Spiders From Märzen
River's Edge Brewing Co

I didn’t get my fair of Oktoberfest beers this year, so when I saw this Marzen, I had to give it a try. Light, fresh and smooth. Maybe a little too light for a true Marzen, but I really like it.

16 ounce prowler into dimpled mug, filled on 9/15/2019. Pours crystal clear medium orange/copper/amber color with a 1 finger fairly dense and fluffy cream colored head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big brown sugar, brown bread dough/crust, toasted biscuit, and nuttiness; with lighter notes of caramel, wood, pepper, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with big strength. Taste of big brown sugar, brown bread dough/crust, toasted biscuit, and nuttiness; with lighter notes of caramel, wood, pepper, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness. Light-moderate herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of brown sugar, brown bread dough/crust, toasted biscuit, nuttiness, caramel, wood, pepper, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with an awesome malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Very clean lagering, minimal fruity/yeasty notes. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready/grainy, and fairly sticky mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 5.8%. Overall this is an awesome Marzen! All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of bready malts and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and pretty refreshing to drink with the mellowly bitter/drying finish; great soft feel and not aggressive. Awesomely clean/rich Munich malt complexity, with great noble hop presence/balance for the style. Light residual sweetness with lingering dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and impressive spot on style example as expected.

32oz howler, freshly filled, poured into a 16oz tumbler glass.

The beer pours a nice copper/amber color, decent clarity with a touch of haze and a few bubbles rising to the top of the glass. Atop the beer sits a nice off white head, about a finger or two tall that has nice retention yielding spots of soapy lace. The aroma is pleasant, rich malty grains, brown bread, a bit of spice, nutmeg, some piney bitterness and some earth hop as well. Pretty straightforward and to the point, but well balanced and inviting on a chilly fall night. The flavors mirror the nose well, lots of malty grain, smooth and rich, nice caramel and amber grain, light spice, a touch of bitterness from the hops, mild earthiness and a smooth finish. The mouthfeel is nice, lively, medium body, coats well enough and the finish is a touch dry.

Verdict: A nice Marzen from River's Edge, definitely hits the spot for a nice, smooth, amber lager for Autumn. Perhaps not the best American interpretation of the style, it's definitely a worthwhile brew and has a great name.