Oktoberfest (2019)
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

The completely clear rich bronze/amber colored beer pours into a Duvel glass with an off-white 1/2” head that persists for a long time as it very slowly recedes. Sipping creates a pair of arches and patches of small to medium lacing. There’s also a sheet of foam on most of the other sides of the glass that eventually breaks up. The patches of foam on the sipping side of the glass mostly remain until the next sip. Eventually the head recedes to a thin irregular island of foam, a small ring around the glass and a solid sheet of foam on part of the glass not used for sipping.

At first the aromas are mostly about the malt with it’s bready and caramel or toffee like character. In the background there’s just a bit of herbal earthiness showing and then as the warming takes hold the hops move further towards the front.

The flavors are much as expected from the nose with some bready malt, some caramel/toffee with some background herbal, earthiness The sweetness is pleasant and well controlled by some herbal bitterness, maybe too much so. As the beer warms slowly it seems that the herbal, earthy bitterness emerges and moves further forward to play a much more prominent role in the flavor profile.

The mouthfeel is on the light side of medium bodied and pleasantly crisp from the persistent but moderate carbonation. The finish begins with the malt sweetness and caramel/toffee slowly fading and leaving the herbal/earthy bitterness to more slowly fade. The fading persists into the long dry ending that slowly disappears in the back of the palate.

Overall this is typical of what we can expect from Sierra Nevada’s collaborations, a solid, enjoyable well brewed beer that is complex enough to hold attention but sippable enough to enjoy without much attention to what it is. It’s not my favorite Oktoberfest I’ve tried, nor do I think it is the best of the collaborations, but it is a nice OK variation from those. A drinkable fairly enjoyable beer that would fit either sipping or drinking nicely and could easily serve as the only beer on offer during an evening spent with friends and good conversation. I could easily have more than one or two of these in an evening. This is definitely above my threshold to buy again but I would prefer the bitterness more in the background all the way through.

 

RB transfer

(review from August 2019) S See previous reviews of various versions of SN Oktoberfest. lightly more caramelly flavor than last years version but as light on the palate. Very smooth, quaffable & easy drinking!

 

 

 

 

 

Pours the prototypical amber color indicative of autumn and oktoberfest. Big 4/5" off white head. Great retention. Poured into a dirty 90s Brewer's glass during a Brewer's game. Aroma of fall, caramel maltiness, light woody aspect despite no wood being used.

Taste is right where you would expect two traditional world class breweries to go with this. The ever lasting caramel waves are actually not heavy on the mouth feel, good carbonation works wonders in that regard. The slightest Magnum and Loral bitterness under the surface. Has the darker more sophisticated breadiness without the heft or stickiness that befalls lesser caramalt kind of beers. Light almond/marzipan like qualities as it warms up.

These are very easy to drink, the six pack I bought was blown through much quicker than expected, almost everyone I associate with likes these kinds of beers. Still works at the ballfield or on the river even if in the words of George Strait, you start to feel the chill of an early fall.

 

 

 

2019:
Appearance: Pours a dark, rich amber color with a strong brown tint to remind me of whiskey. SRM of 15 (4.00)

Aroma: Light on the aroma. Aromas of rich, earthy, bread and caramel. (3.50)

Flavor: Flavors are more bread and caramel. A touch of spice and maple syrup. Very much like french toast. Yet, finishes dry and smoother than I expected. (4.00)

Feel: Medium bodied. Good carbonation. The carbonation cleans off the malt flavors. Very clean on the finish. (3.50)

Overall: Maybe my expectations were too high for this one. Sort of simple caramel malt profile similar to their pale ale. Then a unique maple and French toast component which is pleasant, but still doesn't stand up to some of the German brewers. (Final Rating: 3.78)
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2020:
Appearance: Medium orange, clear, with a soft off-white head. SRM of 10-11. Lighter than I expected. (3.75)

Aroma: Light bread and orange with nothing else there. Severly dissapointing and not what I expected.

Flavor: Flavor is daft too. Some orange, nectar, pine. Mildly bready malt flavors. Drinks like a pale ale with some sweetness and hints of bitterness.

Feel: Medium-bodied. Low carbonation. Sweet, pine and malt finish.

Compared to SN Summerfest 8/23/20: Pours a darker color. More resinous orange and darker malt. Less orchard fruit and pale malt. slightly more bready, and less tart. Overall, very similar. I think we all know who copied whose homework here.

Compared to Bell's Oktoberfest 2020 8/30/20: Pours a lighter color. Stronger aromas of resinous orange and pine. Less smooth bread and cream. More fruity and hoppy. Not very similar, but neither are standard for the style.

Overall: I find myself asking what happened here? Reviewing this beer as an Oktoberfest beer is difficult. It drinks nothing like a Marzen or Oktoberfest bier. I suspect this is their Pale Ale, mislabeled, and rather I am drinking their SN Pale Ale, which is what this tastes like. I don't know what happened, but this 2020 version is a bust, or I have the wrong beer here. Nothing to do with Oktoberfest with this one. Between their Pale Ale, 40th Anniversary, Summerfest, and this one, these beers are starting to meld together.

 

4/12/20...a little late for octoberfest, but nevertheless, pours medium copper amber with very low foam that settles to nothing. Light caramel malty nose. Little pilsy too. Firm mouthfeel, all malt, fades quickly. Little bite. Nice carbonation embedded. Hints of maple and sweetness. Nice/. but not remarkable.

A: crystal clear; copper in color; 1+ finger finely pored off white head that receded to a skim cap; nice lacing;

S: toasted grain, floral, and a touch of spice;

T: toasted grain up front; through the middle, floral comes in; finish is all floral with mild bitterness;

M: medium bodied; moderate, creamy carbonation; dry finish;

O: my favorite of their Oktoberfest collabs so far;

Appearance: Deep amber, with a nice off-whit head of fine suds and fenceposts of lace.

Aroma: Biscuit malty, caramel, toasty. Nice and faithful.

Taste: Sweet, malty, caramel and toasty with floral hops right in balance. Tons of flavor here, easy to drink and as top-tier as expected from Sierra Nevada and Bitburger. As near a fresh Oktoberfest as we Americans can hope to have!