Oxorcist II
Old Ox Brewery

 

From the can, it pours s a nice brown color with a nice head, soon reducing to a ring and ridgeline. Scent is a subtle, for a pumpkin beer, pumpkin spice scent. Taste is similar, malt and not overwhelming pumpkin spice - very drinkable and dangerous!

In a world of over-the-top pumpkin pie spiced beers, this beer stands out as not overpowering spice-wise!

Poured a surprisingly deep dark brown in a snifter glass with about a finger of head before I maxed out the glass. Smells like slightly sweet pumpkin with a hard to define spice. Taste is fairly complex with pumpkin as more of a background with spices (not cinnamon) forward and ending with a bit of maple syrup sweetness. Only can tell that since it was described as such on the can. Feel is medium-light with light carbonation. Not my favorite imperial pumpkin ale, but a very good brown ale and nice for a change of pumpkin-pace.

On tap:
Looked at last year’s version review and this beer is similar with a little more of a squash/vegetal note than I noted in the previous version.

Dark brown with a big foamy beige head. The head lasts, but there’s not much lacing coming from it.

Nose is dark sugar and spice, a little molasses, mainly. There’s the squash/vegetal note and a light woodsy aspect.

Taste opens with a brown sugar sweetness with a dark bread, lightly toasted, both of which are cut by something bitter, almost zucchini-like; zucchini isn’t strong flavored, but there’s a flesh and green skin bitterness, I’d guess the sensation comes from the use of pumpkin. The beer stays with this balance for most of the taste. Spices come in the middle, with a little bite and not as distinct as in other pumpkin beers. Knowing there is maple syrup involved has me recognizing it only in the end, and then just barely.

A weird feel where the maple sweetness hits near the end, but falls off pretty quickly to spice and then finally to a mildly dry ending; medium body.

An interesting combo of spice and gourd. It kinda comes to me as a spiced dubbel or maybe dunkel, with the spices replacing some of what a Belgian yeast would bring if it were used.

The beer pours a nice looking creamy light brown head that dissipates quickly. The beer itself is a nice dark chocolate black with a good shine to it and nice oily texture to it.

The smell is good. The pumpkin is a bit moderately strong pumpkin with a mild syrup and cinnamon note to it.

The taste is good and a bit better than than the smell. The pumpkin note is moderate while the spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove mix well with it. The vanilla is light and comes well into the finish while the syrup is fairly subtle and, at times, overpowered by the maple syrup.

The feel is good. It has a heavy but very drinkable body and a smooth feel to it with some decent biting carbonation.

Overall, this is definitely one of the best pumpkin beers that I've had and definitely worth getting.