Märican Biere Bought and Drunk...

I've had my share this year, but the Bavarians and SN are the ones I'm consistently returning to.

I've seen quite a few others that I've tried in years past (Left Hand, Shiner, Sam Adams, Great Lakes, a few locals...), but I'm evolving into an import-only mode. This is sort of my "ticker-season," but boy -- there are a lot of Oktos on the shelves anymore -- and so many that disappoint a big fan of the style.

 

Time for a taste off. To the right is Nya Carnegiebryggeriet's Kellerbier at 5.9% abv and 14% plato, Bohemian pilsner malt with Saaz and Hallertau Mittelfrüh as the flavoring hops. To the left is Sixpoint The Crisp at 5.4% abv, OG unknown, 44IBUs. There's a slight difference in color, the Kellerbier is 100% pilsner malt afaik, whilst The Crisp looks a bit darker, verging into a pale gold color. The aroma of the Kellerbier is a mix of herbal hops and bready malt. The Crisp smells significantly more hop forward and the aroma is dominated by the hops. The taste of the Kellerbier is a mixture of bitterness and earthy-herbal hops, balanced out by a slight malt sweetness and body which is kept in check by the hops. The Crisp is lighter bodied (but not light bodied, it's light relative to the Export-strenght gravity of the Kellerbier) and more hop forward both in terms of bitterness and hop flavor. Compared with the Crisp the Kellerbier seems restrained in its hop profile, which surprises me, the last time I had it a year or so ago I thought the beer was very much a hop-driven beer. The hop flavors are also very different, the Kellerbier tastes like a hoppy German lager beer (and reminds me a great deal of Rehbier Zwickl), whereas the Crisp is more modern in its flavor profile, and recognizable as an American craft beer imo. Drinking them side by side reveals alot of differences between the two beers, although I greatly enjoy them both. I think the Kellerbier offers a more traditional take on a hoppy pale lager beer, whereas the Crisp is more modern. Both beers offer something of value to me as a beer drinker and lager beer fan.

 

Vive la difference!

Cheers!

 

I know everyone is talking about Oktoberfest beers, but I thought that the Gose craze (is it a craze if it's the niche of the niche?) should also be spoken about on this thread. I had the Anderson Valley Holy Gose again yesterday and, I am absolutely no expert (who is?) on this style, but it is a flippin' fantastic beer. It's like the Gatorade of beer. I highly recommend to anyone to search this out, or let me know and I can send you some.

On that note, the Blood Orange version should be hitting the market again soon. Just as tasty if not a tick better.

 

One of my local bars has Stiegl Maerzen on tap today. I may give it a whirl, has anyone tried it?

 

SF Bay Area -- $5.99

 

For American spins on German styles, 2 breweries in norther CO did well at GABF. Grimm Brothers got a silver for their dunkel and FCB got gold for their Oktoberfest. Both are packaged and readily available, which is unusual for this area.

 

Crazy coincidence that I was just going to beer-mail you to ask if you'd had FCB Out of the Ashes? I just found it at one of the local good beer stores and had to pick one up. Probably won't try it for a few days, but wondered what you thought?

I noticed that there aren't a lot of reviews on it and they're up and down (then again, it's a smoked lager, so who knows what to believe).

Looked for it today, but no luck. How was it?

 

They didn't have it! So I had Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest on draft. That is a damn smooth and clean beer on draft. Having it in the bottle right now, it's grown on me. Still no way near my favorite, but this beer is so well done overall, it's hard to ignore how good it is.

 

I have, but not the most recent batches. I had the maerzen and IPA in 2014/2015 and both were okay, but heavy on the rauch. FCB is sometimes a "forgotten brewery" out here. They're within sight of New Belglium and Odell and they got started making German beers. Not the easiest way to get noticed
I think they concentrate on the market outside CO more than the local one, so it's easy to miss their stuff on the shelf.
With OOtA and their other smoked beers, the smoke is STRONG. They might have dialed it back, but it used to be the strongest stuff around. Their old doppelbock kept me away from rauchbiers for a long time. They've changed their approach a few times and it's possible they've mellowed it out even more. Ironically, the one they had made with tequila and lime was quite nice. The smoke went well with it.

 

I tried a local gem yesterday from Banded Horn Brewing in Biddeford, Maine. They do a traditional Rauchbier smoked over Alderwood occasionally. Yesterday I was able to try their smoked Oktoberfest which was fantastic. Very clean, middle of the road to heavy smoke. Probably closest to Schlenkerla Fastenbier for level of smoke. This beer doesn't make it outside of Maine from what I've seen, but if people are traveling up that way, it's worth a visit.

 

How does it compare to something like Jack's Abby's Fire in the Ham?

I'm not saying they're similar (I haven't had Banded Horn's beer, just Fastenbier), just curious how they would compare.

 

Less smoky than Fire in the Ham but not by a lot. Probably more in the neighborhood of Spezial's Rauchbier come to think of it. Also if you're interested there is a new brewery in Manchester NH making a "Rauchbier" ale titled "Smokin'". Also worth trying for what it is.

 

Anyone take a shot at Odell's Oktoberfest yet? Just picked one up yesterday. Will be sure to report back with findings.

 

Tried the FCB Rauch Märzen this afternoon and really enjoyed. I can see where you peg it heavy (heavier than most imports) on the smoke, but I didn't think it was overdone. A very nice beer.

 

Good to know. I like a lot of their beers and have always liked their focus on malt, which is a bit unusual out here. I'll probably grab some once I blow through my current beer stockpiles...thanks a lot GABF. I have a friend that still has a bottle of their 2004 Rauch-Doppelbock somewhere. Might be a fun comparison with a fresh one and an Eiche one of these days.

 

I've had several bottles of this and like it. To my taste it is similar to Sierra Nevada's or Santa Fe's, only a bit maltier. It is not one of the too sweet, too much crystal malt oktoberfests that are common among American versions. Let us know what you think after you try it.

 

Good to hear! The excessively sweet ones I just can't abide (i.e., I had a bad experience w/ a Left Hand Ofest a month back that was just sickly sweet). Was thinking about cracking the Odell open tonight -- will definitely let you know how it goes

 

Went looking for the SN Fall Sampler Pack (@AlcahueteJ & @sierranevadabill ) this afternoon, hoping to try the Vienna, but no luck. Opted for some mid-August brewed Okto and still enjoying this beer. I had a Spaten Okto while chilling the SN and that tainted my palate, but the bready/crackery/nutty character of the SN still shines thru, along with the nice dry finish and spicy hop note in the aftertaste.

Prosit all!

 

Ever wonder if the high reviews for SN Oktoberfest is partly due to the fact that the general US population is simply getting a fresh version of a well-brewed lager which might be simply commonplace in Germany?