Festbier
Holy Mountain Brewing Company - Interbay Brewery + Taproom

2023; no canning date (released on 9/21/23); consumed on 12/5/23

Pours a crystal-clear honey-gold body capped with multiple fingers of fluffy, off-white foam; solid head retention leaves a limited few islands of rocky cap, modest, creamy collar, and myriad chunky rings of soapy, webby lacing encircling the walls of the glass.

Aromas of vibrant honey open, with touches of sugared almond accenting through bread dough and a modest white toast pinnacle as a backing prickle of level minerality persists throughout the bouquet.

Taste brings wildflower honey and a gentle minerality upfront, leaving nutty malt accents expanding over the mid-palate as brown bread crusts and white toast tone the back end of the profile.

Mouthfeel shows a medium body and a taut, moderate carbonation, leaving a fuzzy spritz dispersed through a near paper-dry mid-palate, while a subtle snap grazes a largely clean back end.

Expressive honey and pale malt texturing are dried to balance, settling to a supportive background of quaint grain and easygoing breadiness; a thoughtfully structured festbier embracing restrained sweetness.

---

2022 release; no canning date (released on 9/15/22, so presumably canned within a few days of that date); consumed on 10/10/22

Pours a crystal-clear honey-gold body capped with numerous fingers of taut, sudsy, white foam; good head retention leaves a slight cap, moderate, frothy collar, and substantial spread of webby, soapy lacing lingering across the walls of the glass. 4.75

Aromas of crisp white bread lead into subtle honey as a grassy hop intrusion crosses deft grain and imparts light tones of orange peel and wisps of citrus zest. 3.5

Taste opens to straw and firmer white toast, with hoppier undertones bringing lavender against honeysuckle over the mid-palate, leaving soft grain meandering into touches of orange and a grassy finish. 3.25

Mouthfeel shows a light body and a creamy fluff of moderate-high carbonation; crisp textures into the mid-palate turn prickly with an encroaching bitterness, though remaining quietly dry into the back end as the enhanced hop presence engages refreshing character into the finish. 4

A delicate approach of soft, bready grain is largely undone by an intrusive hop overlay, leaving awkward contrasts of prickly herbaceousness cutting through the otherwise steady, semi-sweet malt nuance; still, a decent, if choppy, overall effort. 3.5

 

Can and Seidel received from @snaotheus in an unabashedly porch hammering in Bif14


Pours a clear golden liquid , active carbonation streams, capped by a frothy white one finger foam layer, reduces to stretchy lacings and a thin white layer

Aroma is malty, grassy

Taste is malty, straw like, mild pepper spiciness

Good sudsing, crisp, clean, hop nibble, semi dry finish

Good beer

Thank you @snaotheus for sending me this beer from a new to me brewery and the appropriate vessel to enjoy it in !

 

 

16oz can

Pours 3 big fingers of white head into my willi glass, very soapy. Fades somewhat quickly. Initial lacing looks poor. Golden body, crystal clear, with a very small amount of bubbles coming up. Looks not that great so far.

Fair amount of noble hops on the nose, along with a mineral presence and a little sweetness. Definitely not to an Oktoberfest level, but there is a smidge of maltiness here, biscuit comes through when agitated. Noticeably hoppy. Kinda smells like a souped-up Pilsner, maltier and hoppier. I guess that’s what this weird style is supposed to be, minus the hoppier part, which is odd either way. Regardless, I’m digging it for what it is.

Flavor drinks a whole lot closer to a Pilsner or Export Lager. A lot of spice coming through, pepper, herbal, quite hoppy. The faintest grain, but really not much of a malt presence at all. This is fine, more of a hoppy Pilsner. It tastes good, but I’m losing patients expecting something I never get with these American Festbiers being anything but malty.

Mouthfeel follows suit – good enough, but nothing like what is ever advertised. Carbonation is pretty high. Significant dryness. Bitterness is also pronounced. Body is quite light. Hoppy Pilsner.

Drinkabiltiy is fine. Hoppyness is not a deterrent. Dryness on the other hand is a little high at times.

Appearance turned out very poor, zero lacing and the head had no chance from the get go.

I really don’t get this style. BJCP claims it’s supposed to be light but pretty malty, like a filtered hef almost - I have yet to encounter a single Festbier that tastes like anything but a Pilsner. These are never malty, nor anywhere close to a Marzen, I don’t know why those two styles are confused with each other because they could not be more different. Not a bad beer, but I may trash this style just on principle alone.

This one pours a golden light orange color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like spicy hops, grainy and bready malt, with some herbal flavors as well.

This is really quite good, with a wonderfully spicy and grassy hop character, and bready and just slightly grainy and herbal malt character. It all blends extremely well together.

This is light bodied, clean, and so smooth and drinkable, with a wonderful crispness.

I'm not surprised at all, but Holy Mountain absolutely nailed the style.

2020-10-10
16oz can served in a big snifter. Can doesn't have a date on it. Just says "BREAKFEST" on the bottom. I like Holy Mountain, but what a stupid decision. Already stamping their beers, but not putting useful information on it? Just stupid.

Pours clear light amber or deep brassy gold with small head that fades to nothing with no lacing. Smell is lager and grain, unoppressive and nice.

Taste is not light, but lighter and crisper, not at all sweet, but still grainy. Lots of bitterness, some nuttiness.

Mouthfeel is light and surprisingly crisp. Enjoyable beer.