Life On Märzen
Berkshire Brewing Company Inc.

 

Canned 8/18

I haven't tried many of this style, but this seems a bit bigger and sweeter than usual. Bready, nutty malts with a hint of caramel before a spicy, tingly finish. Pretty darn good.

Pours a dark to medium amber. Some caramel and toffee on the nose. It's a lot of caramel and toffee character. It's got a good amount of sweetness without the leanness that I usually appreciate from lagers like this.

 

 

 

A- Amber withbeige head

S- bready with hints of caramel

T-caramel, bready and biscuit

M- medium body,caramel sweetness upfront, lager crispness on backend with Medium carbonation

O- Not bad, perfect sunny fall day beer

Canning date obstructed

Here it is, my kick off to the Oktoberfest tasting we have going over the next few weeks. This is, by a long shot, the highest rated Märzen I’ve had so far, currently sitting at #7 for the style. It is also quite high in abv, much more than I expected for the style. Berkshire makes solid classic styles, so let’s see what this one is all about

Pours a cloudy dark amber with 2 fingers of creamy off white head that fades to a thin cap and leaves minimal lacing

As I like my Märzen’s, this has a beautiful sweetness in the nose. I’m picking up on aromas of buttery toffee, raisin, toasted grain, bready malt, orange marmalade, and light spicy hops

In taste this is still sweet, but the spice is more forward than the aroma. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting orange rind, doughy malt, white pepper, golden raisin, earthy hops, and lemon rind. The swallow brings notes of spicy hops, orange marmalade, caramel malt, ligjt clove, and brown sugar

A medium body pairs with gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in a simultaneous smooth and crisp beer. Finishes mostly dry with with a nice balance

This one is solid for sure. Maybe a bit muted in taste but overall still very good

 

Thanks to IMN0P for sending this my way.
Had high expectations for this one. I believe it is a solid Märzen but there are many others I would prefer over his one.

A: Deepest of the amber shades, shavings of rust and shiny copper, slightly clouded. Roaring effervescence supports a tawny beige head, soapy formation but quite large. Settles to a thin film.

S: Day old-honey braided pretzels with a light vanilla-caramel icing. Malted brown bread spackled with toffee chips, rustic herbal hops and a spicy floral bouquet.

M: Medium-light body, very strong carbonation supports a semi-sweet raw doughiness mid-palate before a dry and slightly bitter hop finish.

T: Of all the American Oktos, this comes closest to the Hackers and Ayingers. Rich, deep malt flavor--biscuits, white brown bread, spiced pumpernickel--a real taste of the spectrum. A tingle of peppery Noble hops readies the palate for a hint of dried fruit, making the raisin-like sweetness more pronounced. Finishes with an earthy depth and floral bitterness.

Greatly enjoyed this Marzen. I haven’t tasted this style from BBC, but this was a surprise- one of the best around!
Amber color, 4F head, in a Brooklyn Octoberfest glass.
Plum, raisin, malt aroma.
Biscuity MF.
The plum, raisin are complemented by a malty biscuit flavor in the taste.
I will definitely buy again!

 

 

A moderate pour from a 12-oz. can produced a finger of off-white soapy foam with average retention, no lace. Clear amber-copper color, beautiful in sunlight.

Bready malt (rising dough and wheat toast) greets the nose with light caramel and faint herbal hops. Hints of fruit sweetness and toasted multigrain bread in the background.

The taste is neutral with below average hop bitterness at first. Toasted malt flavor leeds as grain and wheat follow closely. Tea, apple, caramel malt and pear almost add sweetness as bitterness and under-ripe citrus creates balance. Clean, almost crisp at the finish, semi-dry with average hop bitterness that lingers briefly.

Medium body, smooth lasting carbonation. Alcohol is well hidden, almost imperceptible.
True to Marzen style, dangerously drinkable. My favorite so far and there's been a few.

Another Patoberfest beer. Thanks pal.

A somewhat dulled reddish amber body with a proper just barely off white frothy foam. Good lacing.

Aroma blasts toasty biscuits and burnt caramel.

Flavor follows. Toasty caramel, toasty caramel, toasty caramel.

Nice rich feel with a sweet start and mildly bitter finish.

I gotta say, this is a good beer but hardly reminds me of an Oktöberfest. I know it say "that" and "lager", but this seems all Red Ale to me.

Prost?

 

On tap at Burlington Oktoberfest

Canned on 8/29/19

Pours a clear dark copper with an orange tint and capped with two fingers of tight, off-white froth; good retention fades to a thick cap and dense layering of webby, soapy lacing.

Aromas of robust brown bread open, steadily introducing building caramel malts struck with bits of pine and wood; dries nicely to a deep malt character ranging from semi-sweet/nutty to roasty, and touched with light herbal hops more apparent at the close.

Taste shows robust rye bread with a toasty, rounded smoke becoming increasingly pronounced on the mid-palate; some caramel malt adds a mild sweetness, while the finish is on the quicker side, with faint bits of herbal honeysuckle and white bread.

Mouthfeel has a medium-light body with moderate carbonation highlighting a consistent, mild malty char along the mid-palate; finishes mostly dry with a rounded touch of malty sweetness.

A robust brew finding harmony in its malts without devolving into overt sweetness; a spectrum of roasty, earthy, and (semi-)sweet is explored enjoyably without sacrificing quenchability, leaving an American Oktoberfest I’d happily return to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orange copper with tan head

Smells bready and spicy (but not hot spicy)

Smooth malt flavor with hints of caramel and a slightly dry finish. Kind of simple but really good and well balanced.

This is one of my favorite Oktoberfests. It's better on draft, but still good from the bottle.

 

 

12 oz can into Oktoberfest mug. BB date of 3/24/19.
Look is nice cloudy copper. Nose is light hops and them malt. Taste follows nose very balanced beer. Feel is medium. Overall very nice version easy drink and would get again.

 

 

There is no phrase in the beer world more cringe-worthy to me than "our interpretation." Especially when it is applied to classic styles. In this case, however, I give it a pass. Life On Marzen, which until recently was simply called Oktoberfest, is big and beefy with complex malts. Roasted malts, French caramel, nutty, bready and doughy, the crests and troughs of toasty goodness and sweet malt relief never ends. A true lager, the mouthfeel is soft and pillowy with moderate carbonation and a wonderful medicinal hop finish with a nip of pepper and alcohol.

Appearance - dark copper body with beige head

Smell - lager like, nuts, caramel

Taste - caramel, cherry, toasted nuts, bready, malty

Mouthfeel - medium body, medium carbonation, caramel sweetness upfront, lager crispness on the back end

Overall - a bit sweeter than you Marzen should probably be, yet I still found this to be an enjoyable beer

Price Point $3.99/22 oz bomber

Nice Copper Amber color, had a nice malty taste with slight hops, had this on tap thought I'd just try it but ended up drinking four glasses worth. A very good American spin on the Marzan style