Oktoberfest Ale
Lagunitas Brewing Company

Wow this has been retired for that long? Seems like yesterday. Oktoberfest beer hits with the darker amber/auburn scheme, maybe some dark orange to it. Lots of caramel in the nose. Relatively restrained hop presence for Lagunitas especially.

Plenty of waves of caramel over and over. Seemed like it had the spice rack going into it, maybe some cinnamon. The aftertaste is that kind of undesireable for me red malt bitterness. Malty, high carbonation.

 

 

 

 

Amber color with veins of orange running around it. Lots of caramel in the nose, something that is different.

More caramel, more hops than any Oktoberfest I've ever had, and good for them from getting away from tradition and definitions. Hops weren't the smash your face Lagunitas style they've come to be known for, but just the right amount for a CA brewery needing to enliven this style.

Throw in some kind of spice, maybe even pumpkin as a tiny fraction of the ingredients, maybe orange, and you've made this beer. Unique, would like to see these guys make this again, upping the hop ante and especially the ibus. Break full with tradition.

From a 22 ounce bomber, this beer poured out a murky dark amber color. This is my first and long awaited taste from this brewer. This has a very earthy and pungent hop aroma with all sorts of fruits and spices in there, too. Semi sweet in flavor with a medium body of malts. The taste is spicy and fruity all at once and finishes dry with spices like nutmeg with a touch of a lemon hop presence. An excellent tasting seasonal beer that is very well made. I could drink this one anytime and every time. Thanks to my sis for this sample that was flown in directly from Petaluma.

Cloudy amber body with a frothy and frantic head of bone color that takes a while to recede. Very, very sweet aroma. Mouthfeel starts foamy and extra malty, but ends rather thin; the sweetness and body evaporate too soon.

A bit less body than other Oktoberfests... a bit lacking in character.

Overall, a creditable lager, and certainly not one that I would be reluctant to drink again. It does not have the same snap as my favorite Oktoberfests this year.

Appearance – Nice, fairly dark brown body with a killer head that stayed forever. It pitted well and laced the glass like crazy. I eventually had to drink it off.

Smell – Lightly-toasted malts make up the aroma of this ale.

Taste – The Oktoberfest malt is here as well. There’s a refreshing smooth balance to this one, and just a hint of sweetness which leads me to believe it may be wrongfully classified on the site.

Mouthfeel – Lightly carbonated and medium-bodied. This one was ultra-smooth, which is also very typical of the Oktoberfest style.

Drinkability – This went down quite well and was a good attempt at this German style, which is difficult to replicate.

I thought this was a pretty good Oktoberfest beer. Not to light a little residaul swetness.... The appearance was a copper amber color with a good amount of head, but I expected there to be a little more head for the style. Good sweet lightly hooped and malty aroma. The taste is fruity and malty, with a light amount of bitterness. bottom line: this is one of the better american Okt. fest beers that I have tried this year.

Ok another out of place Lagunitas brew bought at the cheap cig outlet..there among the Steel Reserve, Mickeys etc etc 22 ozers sat this beer. I was after a "Decimator" but they sold out on those.
"Ach! Tuber Fest" very jolly.
This is the 2003 version and has an alcohol volume of 6.0 %.
Wonderful dark ruby almost garnet beer..lovelly largish frothy off white head..thats goes but some nice lacing left behind.
A wonderous aroma to this beer..malty , fruity and chocolaty all in one..and some hops even in the background.
mmm nice tasting malty beer.sweet but more in a dark chocolate way..some plums and raisins even in the back of the mouth and rounded out by some nice bitter aftertaste.
Very luxurious on the palate..creamy and thick..nicelly done.
Very drinkable beer..though not in anysense traditional Oktoberfest bier..but we all know Lagunitas are not big on tradition!

Ach Tuber Fest - 2001 version. Medium Amber color, small head. Medium bodied ale. Mild malts and slightly hoppy. Good flavor, smooth taste. Malt flavor is slightly sweet, balanced with a slight hop bitterness. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter. Very nice smooth malty beer. Slightly different from the 2000 version, the 2001version is much maltier and smoother. Better taste. Very nice beer.

A very enjoyable ale that has a pungent aroma, striking taste and the BIGGEST head on a slow pour that I've yet to encounter. All in all a great big beer that probably doesn't quite live up to its naming as an Oktoberfest, but still delivers an enjoyable kick.

Sold in capped 650ml brown bottles it gives off a little effervescence on the pop. On the pour, this is a very spritzy beer than produces the largest head I've unintentionally encountered. Using a standard 16oz stemmed ale glass this brew delivered a head that exceeded 60% of the glass even when using a traditional 45/80 pour. Hmmmmm. The head is big and rocky with a real mix of bubbles - foamy, mid-range and large almost Hefeweizen'esque biggies.

An interesting aroma that packs in a nice combination of fruit, malt, and a modest amount of hops -- in fact, a little more hoppy than I would have expected -- but I like hops, so that was a nice addition.

Everything that aroma delivers is also dished up on the palette. The fruity punch comes through quite heavy on the drink, but so does a modest amount of creamy caramel and an almost toasted (roasted?) malt hint. One surprising element that came through as I neared the end of the beer was the hit of alcohol in the aftertaste, that extra hit detracts from the overall enjoyment of this one and thus a 3.5 on the drinkability reading rather than a 4 or 4.5.

Nevertheless, this was quite enjoyable and will be something I'll likely pick up again in the future.

Or, rather, Ach!TuberFest. Don't ask.
I like Oktoberfests, except for one thing:they're lagers. I'd like a lot of lagers better if they just weren't lagers. So, Lagunitas to the rescue, to turn this into an ale. Dark ruby color, beautiful red, nicely formed white head. Nose is sweet and fruity. Body is medium, with the taste dominated by heavy, thick maltiness. Nice and tasty, with a lovely darkness throughout. Very nice job.

Hazy amber in color and very highly carbonated with a bubble head. Hoppy aromas evident from the start. Some sweet tastes that are relatively subdued. Malt comes out a lot more as the beer warms and it becomes much more enjoyable. Overall a decent brew but I would have a hard time calling it an Oktoberfest.

This beer is obviously a little too charged up. The head takes up nearly half the glass after a slow pour. The color is a bright orange amber. There's a decent toasted and caramel malt presence. Boy, this beer just does not cut it. Very subpar taste. Grainy and some slight rotten vegetable tastes. Mouthfeel is way too carbonated. And there is an offtaste present on the aftertaste. I will not purchase this one again. A bit of a disappointment since I enjoy many of their other beers.

Weird to guess the style...Ale? And the label keeps talking about potatoes...hmm, well RateBeer lists it as a Fest/Marzen...

Murky dark orange color, big rising head that's hard to keep at an inch with a careful pour. Soft bready aroma. Raisiny and orangey flavors, slightly estery and maybe a touch of rum. Finishes on the strange side, a bit of paint thinner (well...some sort of petroleum distillate), not awful, but strange. Mostly malty flavors, just an OK brew here...