Hansel & Kettle
Three Notch'd Brewing Co. (Craft Kitchen & Brewery)
- From:
- Three Notch'd Brewing Co. (Craft Kitchen & Brewery)
- Virginia, United States
- Style:
- Märzen
Ranked #280 - ABV:
- 8%
- Score:
- 85
Ranked #29,462 - Avg:
- 3.73 | pDev: 14.75%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 8
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Oct 26, 2025
- Added:
- Sep 19, 2014
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 4
SCORE
85
Very Good
85
Very Good
The beloved fairy-tale of Hansel and Gretel has no connections to Virginia, but it is a great example of leaving your mark and a great tie-in to a German-style beer. The two German children were able to leave their markings in the form of pebbles and breadcrumbs in the forest to prevent themselves from getting lost. We’re leaving our mark with an exciting twist on a classic German beer. This Imperial Marzen-style lager is big in flavor with the bready(breadcrumbs perhaps?)/biscuit/caramel flavors of a traditional Marzen magnified. The big blend of noble hops makes this beer a perfectly balanced brew.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by DarkPassport from District of Columbia
4.22/5 rDev +13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
4.22/5 rDev +13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Appearance: On draft at their brewery in Scott's Addition. Clear, deep copper color with almost an inch of shy tan foam but lots of lacing.
Aroma: Malt. Sweet bread or bread drizzled with honey. Alcohol. Caramel or toffee.
Taste: Malty and bitter. Some sweetness. The bite of the alcohol comes across as a spice character.
Feel: Medium, with medium-high carbonation. Dry. The alcohol and false spice characteristic can be felt as well as tasted and smelled.
Overall: Exactly what one should expect with an imperial marzen. Malty but with enough bitterness to keep the sweetness at bay. The alcohol plays a big role but is manageable. 4.5
Pairing: The brewery had pulled pork mac 'n cheese on the menu and it went great with this beer. The bready notes matched the pasta, the malt sweetness went with the barbecue sauce, and the carbonation cut through the cheese. Plus the food helped calm down the ethanol.
Oct 26, 2025Aroma: Malt. Sweet bread or bread drizzled with honey. Alcohol. Caramel or toffee.
Taste: Malty and bitter. Some sweetness. The bite of the alcohol comes across as a spice character.
Feel: Medium, with medium-high carbonation. Dry. The alcohol and false spice characteristic can be felt as well as tasted and smelled.
Overall: Exactly what one should expect with an imperial marzen. Malty but with enough bitterness to keep the sweetness at bay. The alcohol plays a big role but is manageable. 4.5
Pairing: The brewery had pulled pork mac 'n cheese on the menu and it went great with this beer. The bready notes matched the pasta, the malt sweetness went with the barbecue sauce, and the carbonation cut through the cheese. Plus the food helped calm down the ethanol.
Rated by Beers-es from Virginia
4.25/5 rDev +13.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.25/5 rDev +13.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
On tap, pours a clear deep copper. Like a regular Marzen only more so. Really, really good beer. Like most lagers, criminally underrated.
Oct 18, 2022
Reviewed by Brumaster77 from North Carolina
4.34/5 rDev +16.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.34/5 rDev +16.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Nice amber color with good 1 inch foam head. Smells of toasted caramel and nuttiness. Brings a heavier malt flavor and fullness followed by a medium Marzen. Almost tastes like a stronger Sam adams Oktoberfest. A nice spin to a Oktoberfest.
Sep 08, 2022
Reviewed by Sludgeman from District of Columbia
4.01/5 rDev +7.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
4.01/5 rDev +7.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
On tap at Dominion wine and beer. Don’t mistake this for or anticipate a bock or dopplebock.
Dark amber to brown with less than a one-finger. Munich malts but no sweetness in the nose. The ABV is hidden. Some sweetness in the taste with toasted/nutty malts and some herbal bitterness. Medium body with a Just dry finish
Sep 30, 2021Dark amber to brown with less than a one-finger. Munich malts but no sweetness in the nose. The ABV is hidden. Some sweetness in the taste with toasted/nutty malts and some herbal bitterness. Medium body with a Just dry finish
Rated by Mdez from Virginia
4.23/5 rDev +13.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.23/5 rDev +13.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Tried this despite the previous ratings and was pleasantly surprised: this is a pretty good imperial marzen.
Aug 25, 2020
Reviewed by Pencible from Virginia
4.19/5 rDev +12.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25
4.19/5 rDev +12.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25
A: This poured a clear copper with moderate tan head.
S: It smelled like sweet honey biscuit and shortbread, with some cream and fresh wheat and mild copper hops.
T: It tasted like sweet honey biscuit and shortbread, with some cream and fresh wheat and mild copper hops. It had a clean and mildly bitter aftertaste.
M: It was watery with moderate carbonation. Nice slick body.
D: This was one of the best Oktoberfest beers I've had, with simple but delicious scent and taste. The body was decent, and the finish was really smooth with well hidden alcohol, so it was very easy to drink. Not for aging, enjoy it fresh. Recommended.
Dec 02, 2016S: It smelled like sweet honey biscuit and shortbread, with some cream and fresh wheat and mild copper hops.
T: It tasted like sweet honey biscuit and shortbread, with some cream and fresh wheat and mild copper hops. It had a clean and mildly bitter aftertaste.
M: It was watery with moderate carbonation. Nice slick body.
D: This was one of the best Oktoberfest beers I've had, with simple but delicious scent and taste. The body was decent, and the finish was really smooth with well hidden alcohol, so it was very easy to drink. Not for aging, enjoy it fresh. Recommended.
Reviewed by BeerAndGasMasks from Virginia
3.77/5 rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.77/5 rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
From the can, it pours amber with a nice off-white head that lasts. A little odd in the nose, possibly due to the high alcohol content for the style. The mouth gets the alcohol and malt. Interesting.
2020 update - it is now available in the can - nice!
2022 update: yum!
2023update: yum!
Oct 16, 20162020 update - it is now available in the can - nice!
2022 update: yum!
2023update: yum!
Reviewed by cjgiant from District of Columbia
2.63/5 rDev -29.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
2.63/5 rDev -29.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
Bottle (revisit 2019, can):
I'm going on the assumption I did not get a bad bottle, but there were some off-putting notes for me.
The beer itself was a nice, clear, light amber-golden. The head didn't build up much and ended with a thin rim only, but the extra alcohol may be an explanation for this.
(revisit: same)
The nose, to me, has a fairly strong buttery popcorn note I associate with diacetyl. It almost seemed like there was a little light caramel added to cover it up. Just not a very appetizing smell for me.
(revisit: no strong diacetyl, but a decent spice presence that borders on being like alcohol - as if the beer were steeped in booze-soaked staves. Overall a little upgrade, but not much.)
The taste was a little strong on bitterness and heat early in the glass. Luckily, the off-putting notes were not really a part of the taste. Warmth, as it normally does, smooths these notes a little and I start to get the malts of an oktoberfest eventually. The beer continues to have a nice (if a tad strong for my taste) woody to piney bitterness along with a little spiciness (that could be the feel of the higher ABV). Could've used a little more softness or body on the feel.
(revisit: caramel malt notes and a spicy booziness; I do manage to get a bit of bitternes in back - maybe with the malt and booze a little cedar-like more than pine. Different but similar impression as original review, though I went harsher on the feel)
This beer didn't really work for me, but the taste improved to ok by the time I finished the beer. The nose really throws me, though.
Revisit: I originally said I would bypass this beer in the future. I should have listened to my review (and I wish I had checked it before this purchase). This comes off as a malt liquor version of an Oktoberfest and not one I appreciate very much.
Oct 08, 2016I'm going on the assumption I did not get a bad bottle, but there were some off-putting notes for me.
The beer itself was a nice, clear, light amber-golden. The head didn't build up much and ended with a thin rim only, but the extra alcohol may be an explanation for this.
(revisit: same)
The nose, to me, has a fairly strong buttery popcorn note I associate with diacetyl. It almost seemed like there was a little light caramel added to cover it up. Just not a very appetizing smell for me.
(revisit: no strong diacetyl, but a decent spice presence that borders on being like alcohol - as if the beer were steeped in booze-soaked staves. Overall a little upgrade, but not much.)
The taste was a little strong on bitterness and heat early in the glass. Luckily, the off-putting notes were not really a part of the taste. Warmth, as it normally does, smooths these notes a little and I start to get the malts of an oktoberfest eventually. The beer continues to have a nice (if a tad strong for my taste) woody to piney bitterness along with a little spiciness (that could be the feel of the higher ABV). Could've used a little more softness or body on the feel.
(revisit: caramel malt notes and a spicy booziness; I do manage to get a bit of bitternes in back - maybe with the malt and booze a little cedar-like more than pine. Different but similar impression as original review, though I went harsher on the feel)
This beer didn't really work for me, but the taste improved to ok by the time I finished the beer. The nose really throws me, though.
Revisit: I originally said I would bypass this beer in the future. I should have listened to my review (and I wish I had checked it before this purchase). This comes off as a malt liquor version of an Oktoberfest and not one I appreciate very much.
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