Oxbow Brewing Bobasa
Bobasa is the last of a trio of bottles that I purchased last month when I first spied Oxbow products on local shelves. Crossfade provided an excellent hop character amongst farmhouse traits while Saison Dell’ Aragosta felt a bit lost. Both, however, attempted to offer something different than the standard examples of their respective styles. Bobasa, a 6.5% ABV blend of ales, follows right along a similar path in presenting flavors typically not found in your standard farmhouse ale.
The brewery has taken a combination of 1- and 2- year old barrel-aged (and smoked) Biere de Gardes and blended that with a freshly brewed farmhouse ale prior to another eight month period in the bottle before releasing to the public. To say that this beer provides an interesting flavor profile would be an understatement. Smoke, wood, funk and a decent bit of sour tartness all arrive swiftly as a bit of light fruitiness lingers at the edges. The array of flavors come together surprisingly well and present a united front &$151; more so than I expected considering all that goes into its coppery,
rusty depths.
Bobasa is a unique beer. It’s certainly not your standard farmhouse ale, that’s for sure. I like seeing breweries do things differently, exploring other directions that maybe haven’t been thought of before. Oxbow certainly takes chances with established styles and while I didn’t particularly enjoy every aspect of the three that I have encountered thus far, each was unique and have piqued plenty of interest at what the company may further release in the future.