Oktoberhaus
Powderhaus Brewing Company

Draft at Lucianos. Medium amber pour, clear, small patchy head. Standard malty aroma. Caramel malts with some drying bitterness. Body seems a bit thin.

 

not sure if this is left from last season or overly preemptive for this one, and i have no idea why i ordered it on a super hot summer afternoon, the nice malty rich one for my troubles as i sweat bullets out back in their awesome outdoor space. whatever, theres never a bad time for a good marzen, and thats what this is, very well made, one of their better lagers to date in my experience, and one ill be very happy with when its actually the right time of year for one. clear light copper to rusty colored, good shine, nice head. aroma of toasted grain, crusty bread, a kiss of honey, and some nice german lager yeast making an appearance, albeit subtly. the flavor has nice balance, more hops in the finish than i could smell, and a crispness i like in the style, very drinkable as they go, and if there was just a bit of chill in the air, changing leaves, this would be perfect. i hope to be able to revisit it then, but with seasonal creep what it is these days they will probably have their christmas offering on come september. not a knock on powderhaus at all, thats just whats happening with seasonal beer. this is a very good marzen, mild, but professionally executed. always good beers in here at the taproom!

edit: seemed to be way less good a couple of years later, like the ferment isnt as dialed in as it used to be, still light, but not as clean, my wife called it out and once i picked up on it, it a little bit ruined this for me. leaving original scores as they are, but this one has maybe taken a step back in quality for no apparent reason. new brewer in here or what?