Oktoberfest
Rohrbach Brewing Company (Brewpub)

 

 

Poured from a can into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a nice light copper color with a two-finger head of off-white foam. The head fades rather fast, leaving spiderweb like lacing on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is heavy of a lightly toasted malt smell mixed with a decent showing of caramel and some brown sugar. Along with these smells comes some brown bread and a bit of cherry and apple. A touch of some hay and a bit of yeast round it all out.
Taste – The taste begins with a lightly toast bready flavor paired with some of the caramel sweetness. Along with the sweeter caramel comes the apple and light cherry that were in the nose. As the taste advances the roastiness fades a tad, all while there are some light nut and earthy tastes that join in. With a bit of hay and herb, one is left with a lightly roasty and slightly bittered taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is medium with a moderate carbonation level. Overall good for the abv and style and makes for a rather easy sipper.
Overall – A rather decent Oktoberfest overall, but nothing to necessarily go out of your was for.

Draft pour at Rohrbach. From the tap list: “ Rohrbach’s Oktoberfest is a tribute to the authentic, German-style lager served around the world during autumn. Brewed with vast amounts of Vienna and Munich malts, balanced with the bitterness of German noble hops, fermented with a lager yeast strain, and lagered for over a month, our Oktoberfest is full- bodied and packed full of flavor.” Nice brew.

Pours a very nice deep copper with a fairly long lived tan head and a faint aroma of caramel and biscuits.
Sweet malts and caramel with just a hint of white bread.
The swallow leaves a sticky sweet coating on your tongue, but it is almost dry with a peppery bite in your throat.
Overall, not well done. This is unbalanced and not pleasant. Not a drain pour, but definitely not a repurchase

 

 

 

 

 

 

good cold, kinda bland

 

 

 

 

 

perhaps the best straightforward Oktoberfest type ive had this fall, on tap at the Elmwood in Rochester, ny. more body and depth to this than so many, even the authentic german versions, I like this better. its bronzed in color, not clear but not cloudy either, with an inch of well settled white head, looking charming and tempting in a chilly pint glass in front of a plate of wings. complex grain bill, or seemingly, with notes of dark bread and spice packed into the usual marzen type framework. balancing bittering hops, clean finish on this too. what sets it apart, for me at least, is the feel. its got a ton of body for the style, which makes it more applicable to cold weather sessioning. its also really well carbonated, which gives it a lot of life. super fresh and well built, I will need to have some more stuff from rohrbach on my next trip to Rochester. a very lovely seasonal here, easy drinking but big enough to handle chicken wings. perfect match.