Oxtober Bier
Old Ox Brewery

 

12 ounce can poured into a dimpled mug.

L: Drab copper @10 SRM, clears a bit after warming but maintains a slight haze, one finger cream-white head faeds to a ring inside of a minute
S: Spicy hop aroma while the head is up, bread crust after
T: Sharp and hoppy, spicy/floral hop over a toasted malt backbone, mild alcohol
F: Medium-light body, crisp and to the dry side, a little frothy
O: Nice refreshing easy drinker, left me wanting at least one more

From the can, it pours a slightly hazy amber color with a modest just off-white head that slowly reduces. Some caramel leads the malty scent. The taste is malty, with caramel notes and some toast. mild aftertaste.

2022 update: clear amber color and still a good brew.

Pours a solid dark amber color with a relatively sturdy beige head and a healthy helping of caramel flavor and robust bread note. Carbonation is a little low here maybe but the taste is pretty compact and hits well at the point of impact. Big malty bread note and a touch of late spice but I didn't get much hops, but that is fairly par for the style. Solid overall performance.

The beer pours a nice hefty and off-white foam head that takes a while to dissipate while the beer itself is a clear amber color that looks really nice.

The smell is pretty good. It has a nice moderate bitter hop note with a bready yeast and moderate caramel note.
The taste is pretty much the same as smell but with a slightly stronger malt note and a earthy and bitter hop finish.

The feel is good. It has a slightly sticky texture with a medium body. There is tingling carbonation.

Overall, a pretty solid Oktoberfest worth getting.

12oz can into a pint glass

Look: Pours a pale, mostly clear amber with a finger-width off-white head. Some small amount of spotty lacing clings to the side of the glass.
Smell: Bready malt, a sweet caramel scent, honey.
Taste: Follows the nose exaclty, with a slightly bitter finish.
Feel: On the thinner side of medium bodied with a notably soft finish. high carbonation, with tiny bubbles constantly rising up from the bottom.
Overall: A pretty good American made Marzen. Missing something to really make it stand out, though.

16 oz pour at Nationals Park. Pours a golden amber with a nice off-white head and lacing. Aroma is bready malt and slightly spicy noble hops. Flavor is similar but a little more bitter than I would prefer. Overall a solid Oktoberfest!

12oz can at home

A: Pale hazy amber in the glass with a soft off white head.

S: Rich dark bread, a dab of caramel syrup, and and raison.

T: Taste follows suit, rich dark bread, raison and dried fruit, and a dab of syrup.

M: Medium light in body, with a certain creaminess, and moderate carbonation.

O: Overall a pretty tasty fall beer.

On tap (revisit 2019):
A paler Oktoberfest, this one clocks in as amber in color and lightly hazed on the body. Atop this is a nice white cap, even with the fairly full pour. Lacing looks like a mountain range with its peaks and valleys with varying degrees of snow caps.

Initial review had the nose ad a little sweet, with an almost vanilla or marshmallow note. I didn’t get this in the revisit and in fact got a more traditional bready note that leaned more heavily on the malt profile than my original review. There’s only a light hop note, and I’d say it leans a little spice-like.

Taste starts with a light grain bread flavor, but one with a bit of that fresh-baked note of a nice bready beer (initial review said this was absent). A little mineral aspect joins a honey malt flavor next, both light but obvious. A citrus leaf bitterness and a little spice sneaks out from a fairly neutral malt counter. Carbonation and heft are at appropriate levels.

Pretty well balanced but perhaps missing some personality that would bump it up a level. Fairly well made beer in the festbier realm, one I liked more in the revisit directly from the brewery.

This Marzen-style Lager is great for the season upon us. It boasts a brisk 6% ABV and a mere 22 IBUs.

Look-This beer pours a dark yellow or light orange color that is similar to a buckwheat honey with light yellow tinges in the light and certain cloudiness. The head settles to a thin film and the carbonation trails are scarce.

Smell-It smells sweet, but not in a bad way. It definitely smells good. I get honey, molasses, and spice as well as a buttery sort of aroma. It also smells roasty in a subtle way almost like you were near a house cooking oatmeal. In general, it definitely smells like a plethora of yeasty esters and aromatic compounds.

Taste-It has a very clean and refreshing taste. The flavor profile ranges from buttered biscuit, gingerbread, pumpkin spice, some nutmeg, and a caramel maltiness from the Vienna malts, a pervasive aromatic quality from the yeast, and a balancing hoppiness to even it out. It leaves a thin coating on the tongue that is caramel malts and alpha acids. It has a medium-bodied mouthfeel.

Overall-This is a very nice beer from a serious brewery which has made one of my absolute favorite styles of beers. They did a great job and I would suggest you give it a try sometime. Cheers!

 

I got this with an Old Ox Brewery Xplorer 12-pack. I found this brew very balanced with some hoppiness present on the mouthfeel, but definitely could lose some ABV. The beer presents as a good 2 finger head on a pilsner glass pour and the cloudiness of the brew is enticing. There is some sweetness to the brew that is malty and mixed with a bitterness from the hops that is well done. But I think i would not go out of my way for it since the overall feel of the beer is boozy for a marzen-style lager.