Oktoberfest
Equal Parts Brewing

Pours lighter than expected of October in November. Nose is great with citrus hops but less malt here too. A bit heavy on the bitters to my taste, but I could see IPA vibes, where I expect more malt, they went hops, not IPA hop level, but a little high for the style. Cheers to the holidays, feast on.

Chestnut pour, steady khaki head. Nose is caramelized malt.

Taste is nutty caramelized grain, earthy, medium kilned malt, floral, light berries. Mouthfeel is solidly medium. Finish is deep, woody, malt. This is an unapologetic Marzen.

L-Pours a nice red/orange leaning amber bodied beer with subtle carbonation and a slight lacy head.
S-Aromatic sweet, grainy and roasty malts are upfront. Subtle märzen hop character throughout. I find notes of caramel, sweet bready malt, cookie/cracker, tobacco, pretzel, and slight herbal notes followed by fruity hints of raison, cherry and apple.
T-Sweet caramel and raison up front, with a nice roasted malt finish. Tobacco notes are there as well. Apple and bready maltiness follow. Herbal hints throughout with subtle cracker/pretzely notes. Not overly sweet, but maybe a tad bit too much on the bitterness at the backend for my taste. I wouldn't say it's overwhelming but it takes a bit from the other good qualities of the beer. Very slightly oxidized for me.
F- Medium bodied, subtle carbonation that works well.
O- A good, not great representation of the style in my opinion. I'd like to try this beer on tap to see if it's different. So yeah, I guess I would have it again to see if a potentially fresher beer would be more enjoyable for me.

 

A: Pours a dark amber/reddish color. A dense white head forms with good retention. Plenty of lace left down the glass.
S: Big malts up front. Bread, caramelized sugar, dark fruit. Cherries are apparent.
T: Like the nose, big on the bready malts, and caramelized sugars. Dark fruit, plums and cherries. If I didn't know better, I would think this is more of a Doppelbock. Not that that is bad in anyway.
M/O: A full body, moderate carbonation. Clean, ultra smooth, and chewy from the malts. I enjoy this, but maybe not as the intended style. I can definitely come back to it though.

Maybe I have just really fallen in love with Festbier's lately, as opposed to the bigger Marzen's. This is certainly well made and enjoyable. Though, I think of this as more of a lighter Doppelbock. The darker fruits and caramelized sugar put it over the top there, at least for me. Maybe I'm at a point where I just want a lighter Festbier, or the heavier Doppelbock. Not something in between. Still, as always, quality from Equal Parts.