Festbier
Forest & Main - The Brewery

Pours a golden color with a finger of head. The nose has some modest earthy notes. The flavor has some of the nutty and toasted malt qualites that I really enjoy in the style.

Drinks more like a marzen style beer. Rich rounded toasted malt...with some earthy, grassy hop balance.....drinks real smooth and easy....Perfect body and carbonation...clean drinking and full of malt flavor...Very enjoyable...

Had on tap. Mostly clear amber body with a full khaki head that leaves sheets of lacing. Smells of sweeter malt with a touch of earth, bready yeast, toast, and a touch of toasted grain but significant lemongrass hops. Taste is more malty and smooth in delivery: bready yeast and caramel malts meet earth, toast, apple slice, black pepper and a kiss of lemon zest. Feel is lush and lighter but never thin, very smooth and easy drinking but has yeast and malt depth to cover the whole sip with character

 

16oz can into a pint glass. No freshness dating.

Nice looking pint, golden yellow body, small white head, scattered lacing. Aroma is a bit off, lemon and something. On tasting, malty, faintly caramel, nice mild hop bite at the end. Finish somewhat grassy with a light bitter finish.

Overall, decent drink, not the best festbier out there, not sure what was going on with the aroma.

 

16 oz can

pours a golden orange color, thick foamy white head. aroma is bready with some light earthy hops. similar taste, nice malt flavor but it's still easy drinking. medium bodied.

 

From a pint can, pours a clear light orangish-amber. Big head of dense white foarm. Smell features toast, lemon and caramel. Taste follows. Really fantastic beer.

 

 

 

16oz can purchased from the brewery as part of a variety 4-pack for $5. Per Instagram, canned on September 22, so this is just one day shy of three months old.

Look: Pours a very nice light copper color with a rocky, thick light beige colored head. This is basically clear beer. Just a faint haze after pouring the last few ounces from the can.

Smell: Nice aromas of Munich malt and earthy, grassy, and peppery hops. Herbal notes also. There's a really nice toasty, yeasty breadiness. Secondary notes of fresh, floral apples and pear strudel. A bit of green bell pepper after swirling the glass.

Taste: Really nice, very crushable. I think that this is one of the maltier Festbiers that I have had. Yet it has enough hoppy bitterness to counterbalance and tip the scales in favor of the hops. Up front, it brings black tea-like vibes along with apple notes and toasty, bready, crackery malts. The finish is dry and significantly bitter with very earthy and grassy Noble hop character. The contrast between the toasty malt up front and the austere, dry, and bitter finish is very interesting and it keeps me coming back for more. It's an enjoyable beer and it was consumed rather quickly.

Feel: It's on the lighter side of medium bodied. A bit of chewiness on the palate. Very clean, crisp, and refreshing.

Overall: This is nice. Forest & Main does do lagers well, for sure. I haven't had many other American-made Festbiers. Industrial Arts' Autumn Landscape (2022) was another one that I really enjoyed. This is also quite good, and it's hard to tell which one I enjoyed more. I would have to drink them side by side! Too bad that I only bought one of these.

From Instagram:
Festbier - 6% Lager. This one is really a perfect fall lager, brewed with a double decoction of German Pilsner and Munich malts, hopped with delicious bags of Hallertau Select hops, and fermented slow and cold with our lager yeast. It pours a rich honey color with notes of that classic Munich toast, fresh apple strudel, ethereal spaetzle water, a bit of lemongrass tea, and a rich maltiness that paradoxically finishes dry.