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Okto Festival Ale
Widmer Brothers Brewing Company
- From:
- Widmer Brothers Brewing Company
- Oregon, United States
- Style:
- Altbier
Ranked #83 - ABV:
- 5.3%
- Score:
- 78
Ranked #26,762 - Avg:
- 3.44 | pDev: 13.66%
- Reviews:
- 191
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Nov 02, 2023
- Added:
- Oct 29, 2002
- Wants:
- 12
- Gots:
- 37
Classified as a German Altbier by the Widmer Brothers; brewed with an (ale) Alt yeast strain.
availability: early Aug. - late Oct.
bitterness : 28 IBU
original gravity: 13.5° PLATO
availability: early Aug. - late Oct.
bitterness : 28 IBU
original gravity: 13.5° PLATO
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by constantine_272:
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by Suds from Missouri
3.61/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
3.61/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
From a twelve ounce can, this brew has a pleasant, clear amber color, a firm off-white head, and some effervescence. The aroma moderately malty, with a bread-crust quality. The taste is sweetish, and the body is full. Not bad, but not exceptional.
Oct 16, 2022Reviewed by izraelc from New York
3.5/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.5/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a medium brown. Light foam. Malty aroma. Sweet malt body. Bread dough and caramel. Light sweet finish. More like a brown ale than an oktoberfest. Average at best.
Oct 16, 2022Reviewed by defunksta from Wisconsin
3.83/5 rDev +11.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.83/5 rDev +11.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: Pours a mostly clear, medium, deep orange color with a mild off-white head. SRM of 11. (3.75)
Aroma: Relatively moderate aromas of bread malt, crusty cereal malt. Some caramel evolves as it warms, but largely pale.
Flavor: Moderate flavors of bread malt and pale malt. Strong bready flavors and a smooth malty finish. Some deeper caramel evolves from the bread as it warms. Not too sweet.
Feel: Medium to heavier bodied. Properly carbonated and a full mouthfeel and bread malt lingers off the finish.
Overall: A pretty decent Marzen here. Very bready. Not spiced or amber malt from an altbier like I would expect. I would describe this as a bready Marzen. Relatively pale, but a strong bready flavor and nice mouthfeel. Not too sweet and full. It's not bad as bad as the ratings suggest. Bready and enjoyable. (Rating: 3.83)
Sep 25, 2022Aroma: Relatively moderate aromas of bread malt, crusty cereal malt. Some caramel evolves as it warms, but largely pale.
Flavor: Moderate flavors of bread malt and pale malt. Strong bready flavors and a smooth malty finish. Some deeper caramel evolves from the bread as it warms. Not too sweet.
Feel: Medium to heavier bodied. Properly carbonated and a full mouthfeel and bread malt lingers off the finish.
Overall: A pretty decent Marzen here. Very bready. Not spiced or amber malt from an altbier like I would expect. I would describe this as a bready Marzen. Relatively pale, but a strong bready flavor and nice mouthfeel. Not too sweet and full. It's not bad as bad as the ratings suggest. Bready and enjoyable. (Rating: 3.83)
Reviewed by Skywave from Oklahoma
3.5/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
3.5/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Appearance:
Orange-light copper, Thin head, moderate lace, clear and polished. Altbiers should be darker, more of a mahogany hue.
Aroma:
lightly toasted sweet biscuity malt, minimal hops. no esters.
Flavor:
Mild Munich malt character, some alcohol, weak hops. Some slight fruitiness.
Mouthfeel:
Light. Low-ish CO2, no astringency or harsh MF
Overall:
It's been years -- several years-- since I had a real German Altbier (Frankenheim and such) and this is not like that. Tastes more like a milder, fruitier US-made Marzen or American Bock.
Sep 22, 2022Orange-light copper, Thin head, moderate lace, clear and polished. Altbiers should be darker, more of a mahogany hue.
Aroma:
lightly toasted sweet biscuity malt, minimal hops. no esters.
Flavor:
Mild Munich malt character, some alcohol, weak hops. Some slight fruitiness.
Mouthfeel:
Light. Low-ish CO2, no astringency or harsh MF
Overall:
It's been years -- several years-- since I had a real German Altbier (Frankenheim and such) and this is not like that. Tastes more like a milder, fruitier US-made Marzen or American Bock.
Reviewed by dkoehler42 from New York
3.52/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.52/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
From Widmer Brothers is Ok to Festival Ale. It's actually an altbier, which isn't actually a märzen or festbier, which feels like cheating being in an Oktoberfest pack. It pours a hazy copper with a thin white head. Sweet malt aroma is clear as day. The sweetness is not as immediately present on the taste. Initially, I had a metallic flavor before it settles into the sweetness I smelled. Most of the mouthfeel is inoffensive. It's not bad, but I wouldn't put this in a marketed Oktoberfest pack.
Sep 21, 2022Reviewed by MaltsOfGlory from Oregon
3.54/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
3.54/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
12oz can
Pours two fingers of tan head into my can-style glass. Retention is average and the head mostly fades within a few minutes. Lacing is pretty good. Body is a dark burnt orange, high clarity, with a moderate amount of bubbles coming up. Looks pretty nice.
Nose is biscuity, with some faint fruity esters, slightly sweet. Not a super big nose, but it smells pretty decent.
Flavor is ok, a little malty, some biscuit. Fruity esters do start to show up as the beer warms, but overall the aroma has a hard time coming through to the flavor.
Carbonation is on the lighter side, I agitated it a decent amount though. Body is medium. Just slightly bitter. Touch of sweetness, well attenuated though. Pretty straight forward mouthfeel.
Drinkability is very nice.
Definitely seems more like a Marzen than a Altbier, like some past versions have been apparently marketed. Overall not terrible, probably better than the rep it gets. Still, the flavor certainly leaves a little to be desired, not a whole lot going on there.
Sep 13, 2022Pours two fingers of tan head into my can-style glass. Retention is average and the head mostly fades within a few minutes. Lacing is pretty good. Body is a dark burnt orange, high clarity, with a moderate amount of bubbles coming up. Looks pretty nice.
Nose is biscuity, with some faint fruity esters, slightly sweet. Not a super big nose, but it smells pretty decent.
Flavor is ok, a little malty, some biscuit. Fruity esters do start to show up as the beer warms, but overall the aroma has a hard time coming through to the flavor.
Carbonation is on the lighter side, I agitated it a decent amount though. Body is medium. Just slightly bitter. Touch of sweetness, well attenuated though. Pretty straight forward mouthfeel.
Drinkability is very nice.
Definitely seems more like a Marzen than a Altbier, like some past versions have been apparently marketed. Overall not terrible, probably better than the rep it gets. Still, the flavor certainly leaves a little to be desired, not a whole lot going on there.
Reviewed by jkblr from Indiana
3.31/5 rDev -3.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.31/5 rDev -3.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
12oz can PKGD ON JUN21 22 poured into a becher glass at fridge temp 5.5% 26 IBU. The beer pours mostly bright light amber with off white head. The head recedes to a pencil thin ring and island. The aroma is mild with toasted malt. The taste is toasted malt with mild orchard fruit and and a little funky tang. Mild to negligible bitterness. The mouthfeel is thin to medium bodied with just less than average carbonation and a semi dry finish. Overall, not great.
Sep 01, 2022Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada
3/5 rDev -12.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
3/5 rDev -12.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Dull orange pour, 1/2" off white head. Average retention. Aroma was mild sweetened malt grain stuff.
Taste was smooth, hopping low, mild nuttiness. A little bit of caramel mouthfeel.
Slow smooth ride on this one, nothing jumping, nothing off flavored.
Mar 01, 2016Taste was smooth, hopping low, mild nuttiness. A little bit of caramel mouthfeel.
Slow smooth ride on this one, nothing jumping, nothing off flavored.
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania
3.25/5 rDev -5.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25
3.25/5 rDev -5.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25
My first beer in Support of New Beer Sunday (Week 573) will be another from the Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody. I am actually starting to make real, noticeable progress; bottles are getting recycled; caps are being saved for art projects; 4- & 6-pack carriers are being emptied & returned. It is a glorious time!
From the bottle: "Loosen your lederhosen. Our full-bodied Okto Festival Ale is inspired by Bavarian Oktoberfest. [undersigned] Kurt [&] Rob"; "We pay fitting tribute with its distinctive malt flavors, mild floral character and crisp, clean finish. Prost! to the land of Prost!"
A Pop! of the cap & the Festival was underway! I utilized a gentle pour in deference to its relative age and then gave it a vigorous swirl in the glass. This produced a finger of foamy, tawny head with decent retention that slowly fell to wisps. Color was Deep Amber/Light Copper to Copper (SRM = > 13, < 17) with NE-quality clarity. Nose was oddly vegetal, like cooked cabbage, underlain by a biscuit maltiness. I read the style description for an Altbier, but even with the style's quirks and oddities, this does not seem right. Mouthfeel was medium to-full, not quite creamy. The taste was MUCH better than the nose had led me to expect! It was actually quite sweet, very much of caramel or crème brulee. Again, I am not sure that such is stylistically correct, nor would I ever mistake this for an Oktoberfest/Marzen. The sweetness made it more like a dessert beer for me. It was drinkable, certainly, and the finish was only semi-sweet, perhaps as a testament to the yeast having thoroughly done its job. The caramel flavor lingered well after the finish. For me, one was plenty.
Feb 14, 2016From the bottle: "Loosen your lederhosen. Our full-bodied Okto Festival Ale is inspired by Bavarian Oktoberfest. [undersigned] Kurt [&] Rob"; "We pay fitting tribute with its distinctive malt flavors, mild floral character and crisp, clean finish. Prost! to the land of Prost!"
A Pop! of the cap & the Festival was underway! I utilized a gentle pour in deference to its relative age and then gave it a vigorous swirl in the glass. This produced a finger of foamy, tawny head with decent retention that slowly fell to wisps. Color was Deep Amber/Light Copper to Copper (SRM = > 13, < 17) with NE-quality clarity. Nose was oddly vegetal, like cooked cabbage, underlain by a biscuit maltiness. I read the style description for an Altbier, but even with the style's quirks and oddities, this does not seem right. Mouthfeel was medium to-full, not quite creamy. The taste was MUCH better than the nose had led me to expect! It was actually quite sweet, very much of caramel or crème brulee. Again, I am not sure that such is stylistically correct, nor would I ever mistake this for an Oktoberfest/Marzen. The sweetness made it more like a dessert beer for me. It was drinkable, certainly, and the finish was only semi-sweet, perhaps as a testament to the yeast having thoroughly done its job. The caramel flavor lingered well after the finish. For me, one was plenty.
Okto Festival Ale from Widmer Brothers Brewing Company
Beer rating:
78 out of
100 with
511 ratings
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