White Oak by Urban South Brewery is being judged according to the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines, Category 33A – Wood-Aged Beer.

Soft, lightly sweet oak greet me immediately alongside medium cedar, coconut and mandarin orange hops and light grainy and neutral malt. It pours a hazy, harvest orange with a huge, coarse-bubbled and frothy white head, which persists for several minutes. My first mouthfeel carries straight over from the aroma with an oak and hop melange of vanillin and woody, tropical fruit hops. Light grainy and neutral malt provide a background for the soft oak tannins and hops. A medium body supports medium-high carbonation.

Additional inquisitive sniffs unearth more of the citrus hop character, with notes of orange marmalade. Faint alcohol notes round out the delicate aroma. The beer is hop-forward with supportive malt, and the oak tannins provide a third element to the balance. The noted alcohol presents some spiciness that makes the carbonation pop a little more than it might otherwise. Despite the sweetness from oak and hops, the beer finishes quite dry and delivers a pleasant belly alcohol warmth. Clean fermentation yields an ester-free beer where the hops and oak pleasantly join forces.

This beer would stand up well with a spicy Indian curry, something with a coconut milk base versus tomato, where the coconut milk sweetness complements the oak and hop melange.