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Scratch Beer 73 - 2012 (Fest Lager)
Tröegs Brewing Company
- From:
- Tröegs Brewing Company
- Pennsylvania, United States
- Style:
- Märzen
- ABV:
- 5.5%
- Score:
- 86
- Avg:
- 3.81 | pDev: 10.5%
- Reviews:
- 24
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Feb 28, 2016
- Added:
- Aug 16, 2012
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 3
To commemorate the annual German tradition of Oktoberfest, Tröegs unveils Scratch #73 – 2012, an OkTröegerFest, if you will. This rich, pumpkin-colored lager goes against the grain by boasting a fairly hefty hop presence for the style, giving the flavor a moderate bitter twist while still maintaining the classic malt character that you’ve come to expect from a traditional Fest Bier.
35 IBU
35 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Stinkypuss:
Reviewed by Stinkypuss from Pennsylvania
4/5 rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Troegs Brewery
Scratch 73 : Fest Lager
LOOK: This test batch brew pours a rich copper color with a foamy froth providing plenty of lacework.
SMELL: Bready malts, caramel and floral hops. Light toasted notes from the malts come through as well.
TASTE: Moderately bitter with a nice earthy, grassy noble hopping and Munich malts. Satisfying brew with a caramel like malty flavor and a solid dose of hop bitterness. Sugary sweet caramelized malt flavor is quite delicious and the hops keep things interesting. This is a high quality example of an Oktoberfest, with very clean and enjoyable flavors.
FEEL: Medium bodied, well carbonated, fairly smooth and goes down with ease. A great beer to drink for extended periods of time, this deserves the name " fest lager ".
OVERALL: This is an impressive Oktoberfest from a well respected Pennsylvania brewery. Definitely stands up to alot of others on the market, I could make buying a case of this a holiday tradition. Very well done.
Nov 13, 2012Scratch 73 : Fest Lager
LOOK: This test batch brew pours a rich copper color with a foamy froth providing plenty of lacework.
SMELL: Bready malts, caramel and floral hops. Light toasted notes from the malts come through as well.
TASTE: Moderately bitter with a nice earthy, grassy noble hopping and Munich malts. Satisfying brew with a caramel like malty flavor and a solid dose of hop bitterness. Sugary sweet caramelized malt flavor is quite delicious and the hops keep things interesting. This is a high quality example of an Oktoberfest, with very clean and enjoyable flavors.
FEEL: Medium bodied, well carbonated, fairly smooth and goes down with ease. A great beer to drink for extended periods of time, this deserves the name " fest lager ".
OVERALL: This is an impressive Oktoberfest from a well respected Pennsylvania brewery. Definitely stands up to alot of others on the market, I could make buying a case of this a holiday tradition. Very well done.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by donkeyrunner from Massachusetts
2.72/5 rDev -28.6%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
2.72/5 rDev -28.6%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
$7 at Meadhall, Cambridge MA.
Octoberfest in February? Yes please.
Cyrstalline clear dark auburn with a staunch, never say die head. Sticky Kanagawa wave lacing clings onto the glass like intentionally festooned decoration. Such an impressive foam show I doubled checked the menu to make sure it was a lager and not some weird amber wheat. Flawless looking marzen.
Smells like crystal malts. Maybe some herbal hop. That's about it.
Way too sweet. Tastes like someone squirted marzen extract into my beer and was too heavy handed. There's an herbal hop in back that gives an antiseptic flavor which I really don't like but it does help cut some of the sweetness off my palette.
Really didn't like this one.
Feb 02, 2013Octoberfest in February? Yes please.
Cyrstalline clear dark auburn with a staunch, never say die head. Sticky Kanagawa wave lacing clings onto the glass like intentionally festooned decoration. Such an impressive foam show I doubled checked the menu to make sure it was a lager and not some weird amber wheat. Flawless looking marzen.
Smells like crystal malts. Maybe some herbal hop. That's about it.
Way too sweet. Tastes like someone squirted marzen extract into my beer and was too heavy handed. There's an herbal hop in back that gives an antiseptic flavor which I really don't like but it does help cut some of the sweetness off my palette.
Really didn't like this one.
Reviewed by chefhatt from Pennsylvania
4/5 rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I poured this one into a pefect pint glass, it has a copper colored body with a 1' finger of white foamy head that hangs out for a while. The aroma of toasted malt and carmel. The taste has a toasted malt and grain taste, with a little hop bit on the finish of it. The mouth feel is really good and overall a really damm good O-fest, one of the best i have had.
Dec 06, 2012Reviewed by tectactoe from Michigan
3.66/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4
3.66/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4
Pours a nice shade of orange and copper, slight clarity with a bit of hazy particles in the middle, some small white sediment floating around. Beige-like, small head that sinks down to a thin cover around the edges of the glass quickly. Smell is hard to pick up on, not as powerful as I'd hoped. I am getting some mild spice and sweet, buttery malt, but that's about it. It's definitely getting stronger as it warms up.
After the first taste I was thinking, "Wow, this tastes like an O-fest!" - Then I realized, it is called FEST Lager. Hah, must be the Munich malts. Very malt heavy beer, biscuity and full of caramel and some toffee. Slight sulfur smell in the background, but not too heavy or distracting. A bit of grains and almost some fruity sweetness, although I can't pinpoint one specific fruit. Bitterness is very low and appears only briefly at the end in the form of very, very, VERY faint, floral, musty hops. I also picked up a slight weird, astringent flavor, almost old cork-like. Not a big deal. Aftertaste is like buttered toast and full of grains. Medium body, slightly stick with low-medium carbonation.
This beer was pretty damn good. I wasn't expecting much from it, but it certainly delivered and then some. I'm also not a huge fan of O-fests, but I still enjoyed this one very much. True to the style and full of flavor. Low ABV doesn't hurt, either. Some slight off-flavors here and there which prevented a higher rating, but I would definitely have this one again.
Dec 04, 2012After the first taste I was thinking, "Wow, this tastes like an O-fest!" - Then I realized, it is called FEST Lager. Hah, must be the Munich malts. Very malt heavy beer, biscuity and full of caramel and some toffee. Slight sulfur smell in the background, but not too heavy or distracting. A bit of grains and almost some fruity sweetness, although I can't pinpoint one specific fruit. Bitterness is very low and appears only briefly at the end in the form of very, very, VERY faint, floral, musty hops. I also picked up a slight weird, astringent flavor, almost old cork-like. Not a big deal. Aftertaste is like buttered toast and full of grains. Medium body, slightly stick with low-medium carbonation.
This beer was pretty damn good. I wasn't expecting much from it, but it certainly delivered and then some. I'm also not a huge fan of O-fests, but I still enjoyed this one very much. True to the style and full of flavor. Low ABV doesn't hurt, either. Some slight off-flavors here and there which prevented a higher rating, but I would definitely have this one again.
Scratch Beer 73 - 2012 (Fest Lager) from Tröegs Brewing Company
Beer rating:
86 out of
100 with
68 ratings
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