Penn Oktoberfest
Pennsylvania Brewing Company

The pour is copper colored with a sufficient amount of carbonation. The taste is toasted brown bread crust, caramel, & a hint of honey. Cheers! B

 

 

 

1.5 x 12 oz bottle
Glassware: 0.5 L Festmug
Temp at Pour: 52.4
ABV: 5.5%
Date Consumed (and Rated): 24.Sept.2022


Look:
Rich and slight dark but clear copper. Initial 2-finger off white head is very fizzy and disappears very quickly leaving no lacing.

Smell:
Toasted bread with some toasted bread crusts. Some fresh but mostly dried hay. Somehow, the aroma is … dry.

Taste:
Starts off with a sweet note that fades quickly and is replaced by bready malts. A spiciness that is a bit shy of zesty asserts itself at almost the same time and stays throughout the sip and into the aftertaste. Things dry out at this point and the sip finishes nicely dry and even somewhat woody and earthy with toasted malts in the background.

Feel:
Crisp and smooth. The body is medium.

Overall:
A fairly decent Oktoberfest. Very nicely dry with the toasty, bready, and spicy notes that I look for in the Märzen style.

I first had this back in the 00s (back when American Oktos were mostly sweet malt bombs) and it quickly became part of my Okto Rotation. I purchase some every fall if I can find it.

 

 

Pours a crystal clear copper with a pinky's worth of fluffy white head that thins to a sheen with little fanfare. Smells malt-forward; biscuit-y and hyper-clean. Slightly metallic. Not much in the way of hoppy bitterness. Tastes nice enough; largely as it smells, including the metallicism, unfortunately. Fans of Celtic Frost will find it agreeable. Perfectly dry and crispy body is where this shines. That's definitely what I want in a Marzen. The rest could use a slight tune-up, though.

Undated 12 oz bottle from Pennsylvania.
Appearance. This has a particularly attractive body with high clarity but is topped with a short, weak head.
The flavor is fairly typical for style if a bit less bitter and hoppy than average. Smooth, clean and easy drinking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from the Bottle into a Nonic pint. 2019 vintage.

A: beautiful light copper with a decent white head that compacts into a thicker collar than full disk, but there is some center section of head that kinda looks like a manatee swimming on top my beer. Clear from floaties and haze, which is beneficial for increasing this beer's appearance points.

S: Bready malts, more malt than hops. Hops are gentle Noble-style varieties as expected for a proper Oktoberfest. Yeast is unobtrusive and did it's job without crowding out the malts. It's good, but I'd like a hair bit more maltiness on this nose.

T: exactly what you'd expect from a very drinkable Oktoberfest. It is not as gentle as a Helles Okto, but it is not as pushy with the malts as some American Oktoberfest interpretations. Just enough big-malt and just enough gentle, noble style hops.

M: Righteous. Body is spot on for a good fest beer at a solid medium and the carbo is spot on without being overly carbo'd. It borders on spritely due to this, but it never rudely interrupts the body, rather it complements it nicely.

O: If you try it and like the Helles and Marzen styles, think "what if the Helles and Marzen Oktoberfests had a baby". It'd be a beer that kinda resembles this one. Not overly caramel malted, not as light as a Helles Oktoberfest.

 

 

No bottling date; Reviewed 8/29/18

Look- Pours crystal clear deep amber-hued golden with a two finger off white head that quickly dissipates to a thin coating; spotty lacing

Aroma- getting some bready malt and light toast note, along with floral hops

Taste- bready, crusty malt with a toast-like quality followed by floral hops with just a little bit of bitterness

Feel- medium-bodied with just a little bit of bitterness

Overall- enjoyable Oktoberfestbier with nicely balanced hops and malts