Brewbocka
Old Ox Brewery

Poured on tap into a tulip pint at Ashburn location.

Copper brown body, with light chestnut brown colors. Off light tan colored head, with a slightly larger one finger head. Creamed collar, touch of hinting lace.

Aroma is rustic as all get out. Ripping grain with a spicy and fruity like nose. Hints of bark like wood tones, almost balsam and pine. Clean as well on the nose. This is very nice, almost Christmasy like smelling one could say.

Palate is sharp and aggressive. Good hinting malts of caramel, but sharp carbonation, and maybe even a biting hop note in there. Finishes real rocky and hard water mineral, but with exceptional malt roast qualities, toasty, bread crusty, and minimal sweetness. Clean, crackling roast, and mineral but light like a bock body should be.

Nice bock, some of the aggression is a little jarring but totally tolerable for a solid drinking experience. Had no idea this contained coffee, which isn't obvious at first, but explains everything now.

 

 

 

12 oz can poured into a spiegelau stout glass.

Color of iced tea with tiny white head. No visible carbonation.

Smell is really light chocolate, green pepper, and I've never said this before, but a little fecal. Really not good.

No carbonation. Not much by way of taste at all, really watery. Tastes like 2oz of stout were in my glass and was topped it off with 10oz of tap water.

Couldn't make it past a few sips, maybe I got a bad can, but this is the worst I've had in a long time. Total miss.

 

Nice clear brown color. Moderate coffee that comes off as the dominant note with sweet caramel notes contrasting well and creating an interesting combination. Medium body but thin. Pretty good for a cold and good for a pint.

On tap at brewery:
The beer is a little cloudy beneath the amber-hued medium-dark brown beer. I'd have liked a little clarity and a little more head/retention.

Nose in this glass is huge on the coffee, sweetened with maybe one cream. Deeper whiffs later in the pour brings a caramel to lightly burnt (not off-putting) sugar note.

Taste has the caramel note integrated into the coffee from the start. This continues the sweeter impression of the beer overall. Deeper is some date and a bit of tobacco and cigarette smoke.

Really enjoyed this beer and rated it as a hybrid instead of a pure bock. I think it leaned a little sweet for the base style, and maybe just a tad sweet overall, but it seemed to work with the coffee flavor in this instance.

Edit: had in can, and beer looked cleaner, but the nose was not as powerful as at the brewery. Adjusted these.