Review 76: Oscar's Brewing Company Oscar's Folly

Review 76

6/27/12

Oscar’s Brewing Company Oscar’s Folly: 7.5% abv

As we’ve noted once or twice before, Oscar’s Brewing Company, or OBC (less of a burden to type) is actually a company that’s not actually a company, but a local native of Kalamazoo brewing his own beer with quite some talent. But he hasn’t been the only one brewing his own beer, as Bell’s took a particular interest to it as well during Bell’s Brewing competition. Since OBC won the competition with their Oscar’s Folly IPA, we figured we’d give it the kind of scrutiny you’d expect from several guys with no lives.  

Does this IPA measure up to the big dogs? Here’s us jumping into it. You might be surprised to find a very fruity, tropical smell to this beer, and not the super hoppy, bitter smell you would potentially get from your classic IPA. There is a tangy fruit smell, with only slight hops and pine to attribute to its bitter nature. Fruit notes we gathered included orange, pineapple, mango, and grapefruit. It does follow most IPAs with its floral smell. 

The smell doesn’t mislead you either, with the taste being very fruity. You get citrus notes of orange, lemon, and grapefruit, and even so much as lemon rind. There is slight pine, and a light amount of hops as well. There isn’t as much bitterness as you might have thought. The finish is noticeably short, with a hoppiness, grapefruit, and lemon being predominant flavors lingering from the taste. This is a unique IPA and almost reflects what a farmhouse IPA would be in bitterness, and fruitiness. Unfortunately, it does lack in complexity and we wanted much more finish. This makes for a good summer IPA, or an IPA for beginners who aren’t ready for the heavier ones. 

Score: 8.0/10

Review 69: Oscar's Brewing Company Barleywine

Review 69

6/24/12

Oscar's Brewing Company Barleywine: 11% abv

I'd be willing to bet you haven't heard of Oscar's Brewing Company, and there's also a good chance you've never had a barley wine either. Well, you get both in one review. Oscar's Brewing Company is actually a one man operation by a gentleman in western Michigan who crafts his own brews. You might wonder why we're messing with the small fries, but really we're not. This particular brewer has some accolades to his name, including winning a contest with Bell's and having his IPA produced by them for a limited time. That's the same company that makes Oberon. So now we've got your attention. 

Here's the deal on barleywines. Categorized also as Old Ales, these are beers that sit between 8 to 12%, which gave them the title as "wine", for being on par in alcohol content. Some tasting notes before you get bored: On the nose, we got apple, malt, lemon, orange, honey, rye, wheat, slight floral notes, and a creamy character. The nose is well balanced and pleasant. 

The taste is malty and creamy as well, showing off some citrus notes of lemon and grapefruit, even going so far as to showcase some orange. We also noted tastes of caramel and cereal grain. The finish was medium in length with complex flavors of grapefruit, oak, dry pine, apple, pear and slight bitterness carrying through. So in conclusion, this is a fantastic beer, albeit not the most complex, nor having the best finish. It almost felt as if some unknown quality was just slightly missing, but we couldn't put it on paper. We'll be doing several more of OBC's beers scattered over the next reviews. Keep a look out if you liked what you've seen. 

Score: 9.0/10