Obol
DuClaw Brewing Co.
- From:
- DuClaw Brewing Co.
- New Jersey, United States
- Style:
- English Barleywine
- ABV:
- 9%
- Score:
- 84
- Avg:
- 3.7 | pDev: 12.97%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 18
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Mar 17, 2018
- Added:
- Nov 06, 2015
- Wants:
- 2
- Gots:
- 11
SCORE
84
Good
84
Good
Obol Oat Wine is dark brown with deep red highlights and topped by an off-white head that exhibits great lacing. It is full-bodied and smooth thanks to its slick, velvety mouthfeel derived from the use of flaked oats in the grain bill. Obol’s aroma and flavor profiles are dominated by warm, roasty malt with bready, biscuit-like notes balanced by a subtle hop presence and strong 9% ABV. Ready for a departure? Think of this beer as your fare, because everyone pays the ferryman
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by JayQue from Virginia
3.75/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Fairly good "big" beer. Pours a clear brown color with lots of reddish highlights coming through. Slightly off white medium size head with decent retention and wide bands of filmy lacing on the pint glass. Aroma and taste include rich caramel malt with a little hops presence and a toffee like taste reminiscent of Scottish Ales. Mouthfeel is rich and dry with very limited alcohol presence. It goes down fairly easily. Very pleasant, worth a try.
Apr 15, 2017
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania
3.59/5 rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.59/5 rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
As I continue to winnow through the Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody, I am finding beers that I do not even remember purchasing! In fact, I have so many DuClaw beers hanging around that I am embarking on a horizontal tasting for the next few days. This should be interesting.
From the bottle: "Prepare to depart with this brown, full-bodied ale. A velvety mouthfeel leads to a final destination of roasted malt, warm bready notes, & subtle hops. Pop the top & pour the fare on your tongue because ... everyone pays the ferryman."; "Respect_the_Fluid".
An obol is an ancient coin, one of which was placed in the mouth of the recently deceased to pay Charon for passage across the River Styx and into Hades. My death is not pending, but I am curious to try this beer. It always begins with a Pop! of the cap, followed in this case by a gentle pour into a snifter. I am entering the no-playing-around phase of thisjourney with some big beers upcoming. Once decanted, I gave it a good swirl to raise better than a finger of foamy, deep-tan/light-brown head with decent retention. Color was Brown to Dark Brown (SRM = > 22, < 27) with NE-quality clarity and ruby highlights. Nose was at once very sweet and very hot, with fusel alcohol seeming to shimmer on its surface. It had a leatheriness along with the smell of dried dark fruits like dates, figs, prunes and raisins. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not as big as the label's verbiage had led me to believe. The taste was evocative of brandy and I would like to add black cherries to the list that I enumerated on the nose, along with toasted marshmallows. Phew! The finish was hot and dry and left a burnt caramel taste in my mouth. This was an odd beer and even with a good bit of age, it was still pretty boozy. I may lay down for a little bit after this one.
Jan 09, 2017From the bottle: "Prepare to depart with this brown, full-bodied ale. A velvety mouthfeel leads to a final destination of roasted malt, warm bready notes, & subtle hops. Pop the top & pour the fare on your tongue because ... everyone pays the ferryman."; "Respect_the_Fluid".
An obol is an ancient coin, one of which was placed in the mouth of the recently deceased to pay Charon for passage across the River Styx and into Hades. My death is not pending, but I am curious to try this beer. It always begins with a Pop! of the cap, followed in this case by a gentle pour into a snifter. I am entering the no-playing-around phase of thisjourney with some big beers upcoming. Once decanted, I gave it a good swirl to raise better than a finger of foamy, deep-tan/light-brown head with decent retention. Color was Brown to Dark Brown (SRM = > 22, < 27) with NE-quality clarity and ruby highlights. Nose was at once very sweet and very hot, with fusel alcohol seeming to shimmer on its surface. It had a leatheriness along with the smell of dried dark fruits like dates, figs, prunes and raisins. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not as big as the label's verbiage had led me to believe. The taste was evocative of brandy and I would like to add black cherries to the list that I enumerated on the nose, along with toasted marshmallows. Phew! The finish was hot and dry and left a burnt caramel taste in my mouth. This was an odd beer and even with a good bit of age, it was still pretty boozy. I may lay down for a little bit after this one.
Reviewed by ChainGangGuy from Georgia
1.9/5 rDev -48.6%
look: 4 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 1.5
1.9/5 rDev -48.6%
look: 4 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 1.5
12 ounce bottle - $2.99 at Total Wine & More in Greenville, South Carolina.
Appearance: Pours a clear, garnet-hued body with a smallish, albeit persistent near-white head.
Smell: Huh.
Taste: A heavily sweet flavor of marshmallow fluff and deep toast. Then, it takes a very regretful turn towards a chemically, boozy, just plain screwy taste (just as the aroma did). It's very sweet, very hot and permeated with that peculiar flavor. Hard to drink, didn't finish.
Mouthfeel: Full-bodied. Medium carbonation.
Overall: Don't just pass on this one, run! What have you wrought, DuClaw?
May 28, 2016Appearance: Pours a clear, garnet-hued body with a smallish, albeit persistent near-white head.
Smell: Huh.
Taste: A heavily sweet flavor of marshmallow fluff and deep toast. Then, it takes a very regretful turn towards a chemically, boozy, just plain screwy taste (just as the aroma did). It's very sweet, very hot and permeated with that peculiar flavor. Hard to drink, didn't finish.
Mouthfeel: Full-bodied. Medium carbonation.
Overall: Don't just pass on this one, run! What have you wrought, DuClaw?
Reviewed by tigg924 from Massachusetts
2.27/5 rDev -38.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
2.27/5 rDev -38.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
Pours clear, copper in color with 1/4 inch head. Taste is oats, raisin, and toasted malt. Body is flat..slightly heavy, but flat. Way below average ale. Not a horribly bad beer, but I like several other DuClaw beers more. Did not need a six of this. Big pass.
May 28, 2016
Reviewed by Pencible from Virginia
3.4/5 rDev -8.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5
3.4/5 rDev -8.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5
A: This poured a translucent mahogany with moderate light tan head.
S: It smelled like earthy toffee and nutty honey biscuit, with a bit of copper hops and caramel.
T: It tasted like copper hops and honey biscuit, with some earthy toffee and burnt sugar. It had a dirty bitter aftertaste.
M: It was thick with moderate carbonation. Nice big body.
D: This was an ok brew, but very rough around the edges. I liked the scent, but the taste wasn't very clean, and the finish was hot and messy. So it wasn't very easy to drink. Age would almost certainly improve this beast. Not recommended fresh.
May 03, 2016S: It smelled like earthy toffee and nutty honey biscuit, with a bit of copper hops and caramel.
T: It tasted like copper hops and honey biscuit, with some earthy toffee and burnt sugar. It had a dirty bitter aftertaste.
M: It was thick with moderate carbonation. Nice big body.
D: This was an ok brew, but very rough around the edges. I liked the scent, but the taste wasn't very clean, and the finish was hot and messy. So it wasn't very easy to drink. Age would almost certainly improve this beast. Not recommended fresh.
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina
3.86/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.75
3.86/5 rDev +4.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.75
Appearance: Pours dark, a tawny, brownish color capped by an impressive head; decent lacing action emerges
Smell: Oatmeal cookie, caramel and brown sugar; perhaps a hint of fruit
Taste: Caramel dipped oatmeal cookie flavors, up front, with a touch of raisin; in the middle, the booze factor really builds and in a harsh way; rather sweet, too, in the finish
Mouthfeel: Full bodied and very creamy; warmth in the gullet
Overall: Interesting but lacks an offset (other than boozy harshness) to the sweet oatmeal cookie flavors; and the boozy harshness really limits the enjoyment factor
Apr 07, 2016Smell: Oatmeal cookie, caramel and brown sugar; perhaps a hint of fruit
Taste: Caramel dipped oatmeal cookie flavors, up front, with a touch of raisin; in the middle, the booze factor really builds and in a harsh way; rather sweet, too, in the finish
Mouthfeel: Full bodied and very creamy; warmth in the gullet
Overall: Interesting but lacks an offset (other than boozy harshness) to the sweet oatmeal cookie flavors; and the boozy harshness really limits the enjoyment factor
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