Oktoberfest
DC Brau Brewing Co.

This is a really good American take on oktoberfest beers in the Munich lager style not the Marzen style. It’s very crushable. Their best lager for the company by far. I say it’s better than Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest. It’s very close to Pauleners Oktoberfest.

 

 

From the can, it pours a clear amber color with a nice off-white head that eventually diminishes to a nice ring and leaves lacing. The nose gets sweetish malt with notes of caramel. The mouth follows with malt and a touch of caramel leaving a mildly bitter aftertaste.

Poured a nice clear amber with a slight head of foam. Scent has nice malty, bready notes. Taste follows and adds a bit of zesty, earthy spice. Feel has a touch of carbonation and a medium body. A nice fall brew!

 

Pours a nice clear amber color with a slight head and lacing
Aroma has malty and bready hints
Taste has malty and bready flavors
A light bodied moderately carbonated beer
A nice Festbier

 

12 oz can poured into a tulip pint glass. Pours a light amber with a beautiful off-white head. Aroma and flavor feature caramel malt and earthy/slightly spicy noble hops. Rich, smooth mouthfeel. Overall a great beer for a fall day.

Definitely a big fan of this beer as I am a big fan of the Märzens and this one nails the style to perfection. This past weekend I tried it alongside several other American Oktoberfests: Left Hand, Port City, Great Lakes, and DC Brau. Also on hand for benchmarking purposes was Späten Oktoberfest - the original Märzen lager. The DC Brau hits all the right notes for the style - it is smooth, malty with a creamy mouthfeel, a rich amber hue, and has just enough hops to balance out the malty sweetness. Very similar but superior to the Späten - it's like a premium version of the original IMO. Of the others I tried Port City and Great Lakes are good, Left Hand has a bit of coffee flavor that I thought was off for the style. Not a bad beer, but not exactly spot on for the Oktoberfest style.

Poured a rich amber with a decent head that left minimal lacing on the glass. Aroma - toasty and caramel malts mixed with floral hops. Taste is more of the same, very clean and refreshing toasty + a little caramel maltiness with enough floral hop bitterness to balance. Mouthfeel is really nice - very smooth and creamy. This one is outstanding if you like this style of beer. Not a huge flavor bomb but a refined and subtly enjoyable beverage.

12 ounce can poured into a dimpled mug.
Canned 08/18/20

L: Amber/copper and very clear, half inch off-white head disappears fast.
A: Decent malty aroma, bread and toast, a small amount of spicy/fruity hop aroma.
T: Moderate bitterness, low sweetness, toast and caramel with a dry spicy finish, there is an overlying and unpleasant dish soap-like flavor.
F: Medium light body, crisp, some low astringency.
O: Unfortunately the off-flavor ruined this one for me.

Nice medium dark pour with a small head. Carmel malts dominate the aroma. Tastes smooth with a nice amount of malts. Not overly carbonated. Very nice, above average fest bier.

Clear reddish copper appearance with a small, fast fading off white head and very little lacing. Aroma of pretzels and ripe fruit. Caramel malts more evident in the taste, Herbal hops add some balance, but this selection is all about the malts and how they influence the flavor. Body is earthy and chewy, possibly the best feature. Decently carbonated mouthfeel prevents the aftertaste from becoming too gummy.

 

L - Deep copper amber with not too much clarity and a light tan head that dissipates somewhat quickly leaving behind no real lacing.
S - Malty with some spices
T - Tons of malt and bready yeast up front and throughout with some caramel and raisin notes - some brown sugar as well
F - Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Not exactly clean and crisp like you'd hope with a Fest beer.
O - A nice Oktoberfest - it's maybe not as clean and crisp as I'd prefer, but overall it's got a nice flavor profile

 

 

 

I have been meaning to drink more Marzen this year but lost track of time again. Pours beautiful with a pretty amber color and big soapy head that unfortunately dies quickly. Nose is caramel and bread malts.

Taste is a little muted but goes down super easy. Balanced and smooth, it also seems low in carbonation. Not a half bad marzen but could use a little more flavorful and is perhaps a bit watery. You could do worse, but not something to seek out.