Martian Märzen Oktoberfest
Empyrean Brewing Company

 

 

Appearance: Served in a pint glass, with a thin head (about 1/4 inch). The beer is orangish amber and clear. A few bubbles can be seen lazily floating through the liquid. No lacing.

Smell: Fairly decent aromas. Smelled mostly of malt, slightly sweet smelling, lightly toasted with a caramel scent. There is a vague hint of hops buried in there as well. Not overwhelming, but then most of their beers are not.

Taste: A very straightforward Octoberfest. Malt flavor profile on the outset, with a decent hop bitterness on the finish. Well balanced IMO. The taste is somewhat sweet, with caramel and toffee flavors dominant, but as was mentioned, there is that nice bitterness on the finish that keeps this balanced out.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, lightly carbonated. Smooth and refreshing. Crisp with no linger aftertaste, nor is it annoyingly sweet and overly malty like I find some O'fests.

Drinkability: This is a nice beer to sip a few outside on a nice late summer/fall day (which I did). I have never seen it in bottle form, but if I did I think I would have to have a 6-pack or two but, then it wouldn't be as special on tap.

This beer was a very dark golden color. There was a little head, that was off white in color. It didn't linger or lace down the side of the glass. The aroma was fairly muted: not very strong, but there was some spiciness to it. The taste was a bit spicy, with hints of caramel and a hint of smokiness. Slightly bitter aftertaste. Fairly well balanced.

This beer’s head was wonderfully creamy, off-white/tan, of a good inch. The lacing this beer had was awesome; it lace in sheets, practically coating my entire mug. The nose was pretty much what to expect for the style, maltiness, caramel, spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.), and some faint hops. The nose, overall, was not that pronounced. But the flavors this brew packed was excellent. The balance of spice to caramel and malt to hops was perfect. This O-fest had spice without detracting/covering-up other flavors… impressive. The only “complaint” about this offering would be the mouthfeel. It was a tad thin, a little watery but nothing that would stop me from drinking this again. In fact, I enjoyed a few of this in one setting.