Oktoberfest
Franklin's Restaurant, Brewery & General Store

On tap at Franklin's.

Slightly hazed dark copper/amber with a light beige head. Decent retention and lacing. Bready and malty nose with a mild earthy hop presence. Flavor is smooth and malt dominant, though not overly sweet or cloying with a slight earthy finish. Light bitterness and a medium, smooth body. Drinkable and enjoyable.

On draft at the new and improved Franklin's. Beer is dark brown / amber and kind of hazy. There is a nice brown light head that leaves a decent amount of lacing on the glass. Carbonation is moderate. Head retention is OK. Its a little dark maybe but looks fine.

There is a nice malt character to the aroma. Its simple but appropriate. Mild hop character, but its earthy. Smells good.

Beer is medium in body and has a decent malt backbone that leads off with some mild sweetness and follows up with some moderate grassy earthiness from the noble hops (I assume). It finishes completely without an aftertaste. They serve their beer too cold but this place is definitely on the up swing. I find myself going back there frequently. Bitterness is moderate to low but appropriate. It was nice.

Here i am at Jaxx, waiting for Katatonia to go on. It seems like a good time to get a tick in. 
 
On tap at the brewpub with dinner. 



A surprisingly dark amber, at least for the style, there's a dense, light brown head with good retention and lacing. Served too cold, it takes a while for the nose to open up. When it does, it's pretty excellent. Rich and moderately bready with some vienna-like malt character, there's a solid undercurrent of hoppiness with some earthy and mildly leafy character. The palate replicates the nose, with the emphasis being on the malt character that, while rich, is light and not too sweet. The beer dries up on the finish, with the hops coming through. Excellently balanced, both the malt and hops linger on the finish, with the earthy bitterness countering the mild sweetness present. Medium light in body with moderate carbonation, this beer feels great on the palate and is a great domestic version of the style. Mike Roy has really stepped up the game here since he came on board and i'd love to see more advocacy for his work.