If ever the world of beers designed to be sipped and savoured was looking for a poster boy, it could do far worse than give The Ox a call. Whenever a bottle is cracked at Crafty Towers, it's the only one that needs opening that night; the sort of beer you can happily return to over a couple of hours. It seems only appropriate to enjoy it this way given that, on the rare occasions the Red Duck guys make it, they spend 22 hours in the brewery. Ox by name, Ox by nature, it's a thick, dark brown beast that's so gloopy it could almost pass off as spent engine oil. Crammed with so many different malts (and so much of it), you never know what's coming in the next mouthful: liquorice, chocolate, burnt toffee, roast coffee, molasses; you name it, if it can be described as dark, sweet, rich or mysterious, chances are it'll make an appearance. Who knows when it'll next be brewed, so if it sounds like your kind of thing grab some now (before we snaffle it all).
Published July 15, 2011 2011-07-15 00:00:00
