Oktoberfest Lager
Amsterdam Brewing Company

Oktoberfest LagerOktoberfest Lager
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From:
Amsterdam Brewing Company
 
Ontario, Canada
Style:
Märzen
ABV:
5.8%
Score:
82
Avg:
3.48 | pDev: 15.52%
Reviews:
12
Ratings:
16
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 11, 2017
Added:
Dec 26, 2001
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
Is there any time of year that Germans don't celebrate with beer? A Bavarian lager brewed with a small amount of beechwood-smoked barley (we smoke the malt ourselves), Oktoberfest Lager has a distinctive fall flavour that welcomes this sensational season. Belonging to the "marzen" or "rauchbier" style of beer, these brews were originally crafted in springtime and stored, or "lagered", until autumn for optimum enjoyment. Prosit!

15 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by MeisterBurger:
Photo of MeisterBurger
Reviewed by MeisterBurger from Canada (ON)

3.94/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2009 version. Purchased three days ago from yet another in a never ending stream of disinterested and unfriendly employees at the brewery's beer store.

Pours a dark reddish amber color with no head or retention to speak of soon after.

Smells like cedar chips and the smokiness you'd find in a smoked sausage.

The taste follows, with cedar and smoke. Some slightly sweet caramel malt. Well balanced against the hops bitterness. Finishes dry and woody with a lingering spiciness.

Medium bodied with good carbonation.

I'd classify this as a Rauchbier Märzen, but what do I know? Other than I like it. A solid effort from Amsterdam.
Sep 23, 2009
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.62 by Electros from Canada (ON)

Mar 11, 2017
 
Rated: 2.5 by DaPan from Canada (ON)

Feb 12, 2013
Photo of liamt07
Reviewed by liamt07 from Canada (ON)

3.76/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
2012 version, listed at 6.6% on the bottle. Guessing this has had many iterations over the years, but still remains a smoked Bavarian lager.

Filtered copper body, beige head, with good retention and lace. Light caramel, bread and some mild smoked notes on the nose. A bit toasty. Taste is about the same, toasty, bready, caramel and smoke on the backend. Simple, medium feel - medium carbonation. A touch of alcohol. Easily drinkable, I'd enjoy this by the stein.
Nov 15, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by MattPS from Canada (ON)

Oct 02, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by Molson2000 from Canada (ON)

Sep 10, 2012
Photo of Seanstoppable
Reviewed by Seanstoppable from Canada (NS)

3.4/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Received this recently from MeisterBurger. I was somewhat leery about it, given my dissatisfaction with Amsterdam beers in the past, as well as Oktoberfest beers, but I was cooking up some sausages and pulled this from the fridge at the same time.

Pours a reddish brown color. Very minimal head, with what there is evaporating almost immediately.

No scent that I could detect.

Some sweet caramel malts are easy to detect. Some minor nut flavoring as well. Some smokiness comes through, which does remind me of smoked sausages, like other reviewers have mentioned. Dry finish as the smoky flavor lingers in the mouth.

Not something that I would probably usually drink, but goes fairly well with oktoberfest related foods.
Nov 01, 2009
Photo of bobsy
Reviewed by bobsy from Canada (ON)

3.49/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
This is the 2009 version, brewed as a marzen-rauchbier and aged for six and a half weeks.

Pours a rich chestnut colour, with a short lived tan head that exhibits the brewery's continuing problems with retention. Sweet, smoky aroma (like charred wood), with a toasty base and a hint of spice. Flavour seems a little too simple for my liking, as well as too sweet. It starts off with smoke, moves on to sweet bready malts, before moving on to brown sugar and a spicy woodiness in the finish. Smoke lingers on the palate a while longer. Body is good for the style - medium feel with a decent carbonation.

I do like this beer, although I think the residual sugars are too high for it to be sessionable for me, and I prefer the other local oktoberfests over this. Well worth a try though, and an interesting take on the style.
Oct 06, 2009
Photo of cyrenaica
Reviewed by cyrenaica from Canada (ON)

4.25/5  rDev +22.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
20oz draught
6.0% ABV
I tried this beer on October 21, 2008 at "Smokeless Joe's" in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The beer pours a clear dark reddish gold with a thick creamy tan coloured head. The aroma was sweet malt, with some citrusy hints, and some smokiness. The mouthfeel was full-bodied, slightly creamy, with medium carbonation. The flavour was sweet, malty, with a dry finish.
Jul 06, 2009
Photo of Imstillthegman
Reviewed by Imstillthegman from Delaware

3.94/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Another brew courtesy of Derek. Thanks!

I come home from work and there's a freshly poured beer and dinner waiting on the table. Damn, what a lady my wife is! She's a keeper. She shows me the bottle so that I'll know what I am drinking.

My glass was filled with a coppery amber colored brew with good clarity. Very thin head, no lacing. Looks more like a soda than a beer.

The aroma caught my attention right away. I forgot he had said he sent a smoked Oktoberfest. Smoked malts, roasted nuts, bread, and a bit of caramel. Very interesting.

The flavor was as equally interesting. Tasted like a classic Oktoberfest...only smoked. Caramel, spices, nutty bread, all covered with a burning smoke.

Good feel, good carbonation. I could easily drink more than one of these. At first I wasn't sure about this one, but after a few sips the smoke was just a complement, and not an end-all flavor.
Nov 03, 2008
Photo of Phyl21ca
Reviewed by Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)

3.32/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Bottle: Poured a light amber color lager with an average size head with good retention but no lacing. Aroma of caramel malt is quite refreshing. Taste is also dominated by some caramel malt with not much discernable hops. Body is average with good carbonation. Not the most complex of beer but well done for what it is supposed to be.
Oct 27, 2008
Photo of Derek
Reviewed by Derek from Canada (BC)

3.94/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2008 version, 5.5%, reviewed 10/2/2008 (A3,S4,T4,M4,D4). This is actually brewed in the spring & lagered 'til the fall. After last years, I really wasn't sure if it was a good idea to age a smoked brew. Well, this one's quite nice. None of that cardboard-like oxidation.

A: Copper-amber with a light tan head, very little retention or lace.

S: Smokey spiciness like a sausage, sweet caramel & nut bread.

T: Nice spicing, fairly smokey (I could use a little less in an Octoberfest), light caramel, nut, good bitterness.

M: Moderate body is well-attenuated with a dry finish.

D: Enticing & quenching. Quite drinkable.

Prost!

2007 version, 5.5%, reviewed 10/24/2007 (A3,S4,T3,M4,D3.5). Really more of a Rauchbier than an Octoberfest. This one's just as smokey as a fresh Schlenkerla Marzen.

A: Deep amber/copper with a light tan head. Very little retention or lace.

S: Smokey, spicy, caramel & bread.

T: Smokey spicyness like a sausage, good bitterness, dark caramel, hints of nuts & toasted bread. Slightly oxidized (flat, cardboard flavour).

M: Light to moderate body, modest carbonation, yet slightly prickley.

D: Good intro to a Rauchbier, but for an Octoberfest, some people might find the smokeyness a little much.
Oct 24, 2007
Photo of Viggo
Reviewed by Viggo from Canada (ON)

3.28/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
This is the 2006 edition of this beer, now clocking in at 8.2%!

Pours a clear ruby, small but thick off white head forms, some spots of lacing, good retention. Smell is sweet and malty, some caramel, fruits, cherry in particular, little bit of smoke, little bit of alcohol. Taste is sweet, toffee, some smoke, diacetyl bomb, super buttery, some alcohol in the finish. Mouthfeel was medium bodied with medium carbonation, pretty smooth. The only thing that really bothered me was the diacetyl, otherwise I thought this was a pretty decent effort by a brewery I had given up on. I'd give them another chance.
Nov 16, 2006
Photo of TerryW
Reviewed by TerryW from Canada (ON)

2.43/5  rDev -30.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
Poured up a little rusty/muddy looking with a decent head, but laceless. Slightly smoky, malty nose.

Thin-bodied overall with a slight chemical taste which makes the beer slightly unpleasant. Some smokiness and other burnt flavours.

Not really interesting in any particular way,chemical character is off-putting.
Oct 21, 2006
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

2.58/5  rDev -25.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
Significant smoke and some other lager that is passable, but the whole thing didn't get pulled off. Smoke-like colour and smoke in aroma. Undesireable mustiness and I agree with Pootz/Pootzboy its like burnt toast. Some malts thrown in to get it down. Not too tasty and unfinished glass.
Jan 02, 2005
Photo of pootz
Reviewed by pootz from Canada (ON)

3.55/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Bottled, 5.5% ABV fresh from the brewery. Pour shows a nice orange-amber clear beer with a rocky off white cap that reduces to a lace fairly quickly. Nose is dominated with a mild smokey mustiness, light malty smells much like a mild rauchbier. Front side is pleasantly malty, slight sweetness,...herbal hops sit in the background ...medium-light body with a smokey presense. Finish is not too quick with the smokey malts and hops leaving an impression of burnt toast on the palate. This is a hybrid mild Rauchbier with a medium bodied Marzen...carried off well. The best lager from this brewer.

This beer just complimented the waterloo county spareribs and set the meal right up.
Oct 14, 2004
Oktoberfest Lager from Amsterdam Brewing Company
Beer rating: 82 out of 100 with 16 ratings