A new Sam Adams beer - Festbier

Agreed - this is the highlight of Oktoberfest season for me.

 

Festbier and Jack O are okay beers. But I gotta say the Boston Lager that came in this pack is a pure cat piss bomb. Yuck. BL was good last time I had it a few years back.

 

That's weird, I bought a fresh six-pack of BL a few weeks ago that was very good -- right in line with what I always remembered.

Have to wonder about BBC's different brewing locations. I remember running into Octoberfest variances a few years ago.

 

Certainly uncharacteristic. I've had BL hundreds of times especially early on in my craft beer adventures. This was the first BL I've ever sent down the drain.

 

Also dont get confused with Oktoberfest Wiesn beers which normally means beer only served on the grounds of Oktoberfest....or something

 

And don’t get the term “Wiesn” confused with “Weizen”.

 

Which is actually a Festbier... just with status.

The Wiesn *is* the Fest grounds.

 

Or Wiess.

 

After allllllll the thread drifting.....can we get back to the beer?

It is excellent

 

Finally cracked an Ofest from this pack. Exceptional this year. Last season there was a metallic twang imo.

 

Lady and I both fucking loved it and the pack!

 

After being an automatic purchase for me every year, I took a few years off from the fall mix pack as the haze craze tightened its grip on my spending habits, and overall I wasn't impressed with the mix offered.

I've returned to my roots over the last couple years and decided to give this a shot again. I'm really glad I did. I'm actually enjoying Boston Lager the most (hadn't tried the new recipe yet), but Octoberfest seems to be a really good batch this year. Festbier is a nice addition to the lineup, enjoyed putting one down while grilling but it isn't memorable at all.

Not expecting to love Jack-O, but will wait for things to cool down a bit here in RI before trying.

On another note, it's amazing how much money can be saved with the mix pack - $15 for 12 standard cans - this will last me a couple weeks at least. Normally I'm spending $15-$25 for a 4 pack of pint cans from a local brewery, it it gets wiped out over a weekend.

 

Thanks for the first hand thoughts.

 

Just a point of order, but you probably still haven't.

The "new recipe" is/was only available in New York state and no word has come out that BBC has decided to officially switch formulas.

 

That's funny because as I was drinking it, I thought "I don't notice a difference at all". But it had been a couple of years since I had it so I thought I wasn't remembering the taste correctly. Thanks for clarifying.

 

FWIW -- I mentioned having the BL on tap in one of the Sam Adams threads. Hadn't tried it in a while and was pleasantly surprised.

 

It's the beer that got me started on craft in the late 90s. It still holds up today, much like SN Pale Ale, Anchor Porter etc. I need to get it back in regular rotation in my fridge.

 

I guess the cloudier appearance is to be expected these days with any reformulated offering. Otherwise I'm eager to try it based on your thoughts.