Oktoberfest
Crystal Springs Brewing Company

Undated 12oz can.

On the pour 1 finger of white frothy head forms on top of a lightly hazy deep reddish brown body. Good lacing forms.

Aroma is hoppy and herbal with a light bit bright hint of lemon zest. Beneath that is a sweet toasty malt, although the hops take over a bit.

The flavor is very similar to the aroma, with quite a lot of hop flavor and some bitterness. The oktoberfest style toasty and slightly roasty malts are more present in the flavor. The hops are a bit intense and the ale yeast is detectable making this not a true Marzen.

Feel is quite dry and surprisingly crisp, bit with a medium, malty finish. It is quite drinkable, but a bit fuller than a standard oktoberfest.

Overall the designation Oktoberfest Ale is a strange one, but it still does come off as an Oktoberfest, even though Altbier is much more accurate. A bit too hoppy for the style.

 

Beautifully clear, brown body; excellent slow rising carbonation; thick white head, creamy and stick; stringy patches of lacing streak the glass. Very appealing malt nose; earthy sweetness with a suggestion of roasted nuts; caramel. Extremely satisfying taste; rich brown malt note with hazelnut tones; sweet but subdued; moderate hop bitterness balances things out; almost smokey. Medium to heavy mouthfeel; fine residual sugar feel; nice dryness at the finish; lager-like smoothness despite being an ale.

The brewery doesn't provide a lot of information about what kind of ale this is, but it has strong characteristics of a rustic brown ale and a German altbier. Whatever it is and however they brewed it, this is one fine beer. I'd love to see this be a year-round offering, but will be looking for more soon. And being an ale for an Oktoberfest beer is certainly interesting, but it works.

Poured at 47 °F; no canning date info seen on the can.

 

APPEARANCE: Large bubbles billow up as the beer is poured, but the off-white head settles into a thin, smooth, creamy looking layer of foam that sticks around for a while. It rests on top of a dark orange, transparent beer that has a lively look with thousands of tiny bubbles rushing towards the surface. As expected with the creamy head, the lacing is pretty sticky and provides a film with dozens of arched windows on the back side of the glass.

SMELL: There’s some pretty big aroma on this beer for an Oktoberfest. The malt character manifests itself with strong caramel and candied orange peel. Some toast lingers in the background, giving hints of what’s to come.

TASTE: Wow. The lightly toasted malt makes this taste almost like a shortbread Girl Scout Cookie – malty, but by no means sweet. Low bitterness with hints of caramel. This is delicious.

MOUTHFEEL: I rarely use the word smooth to describe a beer, but in this case it’s the best English word possible for the mouthfeel. It goes down easy and clean with a dry, refreshing finish.

OVERALL: It’s hard to find an American version of an Oktoberfest this good. An extremely well-balanced beer that’s easy to drink and satisfying. Every sip is a joy on this one. Wow.