Octoberfest Beer
Bell's Brewery - Eccentric Café & General Store

The clear dark amber/copper beer pours out into a Duvel glass with a 1" off white head that slowly but visibly recedes to a ring and a thin cap of foam and that leaves an arch or two of lacing on the sides of the glass that gradually disappear. Sipping creates some scattered small and medium size patches and arches of lacing, many of which slowly slide back down to the liquid.

The aromas are mostly about the toasted bready malt with some light grassy herbal hops in the background.

The flavors are much as expected from the nose with some cracker and lots of toasted bready malt along with just a bit of sweetness. In the background there's a noticeable touch of grassy herbal bitterness.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied and fairly smooth with some moderate, persistent small bubbled carbonation. The finish begins as the toasty bready flavors being to slowly recede to let the hops and their light bitterness show a bit more. Then the hops slowly recede into the background while the bready malt finishes the show as the sweetness also disappears into a dry ending.

On the whole I thought this was a nicely drinkable example of the style that I'll be happy to have again. The balance of flavors shifts around a bit, so there's a bit of complexity as neither the malt nor the hops totally dominate through out the full flavored beer.

 

 

 

(review from February 2017) Consistently great, well balanced & flavorful Ofest without overpowering caramelly maltiness. Light on the tastebuds & down the hatch, another!

Octoberfest – Bell’s Brewery
Overall: 4.5

Look – 4.75
Pours a beautiful deep orange with an off-white head nearly the same shade as the can. Surprisingly strong head retention, with fine lacing that trails all the way down the glass. It’s an inviting, classic Märzen appearance.

Smell – 4.0
Soft malt sweetness leaning toward honey, with light noble hop aromatics. The nose is subtle—less expressive than the flavor—but what’s there aligns nicely with the taste.

Taste – 4.5
Sweet caramel and honeyed malt lead the way. Noble hops rise to a bright, high note before a late-arriving bitterness closes things out. That delayed bitterness actually enhances the perception of sweetness up front, giving the beer balance rather than sharpness. Interestingly, while the aroma doesn’t shout malt or hops, the flavor absolutely delivers both.

Feel – 4.5
Medium-bodied with a rounded fullness. Not crisp—smooth and inviting. Fine carbonation creates a gentle tingling effect without being overdone. Plenty of active, tight bubbles working in the glass. It carries a satisfying malt presence without feeling heavy.

Overall – 4.5
The hops are well matched to the full malt backbone. Refreshing, though some might call it slightly sweet. For my palate, it leans right into preference. My top Oktoberfest this year was Ayinger—perhaps a touch fuller and sweeter—but this one hits beautifully in its own way.

I’m writing this in February, well past Oktoberfest season and two months beyond the best-by date. It’s the last of my six-pack, and it has aged gracefully. In fact, that late-season maturity gives it a character that reminds me of Märzens from the 1980s.

Updating my scores to reflect how well this one held up.

12oz can

Bells Octoberfest poured a slightly cloudy burnt orange hue and formed a light tan/off -white head that held well. The nose picked up some caramel malt, a little bread dough and hops for balance. The flavor was dominated by toasty malts, caramel and bread dough. Just like the nose. Medium bodied and medium carbonation.

A well-balanced American Marzen.

 

Nice amber color, caramel and malt on the nose, some grassy hops in the finish. A bit watery. Is this a nice fall lager? Absolutely. Is it true to the style? Ehhh.....

12 oz can. Pours a beautiful amber good with a medium white head with lots of lacing. Smells of malt and hops. Great astringent malty flavors with a nice bite in the finish. Above average carbonation and a dry mouthfeel. Nice non-sweet marzen.

 

 

Might be better Oktoberfest beer out there but this is one of my favorites.
Love the color and the smell.
Taste is great to me compared to most others.
Pours with a great head and the finish is smooth in your mouth.

12 ounce can. Very attractive clear copper ale. As expected, it's malty. Hops mostly just dry it out so it's not too sweet, but also add a touch of German-ness to it. Pretty solid Oktoberfest, but nothing special.

 

12 oz. can
5.5% ABV
Best by: 11JAN26
$13.19 6-pk @ Publix


AROMA: Sweet with ample amounts of caramel, bread and malt. I find it to be a nice, inviting aroma. Which is pretty typical for a Märzen.

APPEARANCE: Pours a cloudy medium-amber with a 3-finger, tight-froth, off-white, head that dissipates moderately-slowly with excellent lacing. It looks very inviting in my clear, wheat-beer glass!

TASTE: Sweet with the predominant flavors being caramel and malt, but I also get faint hints of bread and orange during the finish. It's a nice, solid flavor that doesn't overpower. Additionally, as the beer warms, the flavor stays on a pretty even keel without much fluctuation.

MOUTHFEEL: Medium-bodied with a slightly smooth texture. Carbonation seems a little higher than average. While the start gives a bit of a "juicy" feel, the finish ends on the dry side. Fortunately, it's not overly dry, which makes for a nice, overall, transition. I gotta say, as I get towards the bottom of this beer, I am finding that I like the texture better than when I started. Which is most likely due to the majority of the carbonation having already left the beer. So if I had my druthers, I would tone the carbonation down a little. But that's just me.

OVERALL: I will confess that I actually had one of these beers the other day, but I wasn't in the mood to take the time to review it. As I was drinking it, I thought to myself, that it was just an okay Märzen ... nothing bad, but nothing special, either. But, today, as I am in "review" mode, I am finding that I actually quite like this beer. It's got a very nice flavor and aroma that don't overpower the senses ... it goes down smooth and easy ... it looks great in the glass ... and it has a relatively low ABV, which makes it easier to celebrate Oktoberfest without getting blotto-ed. What's not to like??

Granted, I won't be putting this on my "must buy" list for next year, but I also won't be putting it on my "nice, but don't bother buying again" list. Instead, it will be on my "definitely buy if there's nothing new that looks interesting" list. Which, if history is any kind of indicator, means I will most likely be buying it next year.

Pours a light a nice amber with a cream colored head.

Toasted grain, caramel bread malt, and earthy herbal hops in the nose.

Toasted bread and caramel malt balanced by the earthy herbal hops. A lively carbonation.

Draught pint at The Brass Tap here in Baltimore

 

12 oz. can

Pours mostly clear amber gold orange with a frothy white foam head. Notes of nutty caramel, toffee, melanoidin, dark toasted bread crust, amber honey, orange marmalade, apricot, red apple, slight red grape, mild spice, with floral earthy herbal grassy hops. Feels medium plus bodied, smooth with moderate carbonation. Overall a nice märzen style Oktoberfest beer.