Oktoberfest
Left Hand Brewing Company

From the small can, it pours a clear amber color with a nice head that slowly reduces and leaves lacing. The nose gets a some tosted malt and caramel. The mouth follows with a sweetish, malty, caramelly brew that leaves a mild slightly earthy bitter aftertaste.

Left Hand Oktobertest Marzen presents with a vibrant Pale amber and a sudsy off white head. Hanging lacework. Forest fragrant nose, shares an initially nuanced flavor, increases in spicy, fizzy taste. Slow and definitely perceptive warmth. This brew is weIl crafted with an easy mouthfeel, making for a certain keeper. Mild semi dry finish.

A can poured into a Nonic.
Amber color with high clarity. The initial abundant head dissipates into a collar and creates some slippery curtain lacing, that leaves some spotty residue.
The caramel toasted malt dominates the flavor, and has some leathery and chocolatey notes.
The hops bitterness is fairly well balanced, fairly well carbonated, and pleasant caramel aftertaste.

 

Surprisingly good and malty for an American take on this German style.

I got some cans of it albeit out of season but still good.

Fairly potent at 6.6% ABV .
Good with pretty much any food really outside of the obvious German fare...

Big fan of this brewery ...
They don't mess around.

 

Pours a lightly hazy reddish brown color with a 1F head and moderate lacing.

Smells and tastes of toasted malt, hops, caramel and a bit of spice with a lightly bitter finish.

Medium body with light carbonation. Lightly syrupy and smooth mouthfeel.

This is a very drinkable not overly sweet , slightly bitter brew.

 

 

 

This beer pours a light amber/orange color with a small head. The aroma is lightly roasted sweet malt, toffee and caramel flavor. One of the better Oktoberfest beers I've had in a while. The taste is like the aroma plus a minimal hop bitterness. Like a good German Oktoberfest beer, it is light and easy drinking. 24 IBUs BOD 7-23-2024 Rated 11-25-2024

 

Gem clear and rich amber (SRM 10-12). A tall, off-white foam is tight and long lasting, eventually forming a thick blanket after leaving spotty lace on a Rupert mug.

The malt is mild, with some spice, and is otherwise fairly simple.

The flavor is surprisingly more bitter than it is sweet. Perhaps this is because the sweetness is more mild than expected. White bread and walnuts form the core just before a long, astringent finish that is surprisingly strong.

It has a medium body and cotton texture. Alcohol is below expectations. The carbonation is modest and fizzy.

This is a decent Marzen, suitable for after a day's hard work.

Look: Pours a rich amber and my shoddily cleaned glass quickly kills off the head so only a film remains with minimal lacing. I’ve had a few of these already and this pour was a fluke

Aroma: Raw bread dough, freshly baked bread, graham cracker, light floral hops, and toasted crust

Taste: Kicks off with a rush of everything bread – dough, freshly baked and toasted bread – following the nose well but more pronounced. Light floral hops appear throughout but stay in the background and the graham cracker note peeks in and out throughout. Closes out with more bready malt

Mouthfeel: Full, clean, medium-high carbonation, and clean and crisp but also lightly soft on the finish

Overall: This is some tasty stuff. This was a new one to me, although I did see it last year, so wanted to take the plunge and glad I did as it’s good. A well-made Marzen lager with a ton of bready malt presence but nicely balanced to keep it from being sweet. Delicious and recommended

 

I think I like Left Hand "because that's the hand I use to... well, never mind." (To quote the Beatles' lyrics, which was well ahead of its time.)

For different reasons, I do like Left Hand. They get employee buy-in with an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan.) Their Nitro niche, IMHO, is unique. And quite separate from that product line comes this O-Fest which is popular and probably should stay popular. It does its job and doesn't wander too far from the Bavarian script. I started my copy at lunch and it seemed to have too hoppy a finish to have with food again. So I finished the can with salad and both were better. Go figure. Maybe it's me.

Would I have Left Hand's O-Fest again? Yes I would. But only if I could overcome this adaptation of the beer-drinkers' restriction: too many O-Fests and too little time. Prost !

12 oz. can
6.6% ABV
24 IBU
Enjoy at: 40-50F
Package on: Jul 22 2024
$13.99 6-pk @ Publix

AROMA: Moderately sweet with moderate scents of caramel, malt, and biscuits which is then followed by just a hint of lemon. The combination of aromas is very, very, alluring!

APPEARANCE: Pours a transparent dark copper with a medium tan head that is tall (i.e. 3-fingers) and whose froth is of medium coarseness and dissipates somewhat slowly with minimal lacing. When first poured, it looks very good in my clear glass. After the head dissipates, it's hard to identify it as "beer" just by looking at it. But the beautiful copper color still makes it nice to look at.

TASTE: Moderately sweet with ample flavors of caramel, malt, and honey. There is just a hint of fruitiness in the finish. To be honest, I was surprised by the flavor levels of this beer. Lately, I've encountered a lot of beers that have good aromas, but then have lackluster flavor levels. Not this beer! It definitely delivers on the flavor-front.

MOUTHFEEL: Medium-bodied with a creamy texture and average carbonation. The finish is moderately-long with a touch of dryness and more of the caramel and biscuit flavors (albeit at subdued levels). It's a nice mouthfeel but I'm noticing a very small numbing effect as I get to the end of the beer. I'm guessing that it is due to either the alcohol level or (more likely) some spice that they used for flavoring.

OVERALL: While I think the ABV might be a bit too high for a Märzen, it certainly doesn't detract from the experience, in the least. I find the aromas and flavor to be exceptional and abundant, and the mouth feel is quite pleasant. Honestly, this is the type of beer that I want to drink when celebrating Oktoberfest. It's very pleasing on all the sensory fronts, it goes down easy, and doesn't fatigue your palate. Basically, you can drink these, one after another, and never tire of it. Which is kinda what you want in a good festival beer. The only downside to this particular beer is its higher ABV, which might make it a little difficult to drink more than a few without getting blottoed.

Note: The brewer recommends drinking the beer at 40-50F degrees. I found that to be too cold. My recommendation would be to drink at 60-65F degrees, which allows the flavors and aromas to open up a bit more. Of course that all would depend on how quickly you drink your beer. If you take 10-15 minutes to drink a beer, then maybe chill it to 50-55F. That way when you are half-way through your beer it will be in the golden zone (i.e. 60-65F) and you'll finish the beer on a high note.

Amber color with a two inch head and decent lace.
Aroma of malts, sweet caramel and fruit
taste of malts, sweet - really sweet.
feel is medium body with low carbonation and a smooth finish.

 

12oz. Can served in a tall can glass. Pours a lovely, translucent copper, with a tight, two-ginger, off-white head. Nose expresses spicy notes with perhaps a kiss of caramel malt in the back. Taste consistent with nose; however, caramel notes and fruity esters come forth. Finish has light, spicy/medicinal character. Mouthfeel is light in body with a carbonation that falls just shy of lively. Overall, not a bard Marzen; however, it’s about a week past its best by date (should have checked the packaging). Curious what it would taste like fresh.