Oktoberfest Style Lager
Smith & Lentz Brewing Company

Pours very clear with a deep copper color. Head was difficult to create and was small, whitish in color. Nose is floral, with a slight sweetness. Taste was initially sweet that gave way to a malty backbone. Good beer

Getting the East Nashville community in the fall festival spirit, Smith & Lentz rolls out a German Festbier that'll transport the senses straight to Munich.

Simply named their Oktoberfest Style Lager, the lager pours with a light golden and chrome pour with sparkling clarity. As its frothy white crown pulls from the beer, the bold floral scent signals freshness while a backbone of malt shows a lightly toasty, savory and elegant fresh-kilned scent similar to croissant. Malt-leading in its taste, the first impressions are juicy with light savory bread crust swirled with honeysuckle and a light biscuity character.

Full flavored for lager, the floral upstart slowly turns spicy with hops in order to take an edge off of the malt sweetness. Still balanced toward the malts through, the session leads to a spice of lemongrass, mint and pleasant peppery grasses. Although these flavors a an understated level of complexity, the late taste is more about the drying and crispening malt profile.

Medium bodied and certainly fuller than pilsner, their Oktoberfest is about as good as the style gets. Similar to Ayinger's version, Smith & Lentz's version will stand up to the best of Bavarian's options as it finishes crisp, clean and highly refreshing. Largely error-free, the lager lingers briefly with those mint and herbal hops slightly past the fading malt sweetness.