Oak Fermented Altbier
OEC Brewing (Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores)

A: crystal clear; very deep amber with mahogany highlights; 1 finger finely pored light tan head that receded to a wispy cap with a moderate tight collar; light lacing;

S: quite aromatic; smell of tobacco from a couple feet away; up close, it's sweet malt for a moment, then tobacco;

T: very little flavor up front; middle is tobacco with some malt sweetness; finish is all tobacco with mild to moderate bitterness;

M: medium bodied; moderate carbonation; moderately dry finish;

O: the oak clearly comes through, but the base beer is hard to find;

Pours murky, sandalwood in color with one half inch head. Taste is fruitcake, toasted malt and light oak. Light bodied, medium low carbonation, slightly sweet. Complex and interesting. A nice end of night lager. Loads of flavor for the abv.

 

 

 

 

can into glass
Thick 'n' creamy, ivory head, with moon surface like rockiness. Half translucent, half murky, deep, honey and amber appearance, kind of like raw wildflower honey. Not too much of a spiced, medium dark toasted barley malt aroma, with a tiny touch of a tang to it. Good, slightly spiced and light toasted wood, with medium toast malt in full form, for the taste. The oak barrel gives the flavor a little zing to it and helps the finish.

12 oz can
Glass: 0,4 L Stange
ABV: 4.8 % ABV


Look:
Opaque light to medium brown. 2+ fingers creamy light tan head. The head lasts for a very long time, leaving very good lacing

Aroma:
Bready and grainy malts. A very light touch of honey or toffee. Some wood. No discernable hops or bitterness.

Taste:
Nice and malty. Dark wheat bread. A moderate but pleasing earthy and woody note and bitterness appears early in the sip and remains for the duration of the sip. The sip finishes dry and a touch bitter/earthy. The dryness and earthy notes add up as more of the beer is consumed.

Feel:
Smooth. The body is medium-light. Maybe a shade lighter.

Overall:
An interesting take on a low-ABV Altbier. Nothing spectacular, but solid. The wood from the oak fermentation can be noticed and is intriguing. But this seems more a brown ale than an Altbier.

Pours initially clear, but picks up some haze from the bottom of the can. Kind of a dull reddish brown color. An enormous foamy tan head falls to chunks and leaves a ton of cling on the glass.

The smell is sweet and bready with a little vague fruitiness, maybe a touch of caramel, and a tad bit of Noble hop herbal spiciness.

This is malt heavy with a fair amount of sweetness. Almost a brown bread character, some caramel flavor almost toffee. It is fruity but hard to discern what the fruit is. If forced to pick I'd go cherry and a bit of grape must. There's a slightly herbal hoppiness, more sweet breadiness and maybe a very minute bit of chocolate. A cinnamon-like zip on the finish. There is a bit of a phenolic feel I presume from the oak treatment.

The body is medium in feel, fairly lively carbonation (thankfully), a mild bitterness. It is slightly sticky sweet.

Overall, undecided. It's honestly not meltin' my butter all that much, but it isn't an epic fail. I think it leans more toward a brown ale, but it has some of the style elements listed here for an altbier.

 

 

Ruddy brown with a fat finger of tan head. It settles into an uneven cap that leaves thin sheets of lacing.

Sweet, unattenuated malt aroma with a faint KoolAid-like undercurrent in terms of both sugariness and an articulate grape or berry element.

The taste is much, much drier with leather, cocoa, wood and earthy hops. A metallic ting lingers in the aftertaste.

Medium bodied with almost nitro-like carbonation.

I prefer other beers from these guys. The oak barrel here is too much to my taste; I’d prefer the malt to be a bigger attraction.

No can date
Pours a tan foamy almost 1 finger head with great retention, sticky lacing, hazy auburn to chestnut color

Nose fair sweet toasted brownish malt, little biscuity, sweet bread crust, hint of chocolate coffee, light herbal hop

Taste more malt up front, semi sweet toasted bread crust, little icing on top, little caramel and toffee, fair fruity as well, generic fruity with light herbal fruity hop characters, bready late, touch of chocolate, drier mild sticky sweet finish med lighter bitterness

Mouth is med bod, med higher prickly carb

Overall not a bad brown ale but far from an altbier

 

 

 

cool to see this on tap in idaho, i love these guys. at heart this is a classic alt, european and malt driven and kilned tasting, drier than most amber types, a little more yeast forward, especially here, where some oaken funk has taken root, just a touch tart, short of acidic or even astringent, but its not totally clean either, which i dig. its not all the way clear, brick reddish amber color, with a two inch airy rising khaki head that stretches way over the rim of the glass and stays there, real nice looking cap on this baby. the nose is cool, woody for sure, slightly vinous, mineral forward, musty and old, oxidized in a good way, almost a baby barleywine thing happening with the grain, intriguing. the flavor is dry, bready, starchy, and lightly tannic from the time in oak, ever so minimally bretty to me, more english than anything, and more and more interesting as it warms. its well carbonated but feels just a little fuller bodied than most, but its a pretty easy pint as they go. this is a beer drinkers beer, subtly interesting in a style most people dont get too excited about, but it really is something quite wonderful. i hope the steady stream of their stuff out this way keeps up!

Had on tap. Cloudy light brown pour with a full khaki foam head. Smell captures the oak with bready and malty elements, with a certain fruity ester sweetness, interesting. Taste is rough, way out of balance with the wood, not shocking, but it is so harsh with a sawdust and wet tree root combination, dark bread, toasted caramel and herbal/grassy hops finish lightly, but the wood dominates. Feel is unsurprisingly woody, with light breadiness and malt behind it, middle is way too thin for style. Would be hard to discern this is an altbier with the dominance of the wood. Needs refinement

This one pours a medium golden dark brown color, with a small head, and a good bit of lacing.

This one smells like bready malt, roast, oak, honey, and spicy hops.

This is truly excellent stuff. It's got a really nice spicy hop character to it, with some oaky bitterness, roast, a touch of chocolate, and a great bittersweet breadiness.

This is light bodied, super clean, and very drinkable, with a smooth and creamy finish.

OEC is really, really good at making lagers, and I need to try as many as I can.

Canned 10/27/20

Made a trip out to the brewery yesterday since I was already in Connecticut and I’ve heard good things. My first altbier as well as being my first from OEC so I’m really not sure what to expect here, should be interesting

Pours a cloudy brownish copper with 2 fingers of soapy off white head that slowly fades to a cap and leaves decent lacing

The aroma is surprisingly complex. I grt notes of caramel, crisp bready malt, raisins, apple, smoky pepper, and a touch of oaky vanilla

So the taste isn’t quite as exciting, but I still enjoy it. The front end of the sip brings notes of caramel malt, a touch of citrus, and lightly grassy hops. The wood shines through after the swallow, bringing notes of charred oak, smooth caramel, pear, and nutty malt

A medium body pairs with gentle carbonation for a very smooth beer, even if a tad thin. Finishes a bit sticky but not overly sweet, feels maybe a bit higher abv than it is

Quite the interesting beer we’ve got here. I definitely want to try more of the style since I quite enjoyed this, and I also plan to seek out more from OEC in the future