American Made Marzens

Just like the question I posed to @tzieser, what was different about this year's version of the Zero Gravity Oktoberfest vs. prior years?

I had the pleasure of drinking Zero Gravity Oktoberfest beer in 2017 and I enjoyed drinking that beer:



https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-661.542177/#post-5691604

Cheers!

 

I'm a big Jack's Abby fan. I like Copper Legend but can't say I love it. Something about the finish leans a little more towards sweet than dry for me, which is consistent with the previous years I've had it. I'm probably being overcritical though. It is a very clean and balanced Oktoberfest and, at around $10 for a 6-pack of pint cans, the price point is great. Happy to drink it any time.

 

I've struck out on finding that one two years in a row now! My coworker is going up to Burlington in a couple of weeks though and said he'd bring some back for me if they still have it. Fingers crossed...

 

I figured you'd enjoy that one, it's got a really nice rich Vienna malt quality like the Sly Fox. It's usually pretty consistent, imo.

But I do think that Copper Legend was better this year as well; just a bit more depth to the malt with more pop from the hops. Not a major change from last year but still a noticeable improvement.

By "up there" I mean among the top tier of American brewed Oktoberfests.

 

Stein Indien Blass Ale

I think I'm going places

 

Yup, much like previous years this is still arguably my favorite domestic Oktoberfest.

Got a couple four packs this year, one of which came with a Zero Gravity dimpled mug!

I still prefer the imports to all domestic versions though.

Nah, I agree with you too. I always get this beer, and I do enjoy it. But it's never my favorite domestic Oktoberfest. It's definitely on the sweeter side, but not a bad beer by any stretch.

Jack's Abby doesn't really make bad beers that I can think of.

 

I may get slack for this cause of how much love JA gets but this year for whatever reason I didn’t enjoy copper legend that much. Call me crazy or maybe just sensitive to certain flavors but I kept tasting an appleness that I didn’t enjoy. As well as what @Jacobier10. Did anyone else pick up on what I tasted or is it just me?

At 10$ for 6 pints though it is an amazing price point.

 

Nothing in that beer 'said' apple to me.

We all have our own unique palates.

Cheers!

 

I get a little malt sweetness but nothing I'd call fruity, more like caramel than apple. I'm not implying that they use caramel malt either. It's a very light sweetness, not cloying at all. Could be we are picking up on the same thing and just perceive it differently.

 

Below is how Jack’s Abby is described in a Paste Magazine article:

“In the glass, Copper Legend pours a lovely, ruddy orange color, not unlike burnished, well … copper. Or bronze, take your pick. It’s brilliantly clear, with a lightly toasty nose, hinting at notes of bread crusts and floral hops. It’s predominantly of the toasty/bready profile, rather than a caramel driven one, although it’s not too assertive on the nose overall.

On the palate, this beer has a nicely rounded mouthfeel, and no shortage of malt flavors, displaying notes of toasted sourdough crust, slight toffee and hazelnut. Dark honey gives it a touch of sweetness, but this is still a fairly dry and malt forward beer, with only tiny hints of grassy/herbal hop bitterness for balance.”

https://www.pastemagazine.com/drink/craft-beer/jacks-abby-copper-legend-review/

The above verbiage is pretty consistent with my palate’s perception of this beer.

Cheers!

@jonphisher @Jacobier10

 

Brilliantly clear? This was hazy for me, each and every can if I recall correctly. I think the draft I had was too.

Maybe I'm misremembering?

 

Thanks @JackHorzempa my brain kept saying apple cider almost (not necessarily apple as I stated above) so maybe the sourdough (tart) and toffee (sweet) is kind of where I’m getting that from. Who knows it’s fun to discuss these things though that’s all I know.

edit

@AlcahueteJ it is definitely incredibly far from clear it is very hazy I agree.

 

Sourdough? In an Okto?

Is the beer can-conditioned? Maybe your pours were too vigorous? Wouldn't explain the draft.

 

I am a fan of the brewery, but I have had some terrible experiences and I'll leave it at that. That's just me. I'm including Springdale's output as well (as it should be).

I could be totally misremembering this, but I seem to recall some talk about plenty of variance in the clarity level of Jack's Abby beers in general.

 

Bitburger’s festbier uses light caramel malt. It’s fantastic.

 

But does it taste as an Oktoberfest ought to?

Should have very little to no caramel flavor (no matter what Sam Adams tells you).

 

I really like bitburger this year and did not pick up any sweetness whatsoever, so I’d say so. I would say it has a bigger mouthfeel than some of the others but it goes down and finished very clean. Also had a nice frothy creamy head that never left. Only odd thing was it was pretty cloudy.

 

Cloudy? Hmm.

 

Especially for an import, at least in my experience that is. I did just read my review and I did mention sweetness only in aroma though.

From other pictures posted here it seems most of the bitburgers looked cloudy as well if I remember correctly. So I don’t think my experience with my 2 bottles is isolated.

 

i am not an Oktoberfest expert but I would say yes. It’s not a sweet malty beer. Nothing like a Sam Adams version.