456 Marzen Lager
Neustadt Springs Brewery

Appearance: The body is a honey colored yellow, but nowhere near as transparent as a cloudiness hangs over the beer. The carbonation in the body is thin but quite ample and it produced a thumb's worth of head that produced minor lacing and retained decently.

Smell: Light grain dominates the nose, which is a bit disappointing for a style known for a bit more caramel roasting of the malt. There is a bit of a walnut note in the background that I am picking up. The potency just isn't there, even after it's had a chance to warm up.

Taste: Mild biscuit and shortbread taste to start with maybe a hint of nut that then offers a very restrained toffee malt touch paired with an equal amount of earthy hops that keep each other in check, but doesn't really let either flourish. That ending note as a touch a plum and what I believe is chestnut as well which is a bit interesting.

Mouthfeel: The carbonation is good and frothy and really seems to accentuate that last note exceptionally well. Transitioning is a mild up, down and up again ride that's just fun enough and the aftertaste is that inital, subdued biscuit malt that lacks that desired caramel sweetness.

Drinkability: Refreshing and on the lighter end of medium bodied. Settles down well and it does keep my interest while drinking given it showcases two malts. My biggest issue really is it drinks like a "Septemberfest" if you will, meaning a bit too much light summer drinker in it.

Final Thoughts: While I do like the dual malt nature in this beer, I really wish a sweeter profile was present here. As I said "Septemberfest" I feel best describes this beer, as it's not quite done the light summer drinker, but not quite to the medium bodied drinker that leads one into stout season. It's still quite good, and I'll give it a thumbs up, but I likely wouldn't go out of my way to buy it again.

Neustadt Brewery’s Marzen Lager (Oktoberfest). 5.5% alc.

Thick white head. Beer is golden coloured. Clear with lots of small bubbles.

Aroma is malt and a general fruitiness. The same can be said for the taste.

The beer is medium bodied and the finish is smooth and dry.

Winner of a silver medal at the 2013 U.S. Open Beer Championship.

A very good beer, in my opinion.

 

473 ml can served cold into a glass mug. Purchased from Fortinos for around $3 CDN. This version advertised at 5.5% ABV.

Appearance - hazy golden / copper color with a finger or so of fine white head. Modest retention and goodly amount of bubbles.

Smell - grainy with a slight earthy sweetness typical to the style. Some nuttiness as well giving an added dimension.

Taste - plenty of grain, modest bitterness with a bit of an earthy vegetative flavor. Definitely a reminder that fall is coming like it or not.

Mouthfeel - smooth and reasonably light, well carbonated.

Overall - nothing to complain about as this is a well crafted and rather tasty Oktoberfest beer. Certainly worthy of a sample and with increased availability this could be a go to beer.

 

 

 

 

Very good lager, very malt driven, nice rich flavors for a lager, subtle hints of caramel in the finish. Has a very nice copper and amber color, pours a relatively rich head for a lager.

Pours out a crystal clear honey golden orange with a finger of big bubbled head that fade quickly - looks like a soapy topping in a few seconds. The colour is great, the head is not.

Grassy grainy malts, lighter and brighter than expected. Slightly sweet. light rye bread. Pretty mild on the nose.

Thankfully more comes out in the mouth. Almost bitter citrus/grapefruit at first it smoothes out to more mealy malts and cereal grains. slightly sweet. Hops provide a bitter and dry finish. Good body though the carbonation feels off - smaller softer bubbles rather than something that pops on the tongue more.

Overall a nice beer, good balance for a simple and drinkable lager. Not much to write home about though, really wish there was more malt character in the middle to give it more complexity.

 

 

 

473 mL can picked up fresh from the brewery; best before Nov 21 2013. I've never been really big on märzens, even though the idea of a malty, sessionable lager appeals to me - but to be fair I also haven't tried very many of them. Will this be the first one I bother repurchasing? Served well-chilled.

Pours a bright, translucent golden-amber colour, topped with one finger of foamy, off-white head. It fades fairly quickly, leaving behind a smooth cap and frothy collar. The aroma is fresh but straightforward, the main components being biscuity malts, caramel, citrus and maybe even a hint of pine - a little hoppier than I tend to expect from this style, but I'm not complaining because my mouth is watering already.

I think we have a winner, folks! Lots of toasted, biscuity malt flavours force their way through immediately, followed soon after by caramel and sponge cake sweetness. Toward the finish, the grassy, herbal hopping begins to influence the flavour more strongly, with a spicy climax. Biscuity malt lingers alongside the spicy hop flavours into the aftertaste, a neat mixture of sweet and bitter. Medium-bodied, with a lovely soft, smooth mouthfeel and moderate carbonation that gently prickles the tongue. Very high drinkability for a 5.8% brew.

Final Grade: 3.85, a memorable B+. Neustadt Springs' 456 Marzen is probably the tastiest example of this style I've ever had. I am actually really regretting getting only one can of this stuff, since it is the sort of thing I would be satisfied drinking for the entire fall season - unfortunately, I doubt I'll be making my way back up to the brewery any time soon, and I've never seen this on-tap locally. A solid, satisfying and flavourful German-style lager, and possibly my new favourite from this brewery. Give it a go if you're lucky enough to spot it somewhere.

 

 

On-tap at Beer Bistro, in Toronto.

Neustadt Marzen looks soft as a cloud, albeit one that's orange-amber in colour. Its body is pristinely clear and generously resplendent and, as result, takes on an almost ethereal air. Its impressive copper hued head is so literally spongy I'm quite confident that if I were to drop my keys into the glass they might not sink to the bottom!

The aroma is rather resigned which, for a style that is already normally quite ordinary to begin with, makes for a less than exciting impression. The characteristic musk of German malts is present, but isn't as rich or substantial as it is in many authentic (or even other North American) examples. And there is hardly any of that toastiness I love so dearly.

Marzen is a style that typically berths only one little dumpling: maltiness. As like any only child, the malts crave all the attention; little of anything is tasted except a dry, clean, dimensionless two-row barley. And maybe a hint of fall-time harvest fruits as well. But to pinch out a little more character I'd of added more toast and upped the water carbonates.

What the beer lacks in character, however, it more than makes up for in drinkability. Like any Oktoberfest beer worth the weight of its stein - and, to be sure, this is suited to the stein, not the snifter - it is clean and quite accommodating to copious consumption. Its only flaw is that it's not as great as the bests on offer. Otherwise, it's an all around solid lager.

Neustadt 456 is like that person you know who is by all accounts a nice, friendly, likable, respectable person, but one that you just can't find much in common to talk about, and one you really can't be bothered to keep up a friendship with. This beer was a pleasure to meet, and I'll be happy to run into it again, but I'm fine seeing it only once a year.

Had on cask at C'est What's 2010 Fall Festival of Craft Brewers. Their list says this is 458 instead of 456, but I'll assume this is a typo and not actually a different beer. It pours a light orange colour with almost no head. Smells of spicy hops and toasted malt. Nice carbonation level actually, even though there was almost no head.

On tap at C'est What. Pours a mahogoney brown, with a nice lid of white head, instead lacing down the glass. Fresh aromas, a little hoppy too. Taste is rich mild, still carrying mildly hoppiness. a touch of roasted malt. creamy easy mouthfeel though not thick by any means. Maybe their best beer yet

sampled at the brewery and in cans: Poured a clear amber with orange highlights in the glass, tight 2 finger creamy white cap that lasts well and laces. Aroma is very pleasant: big breadyness, a light toastiness and herbal-grassy hopping. Medium bodied, solid malt spine, rich character and mouth feel. Nice big wallop of malt up front, no mistaking that bready-toasty Munich red malt, ....hops balance almost perfectly but have a herbacious-spiciness....finish is moderate, malty with jusy a hint of sweetness which rides below the decent hop bite. Marzen is my drink, and for a first attempt at the style this brewer has managed to produce a flavourful decent rendition with rich marzen character, good drinkability and a unique twist....the hop bite in the finish from New Zealand noble varieties. Top Flight effort!