Oktoberfest
Definitive Brewing Company

 

Pint on draft at Cross Insurance Arena in a plastic solo at a Maine Mariners game.

Appearance: Clear mahogany with a thin eggshell head. Not as foamy as I anticipated but NBD. You get what you get at sports venues.

Aroma: Nice grassy nose with a little bit of singed toast.

Taste: Toffee, caramel, toast, little bit of herbal note. Brown bread. Biscuits.

Mouthfeel: Very drinkable. Maybe a little bit light for style.

Overall: I don’t know why this is on tap in February but it’s enjoyable. Maybe reminds me of a Vienna lager more than a marzen; Sam Adams comes to mind. Slightly sweet for style, too. No complaints though! Damn solid offering from one of my favorite Maine breweries.

Can purchased and drank at Definitive Brewing in Portland, ME.

This one pours a light copper color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like sweet caramel, a touch of fruitiness, and some honey.

This doesn’t feel entirely to style, as it’s a bit sweeter than I would have expected, but it’s still pretty tasty overall. I don’t get much hop character or general bitterness to balance the maltiness, just honey, caramel, and toasted bread.

This is medium bodied, slightly creamy, and very drinkable.

This isn’t quite as tightly wound as some of the best versions, but I still enjoyed it.

 

Not bad. The copper color is excellent, but the taste profile is okay- none of the traditional zesty German hops character of the style.

No canning date (released on 8/30/22, so presumably canned within a few days of that date); consumed on 10/13/22

Pours a clear, deep copper body capped with two fingers of fluffy, dense, off-white foam; decent head retention leaves a thin cap, slight, frothy collar, and a modest splotching of soapy, webby lacing around the walls of the glass.

Aromas of brown toast are followed by a tinge of orange essence, trailing toward a faded brown sugar backdrop easing light caramels and distant roast over time.

Taste opens to brown sugar and burnt biscuits, leaving a hint of toffee and subtle minerality over the mid-palate, while a grassy yeast expounds on an earthier back end to the profile.

Mouthfeel brings a medium-light body and a choppy fluff of moderate-high carbonation, drying steadily while peaking to a slightly roasty mid-palate; the back end is semi-wet, with a residual crispness wavering through the finish.

A level Märzen seeing overt sweetness balanced with an accompanying roast in a bluntly malt-forward profile, roughly refined yet established in character and largely consistent overall.