Oxbow (2020)

Doesn't this conversation belong in the Tee House thread?

 

Golf talk is appropriate everywhere.

 

I got a four pack of Seaworthy yesterday. A bit of a departure from my normal purchasing. The cans were dated middle April, so they are reaching the end of their shelf life. Overall, a pretty good beer. The bones are solid. It’s still got a crisp bite, but the hops have receded behind the malt. I’d have been really interested to try this beer a little closer to the canning date. Almost four months old it seemed past its prime.

 

Newcastle is pretty limited compared to oxford in terms of beer selection. Oxford has more taps and more bottles. Oxford has a nice outdoor area, but Newcastle is on a large property where you can walk through the woods and hangout by the pond. Oxford has really good food with a wood fired oven, Newcastle has limited food. Newcastle is where they actually brew the beer and grow ingredients for some of the beer. Both locations are definitely worth visiting, depends what you're looking for.

 

Seaworthy is a banger. Oxbow's series of canned beers (and their price points) is one of the best things to happen in craft beer in years.

 

Are their price points really a plus? I don't consider them to be cheap or a great value. I just love what they're putting out, which compels me to buy it.

 

All of their recent 4-packs (bottles and cans) are $12-14 in NY. That's a fantastic price point for world-class saisons, grisettes and lagers. Let alone when compared to previous price points of $20-22 for 500ML bottles.

 

I mean, it's not like their $20 bottles have migrated into cans. Their $20 bottles are still $20 bottles.

Canning has definitely made Oxbow more accessible, but I think it's more beers that would have previously been draft only being canned versus bottles going into cans. Luppolo wasn't previously canned. Grizacca wasn't previously canned. Canning has certainly allowed them to scale a bunch of their beers and make them accessible by sending them to distro.

I love Oxbow, but when I'm looking at Oxbow besides other beers I like (e.g. Luppolo vs Ardent Pilsner or Schilling Alexandr 10), Oxbow is consistently priced a couple bucks higher than comparable beers. That doesn't stop me from buying them, but I don't think they're at a "fantastic price point."

 

This kind of "well actually" pedantry is literally the worst aspect of this website.

I live in New York. Oxbow pilsners are the exact same price as Schilling. They're considerably better priced than pilsners from Suarez, Grimm, Finback, KCBC, Hudson Valley and others. Only Jacks Abby and Crossroads make pilsners that are lower in price, and even then, we're talking at most a $2 difference on a 4-pack.

As far as grisettes and saisons, absolutely nobody else is making in or distributing to New York the caliber of beer they make in those styles and at $12-14 a 4-pack. Nobody. So yes, they are at a "fantastic price point."

We done here?

 

Luppolo was the first beer I think they released in cans, its been in cans for two years now. The 12 oz bottles have been in distro for at least that long as well, those are pretty reasonably priced for their quality. A 4 pack of their Saison's are certainly cheaper than a 4 pack of a typical NE IPA. They might be slightly more expensive than a 4 pack of Allagash bottles but not by much.

I probably wouldn't buy Luppolo over other available Pilsners so I won't argue the cost of that but I think most of their other beers are pretty much in line with other craft beer of similar quality. I'd buy Grizacca in cans in a heart beat if I came across it, there aren't a ton of Grisette's available. Can you point to a similar quality Grisette available in cans (or even bottles) and are they cheaper than Oxbow? From what I've seen they have migrated some of the beers that previously were $20 750ml bottles into cans or 12 oz bottles at much better price points. Dance Language was previously 750ml bottles when they first produced it and I picked up a 4 pack of mixed Dance Language variants a few months back for less than what I recall a 750ml bottle cost about 2 years ago. The $20 bottles are still $20 bottles but they are the lower volume beers, whether they are worth the cost or not is an opinion. I won't buy their (or anyone else's) $20 bottles unless its something really interesting and unique. Anything they produce in cans or 12 oz bottles is nearly always a no brainer decision for me.

 

Havent been to this thread in a while, but have been to both Portland and, for the first tine in a while, the awesome Newcastle location, this summer, and spent too much damn money. Gotta say - Hexen was the surprise star for me (thank you ladies!) but after reading this, immediately popped Forest/Maine in the fridge. Cheers guys!

 

You're right about saisons/grisettes. Oxbow isn't outrageously priced for those, especially given the lack of competition. I love Grizacca and the one thing I had to get while I was up at Oxbow last summer were those Grizacca cans. I don't think that a lot of breweries are trying to compete and put out the types of beers Oxbow is doing, let alone with that degree of execution.

 

love to see it

 

I am new to Oxbow and am typically an IPA and pale ale drinker. I do like Fox Farm lagers and farm houses.

What should I get? How are the prices?

 

Luppolo and Farmhouse Pale are a must.

 

@YourDigitalGrave I agree with @Davl22 . Those two are musts. I’ve had the 3 other visible beers and thought they were just okay-one and done.

 

Seaworthy is a well executed IPL. I wasn't a big fan of Grand Royal, but I had just had a Redemption Rock Three Decker before that. Have not had Northern Lager yet.

 

The Farmhouse Pale Ale is very good, a simple farmhouse ale but very well executed. Luppolo is fine but it's an "Italian-style" pilsner. Nice and light with some happiness, same thing with Northern Lager, its nice and light. Neither Luppolo nor Northern are must haves IMHO but lots of people seem to love Luppolo. For me there are other breweries that make good lighter Pilsners and good lighter lagers at cheaper price points so its not a knock against these beers, its just for their other beers like their Saisons and Farmhouses they are probably some of the top beers of their style you can find. Can't speak to Grand Royal or Seaworthy. You won't go wrong with any of them, I think you'd enjoy them all, but the only beer there that I am certain is a standout is the Farmhouse.

 

I think Luppolo runs closer to Tipo than other American made Italian style pilsners I've had. As I have said upthread, I don't think Oxbow is at the best price point, especially from a pilsner perspective. However, I should also add that if I'm in the mood for an Italian pils, I'd go for Luppolo over others I've had.