BeerAdvocate Oktoberfest Tasting! (Sep 16-Oct 3, 2023)

Joining in on the Sierra Nevada Octo train:


Appearance: Clear gold, big head.

Smell: Hay, mild sweetness.

Taste: Mild sweetness, honeyed bread, then a little hoppy spiciness. More bread and light spice, maybe some hay notes. Nice drinking with medium body, not too filling.

Overall: A very nice octoberfest wiesn beer, I much prefer this style over marzen style. This is a little spicy-hoppy, but that's fine with me, a very good beer to my taste buds.

 

What makes you think it isn’t a Marzen though?

 

After my last can I was going to ask why we don't think it's a Pale Ale?

 

2023 Art History Artoberfest "Festbier" Lager
Another local take for the season. @zid -- "Festbier," but pretty dark.

16 oz. can into my tall Becher. Canned 8-23-2023. 5.8 ABV.
L -- Clear, deep amber-orange with a meager, off-white head. 3.5

S -- Herbal hops and doughy malts. Some light DMS and solvent note with warming. 3.0

T -- Light toasty, bready malts up front. Sweetish without being cloying. Bitter, herbal hops in good balance without becoming "Americanized." After the bad appearance and nose, this tastes very good. 4.0

F -- Mouthfeel is soft to crisp/dry with a medium body. 4.5

O -- Great balance of herbal hops against the malts to make for a very drinkable beer. I wish these cans (or canning processes) would yield a better foam cap. 4.0

 

Weihenstephaner Festbier is always crushable. I could drink this all year.



Prost!

 

Another "festbier" offering - this one from "Rock Wall Brewing" - aka Genesee....not bad!

 

Aldi?

Great Krug!

 

@jkblr and @jts211 - in checking out my ratings, I saw I liked Masthead’s Oktoberfest, just as you seemed to. Should be on the lookout for it.

Having a fairly balanced offering from a nearby brewery, Lost Barrel:


They didn’t indicate which of the Oktoberfest styles this represents, and in sampling it, I think it could go either way. There’s definitely some melanoidin bread crust and a bit of spice, but one site put this in the Festbier style. A little sweet on the opening, it goes the other way from my samplings so far, and got a little more balanced and bitter as it warmed. A nice fall beer, regardless.

 

The number one rated “Märzen” on Beer Advocate. Obviously an Austrian Märzen, and a pale lager. Sought it out in Vienna and found it at a hot dog stand of all places. Tasted like other industrial Austrian Märzens like Gosser, but it was also 11 months old…glad I could try it though. Would love to hit up the brewery in Salzburg and try a fresh draft.

 

Enjoying this Eastern Ma offering from
Great Marsh Brewing
Notes at New Beer weekend
Cheers all

 

Hofbrau Oktoberfestbier. 6.3% Such a pleasure to have just one of these within the span of the big party in Germany. I love the taste and feel of this brew. Nice hop aroma against succulent malts. Great balance and dangerously crushable. Prosting!!

 

Definitely dangerous! I was smoking ribs and wings over Labor Day weekend and tapped a mini keg. Well... I kept going until it was all gone later that evening, and it took me two days to recover.

Still, that's only 2.5 glasses if you're at the actual Oktoberfest in Munich.

 

Ha! Yep, marathon pace and not a sprint.

 

new glarus staghorn. a wonderful american-made marzen. malty yet crisp. rich but smooth. always look forward to this one. cheers!!

 

These will keep me busy for a while, the Konstantin is going down first. Prost.

 

Bright Path Brewing Marzen. They knocked this one out of the park. It doesn’t shy away from malt depth and sweetness, but still manages nice balance and easy drinkability.

 

Another nice one from Schilling Beer Co. of scenic Littleton N.H.
Prost.

Konstantin

Märzen | 5% ABV
Schilling Beer Co. in Littleton, New Hampshire

Reviewed by Amendm from Rhode Island

4.24/5 rDev +5.7% | Average: 4.01
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A very easy pour was needed to keep the head under two inches. Beautiful amber-orange body, striking shiny copper in sun light. The light beige head is short lived, fizzy and soapy with large bubbles that leave behind kettle holes.

Bread dough and toast greets the nose with baked fruits (apple, pear etc.) and a hint of caramel sweetness. Hop aroma is moderate, spicy and herbal.

Semi sweet with average bitterness, bready malt is in charge with balancing hops that keeps the sweet malt taste in check, not as sweet as the smell suggested. The finish is quick and soft, only slightly drier, bitterness builds to above average. The aftertaste clears up fast, spicy hops and toast linger briefly.

Medium bodied with lasting carbonation despite the quickly shrinking head, a swish will bring it back. Smooth, balanced, easy to pound and it warms well-if you don't like to pound.

 

I love the Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest collaborations. This one doesn't disappoint either! Unlike my Bears. Cheers!

 

Enjoying this annual delight
Crisp, excellent lager attributes
Dry finish
Cheers all

 

Kloster Andechs Festbier

A pleasant, slightly sweet Festbier. $4.50 for a 500 ml bottle at my best German beer source, and I am happy to pay it.