Guest Video Review by Tom The Beer Whisperer

Well howdy do buckaroos! OK, that’s not my usual way of opening a beer review, but if you are a fan of the reviews of the one and only Beer Whisperer Tom Mulvihill (accept no substitutes), then you’ve heard him commence many a fine video beer review with that line. If you don’t know Tom, where have you been hiding for the past 5 years? Get thee hence to Youtube and catch some of his reviews. I’ve even included one above to get you started.

Right now, I’m enjoying a really lovely beer called Urban Chestnut Oxnbrau, a doppelbock lager that Tom sent me along with a number of other Urban Chestnut beers. This is my first beer from Urban Chestnut, and since doppelbocks are my very favorite style, it was a natural choice to start my Urban Chestnut journey.

Tom raves about Urban Chestnut of course, and now I see why. Based in St. Louis, MO, Urban Chestnut is a heavily German-themed operation (they even have their own beer hall) and is currently building a brewery in Germany. Naturally, then, this is a brewery after the very heart of a Germanophile like me.

From the label:

We chose an ox, which in Bavarian is “oxn”, as the symbol of our traditional Doppelbock. While we won’t get into the details of why, we can say it’s quite likely you’ll enjoy this Lager Bier for its sweet & malty character.

Ingredients from the website:

Hops:   Hallertau Perle, Hallertau Mittelfrüh, Hallertau Tradition

Malts:   Pilsner, Munich, Caramel, Chocolate

Urban Chestnut Oxnbrau has an alcohol content of 8% by volume with 22 IBUs. My bottle is a half-liter in size, and its sold in the Urban Chestnut “Box of Bocks” sampler. Box of bocks! I like that!

Urban Chestnut Oxnbrau pours to a dark chestnut color with a medium short lived fizzy head formation and a vibrant toasty nutty malt nose. Taking a sip the beer has deep toasted nut and maltiness up front with fresh caramel malt notes,  hints of molasses and a malty sweetness balanced by a gentle grassy hop bitterness.

Wow is this good! It’s really and truly bursting with fresh malty melanoidin goodness, and I’d rank it as one of the best domestic doppels I’ve ever sampled. Perhaps only the Germans do a better take on this style, although it was invented there after all. By Italians, but that’s another story.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft



Home