The Big O Oktoberfest
Pennichuck Brewing Company, Inc.

 

I hear Pennichuck closed operations last year. It's too bad, because the brews I had of theirs were excellent. And this Octoberfest lager just proves that again. They'll be missed.

A: Delicious looking dark amber. With an average-sized foamy off-white head.

S: Pleasantly sweet caramel malts, almost a bit of banana, brown sugar, and a faint overall aroma of soda bread with raisins.

T: Smooth, sweet malts are up front. This tastes smoother and slightly sweeter than most other marzens I've had.

M: Smooth, with average carbonation.

D: I could drink a bunch of these. It tastes slightly boozy for something that shouldn't, but not so boozy that you couldn't throw back a few.

One of the sweeter marzens I've had - but it's not desserty. It's right up my alley. Bravo to Pennichuck.

A: Crystal clear copper color with ruby tones. Small off white head that fades quickly.

S: Light malty aroma. Sweetbread, some carmel and brown sugar. Unfortunately, the aroma is very faint.

T: Sweet and malty. Carmel and brown sugar with hints of toffee. Also some bready and grassy notes. Finishes with a touch of hops.

M: Light to medium bodied, appropriate for the style.

D: Overall, this is a good Marzen. Nice flavor, and highly drinkable. I could easily put down several bombers of The Big O.

Poured from a 22 ounce bomer into a pint glass.

Pours very dark brown with very little white foam - mahogeny brown.

Powerful malty smell, slightly sweet, hints of caramel. Notes of brown sugar.

Malty hop taste, relatively clean. Could almost be a vienna lager from this taste - much cleaner than a typical marzen. Very lightly carbonated in the mouthfeel.

Quite drinkable - solid brew.

Poured from a 22 ounce bottle into a standard pint glass.

A: A dark brownish red with a big two finger off white head. Full glass lacing.

S: Sweet biscuit and caramel sweetness with some grassy earthy notes.

T: Big malt bill with flavors of caramel, toffee, dried fruit and some bready earthy flavors. A slight hop bite at the end, but the caramel sweetness comes back to finish the beer. Very sweet beer, almost too much so for a Marzen/Ofest.

M: Medium at best, sweetness hangs on. No alcohol flavors.

D: Medium, the sweetness wears on me.

Overall not the best example of a great Ofest/Marzen as the sweetness seems to be over the top. A bit more hops would really make this a nice beer to cut down the sweet. Still glad I tried it, very cool label by the way.

22oz bottle poured out in a orange redish color. Smells like most Marzens' I've had in the past. Nice taste, slight caramel and malt. Reminds me of a Marzen which is good but just a wee sweeter than normal, which I actually like. Subtle note of cinnamon/brown sugar. Nice feel in the mouth no alcohol taste at all. I could go through a few of these bombers with no problems. I am sorry to think there is a chance I may never be able to have this again.

22oz bomber poured into an oktoberfest .5l glass.

Pours a nice crystal clear dark amber/ruby. With a small off white thin head. Nose is Toasty, malty and a bit sweet.

Taste is a bit too sweet and not quite as toasty as I like my marzens, but still very drinkable and smooth. Light carbonation and crisp finish!

Reddish orange with an off-white head of sticky foam that rises up a full foamy inch and settles out slowly to a fine cap.

Inviting aroma of grainy malt, some breadiness, notes of toffee and cinnamon.

Rich flavor of sharp-edged maltiness, bready and toffee/caramelly, but notes of dried leaves and subtle smokiness ride along. Sharp bitterness without hop flavors, good balance to the maltiness. Moderate warming from the alcohol.

Rich and full mouthfeel with moderate carbonation. Tasty beer with good drinkability, interesting take on the style.

Pours a dark golden ruby/coppery amber color with a .5 finger off white head that quickly dissipates into a lasting ring.

Roasted malt aroma with a lot of autumnal spice. Toasty caramel, biscuit malt that has a slight nut character. Hints of cinnamon and brown sugar.

Crisp medium body with lots of toasty malt, autumnal spice, sweet fruit and subtle hops. Lots of sweet caramel malt with a good amount of roasted toasty flavor along with spicy cinnamon and brown sugar. Slight biscuit presence and nice crisp dry hops in the finish. Very nice balance of sweet and roasted notes and the ABV is completely undetectable. The spiciness is pretty prominent with some subtle vanilla and clove to go along with the cinnamon/brown sugar notes. Nice interpretation of the style.

I figured it was time for my first review on BA since I have been reviewing beer "unofficially" for awhile now and what better way to start than with The Big O as Pennichuck sadly reaches its demise.

Poured from a 22oz. bomber into my "Beer Is Proof That God Loves Us And Wants Us To Be Happy" pint glass. Thanks, Benjamin, for those words of wisdom.

Appearance: Nice amber, copper orange hue. Poured a solid frothy tan head that dissipated into a nice 1/2 inch leaving a light sticky lacing.

Smell: Caramel, toffee, malty malt and some sweetness. Nice smell for an Oktoberfest with some lingering stone fruit.

Taste: Malt and sweetness hits the palate right away, but it is a good feeling. A nice floral hop aroma comes in the background, but it is mostly like raisin bread with a hint of nutty pecan.

Mouthfeel: Smooth with a nice body and mild but appropriate carbonation for this style.

Drinkability: A drinkable beer, for sure, with a bit on lingering sweetness. As it warms, the sweetness and malt flavor increases, but is still very pleasing.

Quite satisfying on a crisp fall evening especially while taking in an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Moderate pour into a pint glass gives 2 fingers of bubbly tawny head. Deep orange-red brew, perfectly clear. Head settles to a decent layer after a minute or two. A nice looking beer. A thick malt sweetness complicated by faint notes of sour cherry, raspberries, caramel exudes from the glass. Taste of the malts is darker and less sweet than I expected from the smell. Lots of fruit and floral elements, red raspberry in particular. A slight alcohol presence accentuates the mild hopiness, especially in the finish. A tiny bit of banana flavor is coming through as it warms. Mouthfeel is very even... not slick, not dry, appropriate carbonation. A fair amount of lacing is left as I near the bottom of the glass.

On pouring a second glass from this 22oz bomber, this time a little heavier on the pour, I get a wonderful 2-finger cake of foam with great retention.

Overall a pretty good brew. Worth looking for next year.

Purchased on 10/30/09 from the distributor in Brooklyn

A: Dark amber with little head and moderate lacing. Not ugly but nothing special here.

S: The expected malts are there but they're overpowered by cloyingly sweet dark fruits. This was surprising for an Oktoberfest but I like dark sweet beers, however this almost smells like someone poured cheap juice in the beer...not very pleasant.

T: The aforementioned dark fruits and malt are present at the beginning, though less sweet than expected from the smell. Then we go downhill. As the beer hits the back of my mouth, the fruits turn sour and the hops kick in for a bitter finish that doesn't mesh well at all. The balance seems all wrong and I'm left with an unpleasant taste in my mouth that makes the next sip more a chore than pleasure.

M: The carbonation seems to settle around my tongue, helping to reduce the sweetness to bearable levels, while overall the carbonation is lower than I'd expect.

D: It's just not pleasant to me.

I'll finish the growler (this is a recession and all!) but I have no plans to go near this brew again.

This *could* be on the verge of being skunked, which would explain a lot, but I've had good luck at this beer place so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that it wasn't.

just heard the semi-official news that pennichuck is closing down. since beers from establishments marked "closed" on this site can't be reviewed, i figured i needed to enter this one in before the entry gets mothballed.

22oz bomber. no date or batch code found. tasted in early october 2009.

very deep copper, w dark amber tones. clear. 2-finger beige head, fades to wisps and ring. consistent rings of thin but webby lace.

aroma: very rich maltiness - caramelized and biscuity sweet. touch of apple juice esters. gentle leafy (noble?) hops. trace fusels in back, but not too distracting.

taste: nice and malty, like the aroma in quality, but slightly subdued in comparison. touch of esters again too. the fusel/phenol comes out slightly, along with the alcohol, but never truly gets in the way, luckily. mild to moderate bitterness. sweetness is more on the estery spectrum than it should be, but nothing too bad.

medium body, almost lightly syrupy at times. moderate astringency in finish. moderate carbonation, gives some body, accentuated slightly by possible fusel/phenol/alcohol note - but again, nothing that's actually too distracting.

the taste score should be about a 3.6 or even a 3.7

i've bumped drinkability up one half point to compensate

not the greatest out there, but it's not too pricey either (for a bomber). was worth a try, and sad to see them close down.

22oz bomber purchased at McKinnon's in Salem. Pours a crystal-clear red body with a half inch of khaki-colored head that dissipates rather quickly. Smells bready and nutty with strong toasty notes. Tastes sweet and toasty, with caramel and toffee notes, with the toffee becoming very apparent and rich in the finish and aftertaste. Roasty dark chocolate notes also are a strong undertone. Medium-bodied with moderate to full carbonation. Very drinkable. A solid Oktoberfest - possibly the best American example I've had to date. Another slam-dunk for Pennichuck.

An amber colored body with about a finger and a half of tan head. Preatt good lacing is left behind on the glass.

Sweet malts pair with spicy, fruity hops in the aroma to create a pleasant smell.

A crackery, sweet malt flavor with a touch of molasses. The hop profile has some spicy character, but to me it also has a good amount of bitterness along with some pine and citrus characteristics. It tastes like a german o-fest that uses American hops.

Mouthfeel is probably on the heavy side for the style. Moderate carbonation.

Pretty drinkable beer. Overall I like it, but I think the hop profile would be better for the style if it leaned more heavily upon noble hops.

Poured from a 22oz. bottle into a mug glass.

A: The beer is a bright reddish orange color with a short off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of caramelized malts, fruit, some spice and some hops.

T: The taste is very well-balanced with sweet flavors of dark fruit and a little bit of spice; bready flavors of lager yeast and grain; and a mild but complementary hops bitterness. The malt character is hearty but not too heavy. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and very smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: Very tasty, goes down quite easily, not too filling, decent kick, very good representation of style, this is an excellent O-fest with a lot of flavor and substance that makes it worth drinking for a long time.

Poured a sparkling amber hue with a one finger foamy white head. There was very good retention and lacing.

The smell featured a musty noble hop coupled with an earthy caramel malt.

The taste was very earthy with a moderate caramel and a beautiful noble hop spice.

The mouthfeel was toward the fuller side of the style.

Overall a very well done Octoberfest.

A 22 ounce bomber bottle purchased at Abe's in Bethlehem. Poured into my nonic pint glass. Appears a hazed rich apricot color with a good inch of creamy light rust colored foam. Flavors and aromas consist of molasses, sweet caramelized malt (a good dose of malt actually), toasted bread, fruity apples. A notch or two better than medium bodied with ample carbonation. Finish is sweet and a bit syrupy. A very satisfying marzen for a chilly fall night.

I really enjoyed this beer; I thought it was a bit more flavorful than the usual Oktoberfest. In a pint glass the beer was a ruby red color with a thick tan head that lingered all the way down. Sweet caramel malt aroma, a little spice. Strong caramel malt taste, mild spice, and a little fruit. A full-bodied beer, will want to get some more of this one.

Saturday, October 4, the day before Oktoberfest's completion, and my final Oktoberfestbier of the celebration comes from Pennichuck Brewing.

Poured from a 22 oz. bomber into a Seidel.

Shows a clear, ruby-copper hue, capped by a half-inch off-white/light tan head of creamy foam. Head retention is decent, but stickage is a little lax.

Nose is full of malty goodness, sweet and toasty with just a tad of maple drizzled over the top. Some grassy hop notes are interspersed. Very pleasing and inviting.

A wonderful medium-full body drapes the tongue, rich and chewy, perfectly accentuating the toffeed, toasted malt palate. Sweetbread, biscuit, toffee, some faint caramel and brown sugar; hops show themselves in the middle to keep things balanced by leave the malt to take center stage, with a finish that is mildly dry and clean with some lingering malt sweetness on the back of the tongue. Alcohol shows itself not on the palate, but is apparent afterward in the head.

A wonderful, bold example of the style, the likes of which is not seen often in the gaggle of seasonal Oktoberfest/Märzen beers released for the fall. Certainly a nice end to the celebration and a top-notch example befitting those strong, malty brews originally brewed in the spring for lagering until Fall. Highly recommended.