Oktoberfest
Otto's Pub and Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had on tap. Pours clear light orange with a small white head.

Smell is a mix of caramel sweetness, mild fruitiness, spice, and floral hops.

Taste has a unique banana character I've never tasted in this style. Toffee sweetness, light spice, little bitterness to round it out. Clean finish.

This feel is what I love about Oktoberfest beers. Highly drinkable, consistent finish.

Not my favorite from Otto's but a good stab at the style.

 

Served on tap in a pint glass

Appearance – Served an amber colored beer with a slight orange-red hint. Upon serving there was almost no head at all. With almost no head, there was really no lacing at all either.

Smell – The aroma of the beer was a nice blend of sweet caramel and toffee mixed with roasted malt and a very light fruit aroma. With these aromas, is a very light spice aroma which rounds out the aroma of the brew quite nicely.

Taste - The taste begins with a flavor of caramel and some roasted malt. As the taste advances through the middle to the end it dries then sweetens up again. In the middle the taste dries as more roasted, light spice, and a very light nuttiness comes to the tongue. While these dry out the beer, it is only temporary. At the end of the taste the sweet strikes back; a caramel and toffee flavor come to the tongue and when combined with the roast leave a very pleasantly sweet roasted flavor on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body and the carbonation of the beer were both rather average. Both were nice for the style as they made for an easy drinking and refreshing beer without compromising any of the flavors by being over carbonated and light.

Overall – This beer, in my opinion, is a very nice example of a Oktoberfest. It has great flavors, is very drinkable and smells wonderful. Besides its lack of a great look (due to lack of head) it is a fantastic brew.

On tap at the brewery - Sep 15, 2007. Aroma is a dirty, plain malt. Wet grains, dusty barn. Pours a clear copper, little head. Flavor is a real, bland, malt. Not nearly enough Munich in this grain bill. It tastes like a copper-colored bland lager. Some malt, not so much hop, and a little bit of that obsequious malt hop. No vinous. After a half a pint a real quality of dirty sock shines through and of uncleaned vegetables. No real off flavors, just a poor malt bill and nothing to get excited about. Clean and bland. Not nearly enough Munich flavor for me.

A growler filled at the HopShop. Blustery day at Shields. Pony up!

A: The o-fest is a coppery amber color, translucent but with some brownish-depth, the last vestiges of fall on Seven Mtns. A thin white head.

S: Toasted and malty, the aroma is a bready haven. Underneath the caramel and biscuit, a soft hop aroma adds balance.

T: More maltiness, the oktoberfest doesn't skimp on the mid-fall strength. That strength comes from the fullness of the malts, not the aloohol. Good thing to, because the sweetness makes me want to take larger swigs on each pass. Hops are present, an earthy herbalness that fits in well within the paradigm of the malts (yes, I worked paradigm into this review). An easy-drinking festbier.

M: Thick and chewy, warming with a solid caramel biscuit mix. Perfect of an October afternoon when the wind is kicking up a storm.

Pours a clear medium amber with half a finger head that fades quickly into a thin ring with moderate lacing.

Aroma of malt and hints of spice.

Taste starts with light roasted malt, spice, a slight hint of hops .

Mouth Feel was medium body, moderate carbonation, dry and crisp.

Overall a very nice nice easy drinking, enjoyable beer.

The beer pours a dark golden/orange color with a thick frothy offwhite head that fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a dry, pilsner and Munich malt aroma. The taste is decent. It has pretty good malt character along with a dry lager yeast finish. The mouthfeel is decent as well. It is a medium bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a good drinking Oktoberfest. It's got excellent aroma and a pretty, malty taste.

On tap at the brewpub on 9/26/08.

Pours a clear deep amber with a finger of whitish head. Thin retention that skims the surface, leaving some decent lacing behind. The aroma is light notes of sticky and bready malts with just a tingle of spicy Noble hop character in the back.

The taste starts with a firm malt base of light toasted sweetness that is mixed in with some much needed zesty Noble hops for balance. Finishes with a smack of sweetness, spice, and some light bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with with a crisp carbonation and clean feel to it.

Nicely done Oktoberfest from Otto's that was well balanced, crisp, and easy drinking. I could have easily put down another imperial pint of this if I didn't have some other things to try here.

The first batch kicked before I could even get a chance to try it, but they had another batch on tap a week or so later. And I see why it went so fast. Not only is it a seasonal brew, but it’s a good one and a style that is widely liked.

Pours a clear, dark reddish-copper with a small, off-white, tight head that quickly diminished to a thick film. The smell is typical of the style with a good, strong Vienna malt sweetness backed up by caramel and nut. It has a mild hop profile lending a light floral aroma to balance the nose. The flavor is of course still very malt-dominant, but the hops presence is a bit more noticeable than in many other Oktoberfest beers I’ve had this season, and that’s a good thing for sure. A caramel sweetness is most noticeable and the finish is crisp with a grassy bitterness. It has a medium body, semi-dry texture and low carbonation. Always one of my favorite beers at Otto’s (as it was back at the Bullfrog). Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for a good Oktoberfest/Märzen, but I find this beer to be HIGHLY sessionable and I’ve been stopping in at the brewpub more frequently while it’s on tap. A good representation of the style.