Oktoberfest
Kulshan Brewing Company

12oz can (best by 2/9/2025) into an English pint. Pours a crystal clear honey golden color with a soft white head that dissipates quickly. Steady carbonation rises from the bottom of the glass, sustaining a thin layer of foam on the surface.

Aroma is grainy/malty, slightly sweet. Subtle fruitiness. Floral hops. Notes of apple and pear, some spice.

Taste follows nose. Bready malt, fruity sweetness, floral hops.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, drinkable, refreshing.

Overall an enjoyable festbier, solidly crafted.

 

No canning date (released on 8/25/22, so presumably canned within a few days of that date); consumed on 10/4/22

Pours a crystal-clear honey-gold body sporting steady effervescence and capped with multiple fingers of dense, off-white foam; great head retention yields a finger of near-creamy cap, a moderate, frothy collar, and a modest array of webby/spotty lacing dotting around the walls of the glass.

Aromas of vibrant honey saturate a firm white toast backing, while an underlying florality cuts sweetness to an effective yet slight nuttiness; toasted malt accents continue to develop alongside an airy minerality.

Taste offers honeyed brown toast accented with tinges of rye bread crust, leaving grainy, toasted malts against a prickly minerality over the mid-palate while bread dough subtleties contrast a Noble hop lingering on the back end.

Mouthfeel features a lighter body and a moderate fluff of carbonation, layering a crisp prickle trending dry over the mid-palate into an easing wetness proving quick and quenching through the back end as a wispy, bittering intangible enhances the finish.

Waves of delicately textured pale malt and Noble hop nuance purvey a fleeting, easygoing crispness to as a casually refined, grain-forward Festbier.

Clear deep copper in color with modest foam. Some spritz on the tongue but rather coarse carbonation. Aroma of green tea and alfalfa. Rich and malty, moderately sweet, and quite hoppy. Rather leafy and herbal tasting. This is pretty bitter for an Oktoberfest brew, I would say. The hops are listed as "Hallertau Perle" which confusingly enough is a single variety. From the 12 oz can purchased in Bellingham.

Kulshan calls this a "German-style Festbier," which in the new BA categories would make it a "Lager - Festbier / Wiesnbier" rather than a Märzen. Even more confusing is this seems to be the replacement for Kulshan's own "Festbier."