Oktoberfest
Flat Branch Pub & Brewery

32oz crowler. Poured out a clear, golden amber color with a small, off-white head of bubbly foam. It left some sticky lace. It smelled of roasted malt, toffee and grasses. Sweet toffee, caramel and some roasted notes. It had a slightly piney bitterness.

Pours a clear, copper/orange color. 1/5 inch head of a white color. Slight retention and poor lacing. Smells of yeast, slight hops, and slight pale malt. Fits the style of a Marzen/Oktoberfest. Mouth feel is smooth and crisp with a high carbonation level. Tastes of yeast, pale malt, grain, and a hint of hops. Overall, basically a let down - not enough good malt characters nor yeast.

Presentation: 1/2 gallon growler, poured into dimple steins for me and the wife to share; the website and the board at the pub said that this one is 4.5% abv rather than the 4.9 listed, and notes that there's 4 German specialty malts and 2 imported hop varieties in here.

Presentation: Attractive, slightly hazed beaten copper colored beer; a decent pour produces a decent ivory cap with decent retention; a bit higher carbonatino than expected, esp. out of the growler.

Smell: Some mild caramel malts but lighter than anticipated for the style, along with some fruitiness and a bit of odd, adjunct-like sweetness...

Taste: Some mild toasty/grainy malts, backed with a light fruitiness, and a clean light hop bitterness on the finish. A bit lighter than a lot of examples, but pretty tasty and quite drinkable.

Mouthfeel: Fairly light bodied and smooth

Drinkability: Pretty high

Conclusion: The only thing bringing this down are the aromas, which are a bit odd; everything else is pretty good, even if this is a lighter, slightly pedestrian take on the style. Overall, pretty decent Oktoberfest.