Barrel aged Oktoberfest?

Never understood why they called it Oaktoberfest, nor why it was so expsensive (you'd think FW of all people would have low cost Marzan lager down to a low cost science),

I really liking the Kaiser the first time I tried it, as a 22yo who didn't know anything about Oktoberfest beers (or much about the higher gravity German styles). It's just not authentic and lacks the richness of ___Bock or Dunkel... it's sort of the Bud Ice of the Marzan scene, novel but ultimately not memorable for the right reasons.

EDIT: decided to check Avery's site to see if they were still making this... I see The Kaiser in 6x12oz cans- ice cold, that could work.

I also see Hog Heaven cans... whatttt? THAT is a classic beer IMO.

 

I was one of those people.

There's a bar up the street from me that imports Oktoberfests in wooden barrels. Probably not the same thing you're talking about, but it makes for a cool spectacle.

 

Nobody should be doing that shit

 

I'd try BBA or RBA Oktoberfest, though not sure I'd like it. Not into oak-aged though.

 

What's wrong with a forum search?

 

Nobody should be doing that shit

(what I meant)

 

Anthem in Oklahoma City did an oak aged version of their Oktoberfest (Ogletoberfest) last year in bombers...I gave it a go, not bad at all but I agree with most others that the style is one that doesn't require any fooling with.

 

Historically, brewers found ways of reducing wood influence without needing to use pitch or line barrels. As far as I know, used barrels, treated barrels, or barrels made from very specific oak were all ways that brewers used unlined barrels while still trying to avoid any wood influence.

 

I fell for the Oaktobrfest cans a few years back. Boy was I pissed when I could not detect any Oakey flavors and then found out there is no oak involved. 4x16 was around $12. That my last purchase from FW. Expensive beers, never see close to fresh beer and then BS names and Im out. Maybe your IPA is really a non hoppy AAL.

Not a big Okto fan but I thought the Oak could cut some of the sweet so I bought it. Im a dope but you lost 100%of my beer $.

Enjoy

 

Confusing, no doubt - their explanation for the name:

 

Yeah, in the US (esp. post-Repeal) pitch would have been used only for "trade packages" - barrels/kegs used for draught beer (they even pitched steel and early aluminum kegs) and expected to be used within a month or two.

Larger wooden vessels used for fermentation and aging/lagering* would be coated with other products like enamel, shellac, varnish, etc., which were much easier to apply and maintain that the heavy pitch used in kegs.

Pilsner Urquell's method for pitching their casks wasn't being done in the US, at least, not until the "Craft" era, anyway, when the short-lived NJ lager brewery, Vernon Valley/Clement, was pitching their 18 bbl. casks.

* Unlikely that any US brewers aged/lagered beer in actual 31 gallon wooden barrels or smaller half-barrel or ¼ bbl. kegs by then. The smallest US wooden fermentation/aging vessels I've seen referenced were Genesee's 5 bbl. casks used for aging/dry-hopping some of their post-Repeal ales.

 

I may only be imagining this but I have a recollection of @bergbrew mentioning that Schell's pitched their lagering tanks while they were still using (some?) wooden tanks, and that this was going on as late as the 80s (from what I recall). Now I can't find the post so I might have it all wrong.

Edit: Turns out I was wrong about the poster so no wonder I couldn't find it, it was @unterhopft in this thread.

 

Yeah, that does sound familiar now that you mention it. I recall that Schell even had a chuck of pitch on display in the brewery. I guess even in an era with only 40-50 US breweries left, one couldn't make such blanket statements. (I recall Falstaff Ft. Wayne brewery workers describing a similar process as used by Schell for the wooden vessels they used for Ballantine IPA in the 1980s and saying the product they used was "wax-like".).

I have seen where the term "pitch/pitching" would be used even when the product was not actual pitch but some other proprietary (and safer/easier to apply) coating.

P. Ballantine & Sons, for instance, used Mammut to coat their large (140-150 bbl.) wooden casks used for the "Aged in the Wood One Year" India Pale Ale.

 

Nope, I'm good. Like putting red wine in whiskey barrels, a novelty 1 oz try and that would be enough to last me (the rest of my/a) lifetime. I refuse to drink Oktoberfest beers until September.

 

Or putting whisk(e)y in beer barrels, but, yeah, Marzen is for September. That said, I could drink Festbier all year long.

 

It's low-hanging fruit to agree with Jesus, but yeah, I get that even less. Whiskey in beer barrels?
Like aging prune juice in Evian barrels. Meh. Onward...to more interesting threads!

 

Good Lord, what's next an Oktoberfest Gose????

 

And I'd love to try that despite myself, my first question was why? So why not? It's not traditional, but they already do a spectacular traditional Fest beer.