Octoberfest Lager
Sweetwater Tavern

Pours an amber color with a slight head and lacing
Aroma has malt and hop hints
Taste has malt and hop flavors
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A decent Marzen

 

 

On tap at brewpub:
Pours - clear rusty orange to amber. Initial head is a bit soapy, loose bubbles. Thin ring sustains.

Nose has a light toffee sweetness with a hint of cherry. The flavor follows with an unsurprising malt presence that puts this on the sweeter side of the style. There is a bit of orange zest in there and a little spice bite to break up the sweetness.

Want a little more bite or slightly less sweet. It's far from cloying, which leaves it an enjoyable offering when all is said.

Looking Forward to October

This beer is seasonally available not coincidentally in October. Of all the Octoberfest beers, this is by far my favorite. I'm a summer guy. I like sitting on a hot deck drinking lagers that don't have a lot of punch. But the fact that this is available in October makes the end of summer bearable. It's a good smooth lager. It's got a little more kick than Corona, perfect for a cool October afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

From notes at the brewery: Bartender laced rim of pint glass with pumpkin flavorings. Deep amber coloured body with a thinnish off-white head. Aroma of pumpkin pie spice, malt and a bit of spice. Light to Medium-bodied; Lightish spicey flavour with some pumpkin tastes and more malt. Aftertaste has some caramel sweetness and a bit more spice, but nothing outlandish. Overall, a nice marzen beer with some good spices and a bit of a malty kick - even stronger than usual.

I picked up a growler of this while at a restaurant. I was in a festive mood, and I'll admit that I love Oktoberfest beers. It poured an amber color with a white head.

The smell had sweet malt and slight hop aromas to it. The taste was full of caramel malt with a medium/light hop body to it. The body was nice and full with a bit of sweetness to it. The hop profile was secondary to the malt for sure. Flavors were blended quite well too. Carbonation was medium and consistency was medium as well.

I found this to be a very drinkable beer. Although most beers from this brew-pub are average, I thought this was a good Oktoberfest beer and very enjoybale as a session beer. It's a great thirst-quencher in autumn and I'll look forward to it again next year.

Sampled on tap at the brewpub. Bright, relatively clear copper with minimal head, actually just a few pockets of large bubbles. Muted toasted aroma with some German malts present, but not as rich as I'd hoped for. Sweet malt complimented by low levels of hop bitterness & a hint of spicy hop flavor. Gently toasted malts throughout, with some complexity. Medium to thin in the mouth. Hints of caramel in the finish, which is on the dry side. While this is certainly an inoffensive, drinkable version, my favorite Oktoberfests are rich & complex in malt flavor & deliciously creamy in the mouth - this beer really did not excel in these areas.

Had this on tap at the Sterling Virginia Sweetwater Tavern. This appeared very clean amber color with about a fingers worth of off white foam. Some lacing was left decorating the glass as this was consumed. The aroma had a nice roasted scent about it that was backed by notes of doughy and sweet malt. Taste was very similar in that a toasted flavor was apparent all throughout and lingered a bit in the after taste. It had a very slight sweetness and a bit of a bitter bite to it. The body was about medium with a good carbonated mouthfeel to it. This went down pretty smoothly and I could easily drink a few of these in a session. I’m not to big on the style but this was pretty good.