Oxymoron is a concept beer with a very interesting intent. Belgian Wheat beers traditionally flavour themselves with directness. To add lavender flavour, add lavender. Need an orange twang? Add oranges. 8 Degrees have opted to find hops which emulate the the traits they are looking for in this Belgian Wit.

It’s a great idea, and the flavours they are trying to mimic through hopping are lemon and pepper.

First Impressions:

Oxymoron really pours the part of a Wit. It is a straw yellow, with a huge head. The aromas it offers up are mild, but they fit the bill.

Second Impressions:

The head dissipates much more quickly than you would expect from a wit beer, but Oxymoron is still backed by the carbonation which presented the head to us when it was poured.

To drink, it certainly has the peppery and lemony notes which were promised by the beer, and the classic wheat beer maltiness.

The main defining factor of the beer, however ,which distracts from its subtleties, is its bitterness. Obviously, this beer has a reasonable amount of hops, in order to achieve its flavour profile, and this has led to quite a bitter beer.

This along side the poor head retention keep it from attaining “fool the hardened Wit drinkers” status, but it is still a refreshing beer.

Final Impressions:

I don’t think that this style of beer is going to take over the world – but I don’t think that is the point either.

This beer shows that 8 Degrees like to think about beer as much as they like to drink it, which is why they can consistently put out solid beers.

Oxymoron is not exactly pushing the envelope, but it is definitely delivering on intrigue and curiosity.