Oaktoberfest
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

 

12oz can

Pours a little over a finger of white head into my can-style glass. Retention is solid, and after a few minutes most of the head is still intact. Lacing is ok. Body is a light copper, crystal clear, with a fair amount of nucleation. It’s on the lighter side of the Oktoberfest color scale, but it looks pretty nice.

Nose is very rich and biscuity. Don’t really get any oak. Smells appropriate.

Flavor is quite light, some notes of lightly baked bread.

Carbonation is medium, seems to be dropping somewhat quickly from the nucleation. Body has a little weight, maybe some proteins in here. Clean and well-attenuated, with a small perceived sweetness. Bitterness is low but present. Good mouthfeel, the weight is the main thing keeping this from straying into festbier territory.

Drinkability is high.

This starts to lean in the festbier direction with the color and malt profile, but it does just enough for me to say it’s still an Oktoberfest. Overall it’s decent.

 

 

 

Oak aging creates a silky mouth feel and a nice complexity of flavor. 5.2% ABV so you are safe having more than one. I think this is one fine fest beer for 2023!

 

12oz can pours a very light and clear golden-orange-amber color with a small fizz of off-white head that disappears pretty quickly. Smells of caramel and bready malts, as well as a slight noble hop and wood note. Normal Märzen flavors of caramel, toasted malt, slight sweetness, and nice noble hops. Almost tastes a little boozy, which is surprising for 5.2% ABV. A subtle but grounding wood note is strong in the background of the flavor and adds a really nice complexity. Medium body with a mild carbonation mouthfeel and a small, perfectly balanced bitterness. Some herbal flavors of the hops and the caramel sweetness form most of the aftertaste for a pleasant, but long finish.

The oak barrels really set this apart but it's also just an excellent and extremely well-balanced Märzen to begin with. Delicious and would buy again in a heartbeat.

 

 

Oaktoberfest from Firestone Walker. 12 fl oz bottles from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA, 09/05/23. $ 10.00 (Including tax)/six-pack - $0.139/fl oz. Reviewed 15/06/23 (Review 3124). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom of label stamped “C7/22/22” On room temperature shelf at store. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 46.2 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 55.2 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Pale Gold (SRM 4), clear.
Body – Gold (SRM 5), slight chill haze. Under direct light, same. When rear lite, same.
Head: Average (Maximum 3.9 cm, aggressive center pour), baby powder, high density, quickly diminishing to a 0.8 – 1.0 cm undulating crown with a rocky cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4 – Virtually none – just a weak oak aroma. No yeast, no hops, no malt. No ethanol (5.2 % ABV according to the label).
Flavor – 4.25 – Slight oakiness and light caramel malt. No yeast. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Weak gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Medium; approaching syrupy; soft carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 The crispness is a bit lacking but the oakiness helps. Better than the average Märzen because it is slightly less sweet and better than the average lager because the oak ameliorates the hop flavor a bit. Some lacing would have raised the score slightly.

 

 

Clear light-amber, with one finger of off-white head.

Smell is the usual combination of toffee and caramel, but lighter than is typical. Slight spicy aroma, plus some hints of oak, that seemed slightly vinous when first opened. Not apparent after the head fades.

Taste is similar to aroma, with light spiciness, and a hint of fruitiness. Lightly-bitter finish.

Feel is light-medium, with moderate, very,very fine carbonation tingle, that bites, in the back of the throat at finish.

Overall, lighter and more subtle than a typical marzen. This is the last bottle of four, and the best, and have rated it as-is, without regard to the fresher specimens. The first couple seemed a bit too subtle, and bland. Either this is a better tasting night, or it has become a little more complex over the last 2 (3?) month. If you see any stragglers still out there, I'd recommend giving them a try.

 

Super mellow. Neat, generous head. A fine, subtle brew, this is.

L: Pours a orange amberish color with a medium white head and no lacing on the glass.

S: Fresh toasted bread, notes of caramel, a toasted oak,finished by malty sweetness.

T: Toasted bread, notes of caramel, some toasted oak, and finishes with a malty sweetness, a very pleasant Oktoberfest.

F: Carb is a little lower than expected,medium body.

O: A solid Oktoberfest