Glasstown October
Glasstown Brewing Co.

Glasstown Brewing Co. "October"
16 fl. oz. can without production codes or freshness dating
$3.79 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: Although there's no freshness dating on this can I'm obviously way behind in drinking it. This is February and I imagine that this was brewed in August of last year. Hopefully it's held up, and I appreciate that they just called it "October" as opposed to "Oktoberfest" which is trademarked in Germany. It's poured a mostly clear dark amber/copper colored body beneath a full head of off-white foam, although I have to say that it sounds like a freshly poured can of soda with all of the popping and fizzing going on, and I can see it dropping before my eyes. It's almost gone, there's just about an eight of an inch left. It's lightly sweet, toasty, caramelish, and fruity in the nose. Just based on the smell I'm going to guess that there's a fair amount of Vienna malt in this beast and I'm going to go right on to the tasting to confirm that and... I 100% believe that I am correct. For whatever reason Vienna malt gives off a kind of fruitiness. Munich malt doesn't, and this definitely has it. It's like berries, or maybe even like grape, and that's definitely not coming from the yeast. Regarding the yeast, it seems very well fermented and lagered so they've done a very good job with that. In fact, except for the lack of head retention and lacing (is my glass really "beer clean"?) I'll say it's very well done all around. The bitterness is perfectly balanced and there are some mildly grassy and lightly floral and spicy hops within the malt that liven it and give it 'roundness'. Ahh, it just occured to me why the head gave up so quickly, and it's the carbonation. The carb level is on the low side which is great for a smooth mouthfeel, but not so great for head retention and lacing - but wait! - it fizzed up when I poured it, so what gives? Right now at least it's medium to medium-full in body with a dextrinous feel and a remarkable smoothness. There's just a gentle caress on the tongue. I think that works really well (but I'm still questioning the cleanliness of my glass) with what's going on. The only question is do you like this type of festbier? There are no beers like this at Oktoberfest anymore. Most of what you get are what we're now calling Wiesnbiers, which are somewhat lighter golden versions mainly done with Pils and Munich malts, although there are a few traditional holdouts. Those holdouts, however, don't contain as much Vienna malt as this one does. Personally I like it, and I feel it's pretty well put together. It fit's the specifications, and with the exception of the limited head retention and lacing it's quite good.
Review #7,777

On tap at the brewery's taproom.
Appearance. Typical reddish-brown body but slightly hazy and an exceptionally weak head.
This is clean and appropriately malty with no off notes. Very good aftertaste.

Poured from undated can (but released within the past two weeks) into a seidel mug. It pours a hazy, honey-amber color. The lite khaki-colored head disappeared quickly. It is effervescent with a lot of bubbles. The smell features caramel malt with some cola notes. The taste opens with toasted brown bread and caramel. It has a nice balance and isn't overly sweet. It has a touch of pepper and spice at the finish. The taste improves significantly as it warms. Don't drink this too cold. It's well carbonated and the 6.5% ABV gives it some heft. Overall, Glasstown's October doesn't challenge the leaders of the style but it is a decent rendition for a local brewery.