is kind of distracting though.
M - Rather smooth medium bodied beer
Overall not sure if its the earthy hops or bitter oak but its very distracting especially for a malty beer. Tone that down and you will have winner.
548 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Another 3 dollar single from the house of 1,000.
A - Very dark reddish tones see through with a 1/4 inch of foam that settles rather quickly.
S - Sweet brown sugar, tones of oak and mild brown malts. Smell is nice.
T - Oak leaves for a rather bitter finish but body is mostly nice with some sweet malts and brown malts. Bitterness is kind of distracting though.
M - Rather smooth medium bodied beer
Overall not sure if its the earthy hops or bitter oak but its very distracting especially for a malty beer. Tone that down and you will have winner.
548 characters
3.79/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev -1.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Oak Wizard from Saugatuck Brewing Company
Beer rating:
3.8 out of
5 with
81 ratings
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