Oktoberfest
No Label Brewing Company

 

RB transfer

Appearance: Deep golden-orange color with slight haze and a large white head, which retains quite well, Thick, lacing covers the glass in an unbroken sheet. Clouds of small bubbles drift lazily to the surface.

Aroma: Pleasant fresh bread aroma, with hints of caramel and honey, There are also mild hop notes, those these are not prominent.

Taste: Opens with bready malt and more of an herbal hop bite than I would expect, as well as a mild undercurrent of honey. As the taste progresses, the hops vie with toasted bread spread with caramel and honey. Late in the taste, a bit of caramel sweetness lingers, against a backdrop of moderate herbal hops.

Mouth feel: Soft, full and pleasant, with gentle carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: A really nice example, a bit more hoppy than I would expect of the style, but very well done.. I would certainly be glad to have this again.

Presentation: Packaged in a standard twelve-ounce aluminum can, served in a La Fin du Monde tulip.

 

pours a super hazy amber-tinged-orange body with a slightly-burnt-cream colored frothy fluff head that pipes up to about two fingers height, hangs for a decent minute and a half, and leaves slathers of sticky sudsy lacing behind as it settles to a thin cap; a scarce amount of floaters can be seen around the surface

the aroma is very sweet and floral with hops managing to present clearly, amongst the honeyed cracker malt and a slight yeast kick.

taste backs that aroma up; it's sweet, and surprisingly hoppy, honeyed yeasty and a dash of clove. mainly though, it's honey-sweet and floral feeling.

mouthfeel is mid-level carbonation with a light body that pillows out thanks to the carbo, making it feel fuller. it runs semi-watery and slightly crisp, especially towards the end, all before finishing fairly dry with a honey and hop yin-and-yang aftertaste.

it's an odd mix for the style, and I wonder how many of the faithful to the genre will recognize this one as a peer. it's hoppy, it's cloudy looking, it's honey-sweet....the malt feels super light, more of a supporting role, a character actor, rather than the reliable lead. thing is though, I would really dig it if it weren't claiming to hang in this genre. guess that's a hang up. also, though, the sweetness is really way more cranked than it oughta. to be fair, I am not a fan of clove honey, and this brew reminds me of alcoholic clove honey. according to other reviews, it changes yearly. maybe this was an off one? either way, honestly, I'll likely look out for it next year, if only to see if they've stumbled into something that works in a weird, off-beat way. for now though, this is a miss. unless you are SUPER stoked about clove honey. in that case, dive in.

 

 

 

First, this looks nothing like a Marzen. It is a murky brownish copper with a thin whitish head. The smell was almost startling, very sweet with a Caramel/Munich bringing up the rear. I’m picking up a yeasty quality as well. I wonder if this was brewed with an ale yeast, it doesn’t have any lager qualities. There is a sharp hop bitterness that you’d expect from a German Pilsner as well as a strong Pilsner sweetness. Except for some light caramel this tastes more like a Bavarian Pilsner or a Kölsch with a strong hop presence. This is very hop forward, so it’s not a true Marzen/Oktoberfest. It does have some decent flavors, the Pilsner and noble hops, a little caramel, maybe Munich malts. I’m giving it a low rating based on style. In reality, it tastes more like an amber ale made with Pilsner malt and noble hops. If they would have marketed it as an amber Pilsner it would have been more accurate. The can lists the ibu’s at 28, this seems low. It tastes more like 30-35 too me. It is rather light in mouthfeel with a dry finish, it’s very drinkable, just don’t expect it to taste like an Oktoberfest. Prost!

Update. 08-13-21
As usual with these guys, I guess they tweak every batch so you never know what to expect. This year’s Oktoberfest tastes different than before. It’s still a little too hoppy but Its gotten better. I wish they’d get more consistent. I live about 5 miles down the road from the brewery. It’s ok, better than before.