Copper Fest
No-Li Brewhouse

 

Pint served from a tap at the brewpub for $3 (happy hour price - it's normally $4).

This is, apparently, NL's fall seasonal beer. When I asked about it, I was handed a sheet with it's hop and malt bill. I forget most of the specifics, but I remember it has an IBU count of 15. It was described by one of the brewers as a "German-style amber ale." I guess they had this in mind as their nod to the Oktoberfest style.

Poured a color that was the darker side of copper. About 1 1/2 inches of off-white foam was initially present. The head stuck around for a few minutes, and once it receded a smallish skiff of foam remained atop the beer.

The nose is malty, as one would expect for the style, but there's also a crisp-smelling hop presence that, while not overwhelming, definitely matches the malts.

Like the nose, this is malty, but not hugely so, and is balanced by a sharp crisp hop flavor that more or less matches, but does not exceed, the malt flavor. Slightly dry in at the swallow.

A little light-bodied for something in the amber ballpark, but not hugely so. Clean, slightly crisp mouthfeel for the style, but not to the point of a pilsener.

While not a flavor bomb by any stretch of the imagination, this works in a strange way as a kind of amber lawnmower beer. While I think they are trying to go in an Oktoberfest direction with this one, I think it would be better as a summer seasonal, as a drinkable, fairly light-bodied beer, but with a little more flavor. If this was bottled, priced reasonably, and available in the summer, I'd buy it for BBQs and the like, but as a fall seasonal that is only available on-tap, I think I'll pass on this.

On tap at the brew pub, served in a pint glass.

Pours a dull copper color and is hazy. A smallish creamy off white head forms and shows little resiliency.

The smell is very faint and nondescript.

The taste is a heavy dry cereal flavor. There is a medium hop finish. Hoppier than most fall seasonals, but the cereal flavor dominates this one.

Mouth feel is clean with a little bite.

This is a drinkable brew. Not very complex or interesting, but not bad.

Though it was a balmy 84° outside and it still felt like summer, Northern Lights dutifully tapped this fall/winter seasonal just three days after Labor Day. It's as clear and polished as a magnifying lens in the implied shade of polished copper.

The aroma is doughy, bready, and makes no reference to hops. Likewise, there's no hop flavor at work. Instead, meaty, yeasty elements define Copper Fest as running parallel to an English bitter. A collared head and smattering of lace ornament the body, but frankly the beer as a whole is only modestly interesting.