Oktoberfiesta
Around the Bend Beer Co.

16oz undated can poured into a pint glass shows a gorgeous orangish bronze body and briefly floats a 1/4" cap of tan colored bubbles that recedes to wispy islands and an edge ring leaving the glass clean behind.

Caramel aroma leads the fruity pasilla pepper and earthy greens.

Taste is less caramel and more peppery earthiness. The peppers, are definitely not hot, or spicy, but just an obvious pepper fruit addition that hints, or influences, an expectation of heat.

Mouthfeel is a lighter leaning medium with a wet, almost oily finish.

Overall, I really like it. Easy drinking, different, not cloyingly sweet, but it is nothing like Oktoberfest and they are not really trying for that.

I like this not so much for the seasonal lager, but more for the cultural fusion.
We all know how resistant to change this Bavarian beer festival is. After probably two centuries of wondering if an amber malty lager was the only answer to this change of seasons, the Festbier finally emerges as the official style at the turn into this century. Then along comes this micro from Chicagoland and says "Since Oktoberfest is our adopted holiday and since Mexico is part of North America, let's add some of their spices to the Bavarian tradition." Not a logical thought, but an interesting one.

Now, I don't think that ATB's experiment is going to become dominant: but it almost succeeds at being conceptually creative. I drank it with a southwest veggie burger for lunch and both worked together well enough to do that again. Oktoberfiesta is both subtle... and then it's not. If ATB works on muting the spicy after-taste, they have a good contribution to breaking the Bavarian tradition... which is a good thing.

Looks the part with mostly clear chestnut brown body and a finger of foam, trace spotted lacing. Smell has caramel malt and peppers starring, epazote just translates as faint grain. Taste has the peppers and caramel malt up front in an unorthodox but fine way, but epazote finish is weird, doesn’t fit at all, like soggy paper and cheap corn. Feel is malty with playful spice but again the corn texture on the finish is just odd. The idea was bold and interesting, but the epazote was a bridge too far for me

 

 

 

 

this was a let down - no octoberfest taste at all - kind of bland