Oktoberfest Marzen
Abbey Brewing Co.

 

 

heres a weird one for you! a belgian brewery makes a german octoberfest, and absolutely nails it. i think collectively, this was our favorite of all of them they make here, and while i remain super partial to the belgian styles they do so well, its hard not to be impressed by this. i think it lends a higher degree of credibility to the brewery too, these arent easy to do well, and this is a fine specimen! sweet and earthy on the malt tones up front, some caramelization of the grain sugar, a light red apple cider quality, and then the bready rich old timey lager yeast on the back end, very traditional, fermenting this down to near dry. there is a nice little hop spike on the tail end as well, some needed bitterness and with that, a sort of autumnal harvest vibe is created. it warms up amazingly well too, and has a nice round smoothness to the feel without being too filling or overly carbonated. this beer demonstrates some real competence, and stands apart from a whole heap of mediocre american craft versions of this style. very impressive brew here, my brothers favorite of them all here!