Festbier
Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown

On tap at a friend’s party. This was served too cold but once it warmed up it was quite pleasant.

 

 

Tasted flat, can't compare to Hacker Pschorr

Been looking for a really good Oktoberfest beer. This ain't it!!! My first sip and i thought someone farted in my mouth!!! Terrible!!!

Poured from a 12 oz bottle; no birth date. Pours beautiful caramel brown with intial one finger of head; rapidly recedes. Tastes of sweet caramel notes with subtle chocolate (?). A bit boozy tasting, especially given the lowish ABV. Not bad.

A lovely copper orange body with a fluffy head. Despite light lacing, an attractive beer.

Nose is a wonderful nutty toasted malt with hints of caramel sweetness.

Taste substantially follows nose with a lesser malt nuttiness and a rise in sweetness. Nothing too sweet but just a toasted malt sweetness

Good mouth feel and carbonation makes this one, as intended, an easy drinker.

As promised, I have updated my review after having a fresh sample. My ratings have markedly improved.

Consumed/Reviewed on: 27 Sep, 2022

1.5 x 12-oz Bottle
Best By: Jan, 2023
Glass: 0.5 L Fest Mug
Serving Temp: 53.1 F


Look:
Deep, dark, and rich copper that is nice and clear. Tons of bubbles rising to the surface. Initial head is 2-3 fingers of cream to light-tan foam that is quite creamy in appearance. This slowly shrinks to 1 finger, leaving very good lacing along the glass.

Smell:
All kinds of dark bread and toasted grains including some pumpernickel here and there. The hops provide a nice spicy note to the nose that complements the bready malts nicely, almost like baking spices. The nose has a sense of dryness about it as well. Some of what I smell does come across as faint cocoa powder.

Taste:
Pretty much the same as the nose. Tons of somewhat sweet bready malts start things off along with a touch of nuts. The some dry chocolate/cocoa drifts by followed by a fairly decent dose of spicy and earthy hops. The sip dries a bit and finishes slightly dry, malty (imagine!), and warmly spicy.

Feel:
Smooth, a bit soft, and almost creamy. The body is a solid medium.

Overall:
A pretty nice and a solid American Märzen. Very malty (and boldy so) but not too sweet. This is a good beer for a crisp fall day/evening. Or even a rainy one.


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Consumed/Reviewed on: 15 Aug, 2022

1.5 x 12-oz Bottle
Best By: 14-Jan-2022
Glass: 0.5 L Fest Mug
Serving Temp:


Look:
Cloudy/Murky dark burnished copper with a finger-and-a half off-beige colored head. The head slowly dissipates to a very thin cover. OK lacing. The beer is dark enough to pass for a light brown.

Smell:
Toasted grains and toasted wheat bread with a toffee or light caramel note. I swear that I can pick up light milk chocolate notes.

Taste:
Same as the nose with the addition of a very mild grassy hop note in the background. Definitely a malt-fest.

Feel:
Smooth and almost creamy. Body is medium with a lean to the full side.

Overall:
A nice fall or rainy-day beer. Uncomplicated and drinks well. It definitely leans to the maltier side of Märzens. The light (milk) chocolate notes are interesting and not expected for a Märzen but they are fine. In some respects this beer reminds me of a good but low ABV Bock or even Dopppelbock.

This sample is a year old and is 7 months past its best-by date. I will re-review with 2022 sample(s) when I obtain them.

From the bottom area of the bottle, under the label: "11052234B232151"

Appearance: The body has good clarity and is a color of golden sun tea brown and orange. It has a medium-large fluffy white head with very good retention and frothy lacing that doesn't quite stick for long but looks nice.

Aroma: It has a light nutty aroma with hints of tea leaves.

Taste: Up front there is a light tea leaf flavor with some acorn and a light bit of charred caramel sugar. On the middle of the palate it has these same flavors but a touch of coffee ground with a bit of earthy moss. The back of the mouth is a lightly bitter tea and a touch of carbon. The aftertaste is tea-like and pleasantly earthy. After a while a wonderful fresh crushed grain flavor started to creep in on the palate but only after a few sips.

Mouthfeel: It feels just above light bodied and teetering on the lower edge of medium. It has a pleasant earthy bitterness. The beer remains very drinkable and enjoyable.

Overall: It is a very flavorful beer that has a lot of earthy qualities that are perfect for an Autumn day. It combines great flavor with very good drinkability. I wish I had bought more. I would definitely buy it again and I highly recommend buying it.

SRM 14-15 resembling opalescent copper. A big, dark almond foam holds three inches before consolidating to a pillow. Patchy lace forms on the inner wall of a double-walled pint glass. I noticed no visible carbonation.

The aroma is similar to wheat bread and malt. Biscuits and toffee show up along with light herbal notes. It is very pleasant.

The dry entry turns sweet fairly quickly. Moist wheat bread is accompanied by light bitterness. Balance is good, however, it shifts slightly toward the sweet end. Light butterscotch shows up and lingers as warmth overtakes the beer. The finish is short and mild.

A medium body and soft Jersey cotton texture. There is no presence of alcohol. Carbonation is faint and prickly at entry and fades to memory quickly.

This is easy drinking and another good beer to enjoy while watching football or baseball playoff games. If I had hot pretzels and mustard, this would be a perfect match for a crisp Autumn afternoon.

 

 

 

 

L: Poured from a 12oz bottle, a nice dark amber with an off white head that fades quickly to a ring leaving a lightly laced glass.
A: Toasted bread, malts, lightly hopped.
T: Al of the above, a little caramel.
F: Medium body, lingering carbonation
O: IMHO, one of the better Oktoberfest Biers yet!

 

 

Single bottle from Party Town
Clear amber color with a copper hue.
Off-white, thick creamy head with good retention and spotty lacing.
Aroma of bready malt and a hint of hops.
Taste is very much bready malt forward, semi-sweet with a slightly peppery bitterness in the finish.
Medium body with moderate carbonation.

 

 

"Best by 1/8/22"; drank 9/6/21 @ the Yarchives.

See-through dark orange rust appearance.

A rough pour yielded a big, noisy khaki head; nice, frothy tree-rung lace.

Caramel, roasted corn & faint acorn notes in the nose.

Creamy, medium mouthfeel.

Caramel & roasted corn flavors up front; mild acorn notes on the finish.

Fall in a glass; it's not super complex but it gets the job done. I like this one.

An average pour produced a fat finger of light beige creamy foam with long retention and spots of sticky foam. Clear amber-copper color, great looks.

Full smell of bready malt (fresh baked and rising dough) with mild floral hops and a hint of cardboard and faint alcohol.

Big malty taste, semi-sweet with low bitterness. Bready like the smell. The sweetness has elements of apple and pear, the balancing bitterness has some pepper and spice. The finish is fast and clean (not crisp) with a briefly lingering spicy aftertaste.

Medium-full body with soft carbonation, smooth and perfectly balanced. Warms well, flavors evenly get bigger.

 

 

 

Pours a dark copper with ample tan head and smells sweet, malty, with a scent of German hops. It has a very full and prominent flavor, a little sweet but not overdone. You can taste the German hops and malts that they advertise, raisin, caramel and toasted malts. Pretty true to style and pretty easy to drink with a medium-light body. I only bought 2 for my son and I to try but it’s a worthy entry, especially fresh, and I would purchase a sixer no problem, cheers!

From a 12oz bottle dated best by Jan? ?? 22. Literally printed white on white for the date but it's fresh-Oktoberfest in August...jus sayin

Pours an orangish reddish brown with about one finger of tan head. Head dissipates quickly. Mild lacing.

Smells of bread, caramel and some wet wood.

Bready taste. Some bitterness-almost piney but not IPA piney. Touch of sweetness.

Not all that easy drinking. Medium to high carbonation. Sweet aftertaste with ever so slight skunk.

Well. I'd probably pick a different Oktoberfest beer next time around. It's not terrible, but there's a lot better out there.

Nice and malty, slightly toasty flavor. Just what a lager should be!

A top notch Fest beer.
This has to be one of the best Americanized versions of the style.
Great stuff.

 

12 ounce bottle poured into a tumbler style pint glass.
Best by: 17 DEC 2020

L: Clear, copper, tiny bubbles rising, over one finger of khaki head with good retention, leaves some lace.
S: Mild bread aroma with a hint of spicy hop.
T: Full flavored, balanced fairly close malt to hop, bread and toast to herbal and spicy, restrained bitterness, semi-sweet and drying a touch to the finish, aftertaste leans to malt.
F: Light and crisp, slightly creamy.
O: Easy to drink, good flavor but possibly leaning malty, very good in my opinion.

 

Enjoy by 12/18/20

Pours a clear, deep copper body with brownish hues and topped with about a finger of creamy, pale beige foam; decent head retention yields spotty islands of paper-thin cap, a rocky ring of frothy collar, and a lazy splotching of dense, established webby lacing spread around the walls of the glass.

Aroma opens burly and impactful, with a stiff, bready malt overtaking the senses as hops offer ample competition, contributing interwoven floral tones verging toward light straw; a distinct honey note enters on the middle, though a natural charry essence dominates into the back end, with black bread crusts, brown bread, and a caramel sweetness in the close that feels uncharacteristically in-place.

Taste offers more outright sweetness upfront, highlighting caramel and lighter toffee supplemented by a subtle bready quality; honey remains a presence beneath the surface, flowing into notes of apple core and a touch of mushy fig on the back end before burnt bread crusts, grass, and caramel resume on the finish.

Mouthfeel greets the tongue with a medium-full body and subdued, moderate carbonation spritzing mildly into a drying yet somehow simultaneously slick texture over the mid-palate; a rounded, malty grit meets a well-maintained bitterness, softening into back end and finishing cleanly and with a minor 'snap'.

Underneath a one-dimensionality encouraged by its forthright robustness, this Märzen shows an almost surprisingly stalwart composure from start to finish; there are few edges, and any imperfections are eased over while the blunt overall character remains the primary deterrent to more consummate drinkability.

12oz bottle
enjoy by 18 DEC 2020
L: deep amber-brown colored bier; thin beige head
S: sweet grain, caramel, bread crust, spicy hops
T: rich toasted grain, caramel, rye bread crust, nutty malt; hops are spicy & earthy
F: fuller body, well balanced, pleasant carbonation, dry finish
O: very good Märzen, just a tad too rich taking away from sessionability

Clear copper appearance with a good sized head and decent lacing. Herbal hops and toasted malts pop up in the understated aroma. Malt driven flavor, notes of brown bread and just a bit of residual sweetness. Rich malt taste continues in the finish. Creamy textured, medium bodied mouthfeel.

Pours deep mahogany, 4 finger head. Smells velvety malt, layers of malt flavor ranging from nuts to chocolate. Good body, great use of decoction mash. Finishes dry. Not really a festbier, more properly a marzen. Great example. Would recommend.

 

 

Bottle from Total Wine poured into glass at Lake Kabetogama. First festbier of the year! Fairly dark color. Very enjoyable.

Poured from 12 oz bottle into pint glass. A 2" cream color sudsy head drops slowly with moderate lacing. Color is deep amber with plenty of streaming carbonation. Aroma is rich barley malt syrup with floral and spicy hop notes. Mouthfeel is light to medium with a drying finish. Flavors of raisin, plum, biscuit, floral and grassy notes. Overall: a very good Marzen.