Astraia Marzen
OEC Brewing (Ordinem Ecentrici Coctores)

 

 

 

for a marzen style bee it lacks true germane taste

 

 

16 oz can.

Pours an opaque golden orange color with a large effervescent white head. Good retention. Leaves some clingy lacing.

Strong roasted malt aromas with some caramel and earthy hops. Slightly nutty.

The flavor brings lots of sweet, bready malts, as well as caramel and a touch of honey. Finishes with a spicy hop character.

The feel is medium-light bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth and creamy. Finishes dry.

Overall, this is a good Märzen. It leans a bit sweet, but has a nice hop character to balance out the flavor. Easy to drink.

 

A finger of white foam atop an orangey amber body. Smell of caramel malt and toasty oak, with a hint of darker nuttiness. Taste also stars the caramel malt and toasty oak, but the sharp yet shortlived yeast elevates to a gentle finish with a hint of floral hops and apricot. Malty and soft body that goes down easy but has oaky and yeast character to keep your interest with decent carbonation. A rarity in that this is a marzen that was given a twist but it actually worked

This one pours a slightly murky golden brown color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like toasted malt, toasted bread, a little bit of spicy hop character, and some floral aromas.

This leans more towards a festbier than a marzen, probably - as it finishes pretty dry, and there's a distinct floral and spicy hop character. There's some nice malty breadiness, but I'd want a bit more richness in that department.

This is lighter bodied, and very crisp, with a pretty nice drinkability overall.

I've liked the other lages that I've had from OEC more, but I still dig this one.

Pours a clear amber color, visible carbonation. A large foam head billows to the top of the glass, retains well.
The nose is sweet with all sorts of malty aromas, caramel, nutty, biscuit and toast. Notes of fruity yeast, honey, vanilla, lightly earthy and woodsy hops.
The taste is malt forward and sweet throughout, however, it is very well balanced with crisp lager spices and an earthy hops bitterness. Notes of biscuit, toast, orchard fruit, citrus, and woodsy resins.
Medium bodied with a smooth, nearly creamy mouthfeel. Finishes crisp and dry with a hops resin kick. The carbonation is moderate.
What a great find with this one, spot on for the style. I would have again.

 

an absolute instant classic for me, like straight up instantly one of my favorite takes on the style i have ever had. its almost extra traditional, like its classic in terms of the ingredients it uses, the double decoction mash (you can always tell!), and the even the lager yeast strain for the most part, even though it presents a little different here, but its also rustic to me, more interesting than most, creamy textured and infinitely nuanced, the kind of balance and skillful intentionality that is all too rare. this has an autumn orange tone to it, a little cloudiness which is permissible, and a short but dense white head, almost nitro looking to me, good retention and lace, like a whipped topping. the aroma and flavor are incredible, wet and earthy, soil and minerals, more toasted than caramelized grain character, this is way less sweet than a lot of these are, bready and hearty, from the earth, organic, good depth here too, a hint of hazelnut maybe. there is just a little twangy funk to the ferment, well beyond the lager yeast, which drives this aspect of it for sure, and rightly so, but the open ferment and coolship processes are also evident, not bretty or anything, and definitely not acidic, but there is some real character to it. dry as can be, interesting all the way, and fuller, soft and smooth, almost creamy to me, i love the texture. this is everything i want in the style and nothing i dont, and frankly i would take it over a number of the most renowned examples of the style, it is approaching perfection. ive liked all the canned lagers these guys have dropped, but this takes the cake! absolutely not to be missed, an early beer of the year candidate for me. its that good!

Such a legit German-style Marzen! Deep gold--not amber like so many American "German-style" marzens. Bright white one-finger head that laces. Munich malt and Spalt hops bring you straight to Allemagne. Deep, grainy flavor, a beer of substance. Big flavor with a modest ABV of 5.4%.

Pours a hazy mix of sunset orange and brown with a fat finger of lightly tanned head. It settles into a thin cap that leaves thick rings of lacing.

Nice aroma of lightly toasted bready malt with a kiss of sweetness and a slight metallic note.

Light malt sweetness up front in the taste with a touch of cherry. Clean, slightly metallic aftertaste with a hint of tea-like bitterness. Not as toasty or bready as the nose, although there’s a bit of that throughout.

On the light side of medium bodied with sharply fizzy carbonation.

A very solid offering.

No can date
Pours a med fizzy foamy almost 1 finger head head with moderate retention, fair lacing, hazy med orange color

Nose soft malt, cereal, grainy sweet notes, touch of a toasted grain, med herbal leafy hops

Taste soft layered decoction mash malt, cereal grain, grainy sweet, little toasted biscuity malt, bit of bread crust, med herbal leafy hops with med bitterness, getting a tad spicy late, soft finish, clean

Mouth is med bod, soft layered decoction, med frothy carb

Overall not bad, malt gets a bit on the toasty sweeter side but otherwise nice decoction mash, good beer