Smittlefest
Thirsty Planet Brewing Company

 

RB transfer

pours a crystal clear amber body with a toasted cream-colored fluff head that billows, holds for a couple of minutes, then settles slowly to a thin cap with complete coverage, leaving occasional thick specs of lacing behind as it does

the aroma is surprisingly big, with a dark bready caramel and roasted nut with baking spices like cinnamon, and a hint of clove and yeast funk

taste delivers the goods! it has a darker shade in the caramel/toffee that can help it stand out in the crowd of other Oktoberfest offerings, along with a good holiday/baking spice kick on the 'skirts.

mouthfeel is mid-level carbonation and medium-light body, running smooth (if not a little watery) and slightly crisp with a nice nutty semi-dry finish and a near-Snickers bar aftertaste with the nut/caramel notes

overall:
super solid entry in the style. a solid nod to the greats and yet a little something new and interesting. I like the nutty angle - it's super highlighted as the brew warms up to more traditional temps and the spice notes accompany very nicely

 

Appearance: Crystal clear deep amber in color, with a large, finely beaded white head, with very good retention. Fine-beaded lacing coats the glass wall in an unbroken sheet. Numerous streams of minute bubbles drift slowly towards the surface.

Aroma: Superb toasted malt aroma, suggestive of Munich malt, with mild notes of toasted nuts and caramel. Rustic brown bread notes are present, also.

Taste: The taste opens with rich toasted malt, rustic brown bread, and toasted nuts. A little sweet caramel is present, also, but it is quite restrained. The roasted malt character rises a bit towards the close, and some earthy notes present late in the taste. Finishes mildly dry with some tannic notes.

Mouth feel: Very full and pleasant, with only a vague suggestion of carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: A really nice example of the style, compares very well with German-brewed examples.

Presentation: Packaged in a twelve ounce stubby brown glass long neck bottle, sealed with a pry-off crown, served in a Duvel chalice.

October always touches my heart because Halloween is clearly the best holiday. But octoberfest beers don't hurt either. Or marzen beers, as It works for you. Tasty, sweet, malty, a pretty good example of the style.

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a clear deep amber color with a tiny head of fizzy white foam. The head fades very fast leaving just a trace of lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is of a toasted bready smell mixed with lots of caramel and toffee sweetness. The aroma also has some smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, and a hint of clove.
Taste – The taste begins with a toasted and roasted bready flavor mixed with a bit of the caramel and the toffee. The roastiness is high upfront, with it fading a bit as the taste moves forward. At the same time the spic that was detected in the nose starts coming to the tongue. At the same time a bit of wood and some light earth come to the tongue and leaves one with a nice roasty and toasted bready flavor to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is slightly thicker and chewier with a carbonation level that is average. For the style the feel is good and makes of a nice sipping brew.
Overall – A nice bready and toasted Oktoberfest that isn’t over the top in sweetness. Rather tasty overall.

 

Medium amber in color with a thick off-white head. Moderately sweet but with an unwelcome and lingering bitter note, closer to grapefruit than, say, pine. Slightly soapy aftertaste. Medium bodied, aggressively carbonated.

Strong use of caramel malts in this one. Not bad, but not traditional.

 

[Reviewed from notes taken in Fall 2014.]

Served on-draught into a conical pint glass at a bar in Austin, TX.

HEAD: ~1 minute retention. Off-white/pale khaki colour. Average creaminess and thickness.

BODY: Translucent copper-amber colour. Transparent. Clean, lacking any visible yeast or sediment.

Appears adequately carbonated.

Looks nice enough for a festbier, but it isn't unique or special within the style in terms of appearance.

AROMA: Cream, Marzen malts (Munich malts, maybe Vienna), caramalt, vague fruit.

On the sweeter side for a festbier judging by the mild aroma.

No overt yeasty or off-notes are detectable, nor is any overt booze. Suggests clean lager yeast was used (to style).

TASTE: Caramalt, buried vague fruitiness, Munich malts, ample malt sweetness, maybe some Vienna malt. Hints of cherry pie filling are present...this is odd for the style, indeed, but it kind of works.

Balanced albeit simple. There's no real subtlety here, but hey, it's a festbier.

Average depth, duration, and intensity of flavour.

TEXTURE: Smooth, wet, medium-bodied, and of decent thickness. Suits the taste decently.

OVERALL: A solid Oktoberfestbier in terms of drinkability, which is really what matters in a style intended to be quaffed by the litre. Not a world class beer overall, but I'd get it again. Thirsty Planet delivers another solid brew in an underappreciated style.

B- (3.36) / WORTHY

***
08/21/22 brown glass bottle from a sixer nabbed at HEB Mueller, Austin, TX:

7.0% ABV. 18 IBUs. Märzen. Batch #504.

A bit bready with obvious boozy warmth. Delves too deep into sweet toffee notes, limiting its drinkability substantially. Amber malt/Munich malt sweetness is strong in this one. Rich notes of bread crust. Caramelized malt sugars.

Not a beer I'd want a litre of in a bierkrug, which is sort of the point of a festbier in my view. Live Oak's Oaktoberfest is a noticeably better brew if one must have a festbier from an Austin brewery.

C / AVERAGE

 

 

A decent looking glass with a short tan head. There is some light smoke in the nose although the character and flavor profile was insufficient to hold up to the BBQ that I'd ordered to have with it. Not a bad bottle - just not one of great merit.