Best 2017 Oktoberfest, So Far

Gotta fill up that half Maß! Also I'm a Yankees fan, so I need it just as bad as any Sox fan right now.

I have some blurry bottles as well, but a few of them clearly read 6.7%.

 

I liked this local, Remedy Oktoberfest. Nose is bready and sweet, almost fruity. Taste is toast, sweetness, and a slight bitter close. Decent mouthfeel, but dry. Overall excellent.

 

Ayinger on tap not only the best so far this year but one of the best from any year.

 

Typical for my area (maybe elsewhere in the U.S. too), Oktos are still going strong around here. One of my locals just got a few cases of Spaten (bottled 07/17) and another got the Paulaner distro to drop more Wies'n 12 packs -- had to grab one.

I know the Fest is over in Munich, but I don't mind extending the season into Autumn. Note, that is different from adding on to the season at the other end, before Summer is over.

 

Grimm Brothers Farmer's Daughter is one of my favourites. Rye bread spice to it.

 

Goose Island and Brooklyn are my picks for this year out of the ones I've had so far. I gave Sierra Nevada's a try and I reciprocate how everyone else has been feeling about it.

 

Yuengling Oktoberfest is pretty good this year, especially for the price.

 

I came here to describe exactly what you wrote about SA (tasty well made beer but cloying sweetness in finish) and I really enjoyed Sierra Nevada. There's a lot of love for Hofbrau on this thread, so I'll look to grab some of that to revisit.

 

I discussed Urban Chestnut Oktoberfest in today’s New Beer Sunday thread:

Can you speak Bavarian?

If so then maybe you can pronounce the word Oachkatzlshwoaf.

Today’s beer is a beer gifted to me by a good friend: Urban Chestnut O-Katz (Oachkatzlshwoaf) – which is an Oktoberfest beer. On the can it states:

“This malty yet well balanced Märzen-style Lager is easy to drink but difficult to pronounce. That’s why Oachkatzlshwoaf (“owah-kaatzl-sch-woaff”) is lovingly referred to as “O-Katz” by our staff since because only our Bavarian born Brewmaster can pronounce its name correctly. We all agree that Bavarian humor can be… interesting. Prost!”

The Bavarian born brewmaster mentioned above is Florian Kuplent.

A number of years ago I had a chance to try Urban Chestnut Zwickel at a local beer bar. I just happened to be there when a wholesale distributor was promoting the Urban Chestnut brewery. I also had a chance to speak to the brewer, Florian Kuplent for quite some time. Florian is very personable guy and he has a very interesting story. He was born and beer trained in Germany. He has brewed at various European and US craft breweries but he spent a significant part of his brewing career at Anheuser-Busch (in Newark, NJ and St. Louis, MO) prior to starting up Urban Chestnut in St. Louis.

Below is how this beer is described on BA:

“This “export” style lager, brewed for our annual Oktoberfest celebration, is malty yet well balanced like the bier traditionally served at Oktoberfest in Munich. However, our Festbier has a tale/tail of its own–Oachkatzlschwoaf (pronounced “o-cat-zel-schwof”) translated is “tail of a squirrel”…just a little Bavarian humor.”

So, how does a “tail of a squirrel” beer taste?

Served in my Spiegelau Lager glass:

Appearance:

Amber colored with a BIG fluffy off-white head.

Aroma:

A substantial aroma of toasty bready malt accompanied by a subtle spicy hop aroma.

Taste:

Flavor follows the nose with a notable toasty bready malt flavor. There is a low-medium bitterness.

Mouthfeel

Medium bodied with a smooth mouthfeel. It has a dry-ish finish.

Overall

I enjoyed drinking this beer. As is detailed on the can it is malty.


One interesting feature of the can is its 360 degree lid. The only other beers that I have seen this with are Sly Fox beers (e.g., Helles Golden Lager, 360 IPA). This permit you completely remove the top and drink from the can as though it was a glass. Needless to say but I prefer to actually pour this beer into a glass.

Cheers!

 

I really like the style so my fridge is full of different beers. Tried Great Lakes, Hacker, Pauliner marzen, Hofbrau, Weihenstephaner festbier, SN, Staghorn, Surlyfest, Millstream, Schlenkerla marzen.

Local store has a lot of 12 packs of Paulaner marzen for around $14 so may grab another of those. Millstream has been quite enjoyable to me.

 

So far it's at the top for me. I've had around 20 different ones so far.

So far it's at the bottom for me. Actually ended up dumping it, which is something I seldom do with any beer.

 

That's interesting, as I found it to be enjoyable this year when I haven't thought too much of it in past years. I also liked it more than SA's, which I did not enjoy too much this year.

 

At the store today excited to grab some Hofbrau, however, didn't find any Oktoberfest. They had fresh stock of original, Maibock and Hef. no Oktoberfest. Was disappointed.

Opted for a mixed sixer of various beers, and a 12 pack of Saranac "German" mixer, that had Black Forest, Bohemian Pilsner, Haus Lager and their Oktoberfest. Been years since I've had Saranac beers, so thought this was a good option (and $16 for 12 pack was good price as well).

 

I've got the Sierra Nevada and brauhaus miltenberger Oktoberfest 2017. I'm liking this one!

 

I had Goose Island and Brooklyn this weekend. They were both very good. The germans are what they are and tasted exactly the same to me this year as they always have, (Ayinger, Spaten, Paulaner, HP, Hoffbrau) good stuff.

 

Thought Sly Fox was very solid

 

I'll buy this if I see it. I'm a huge fan of Smuttynose and will buy anything they make at least once.

 

I'm actually pretty impressed by Saranac's. It's very toasty, slightly caramely, with a little bit of minty herbal hop balance, sweet but instead of a slipping down that slope of cloyingness, it's quite crisp, and I like it for that.

 

I got a keg this weekend of Spaten Oktoberfestbier, and I must say it was fantastic. Sierra Nevada's collab was my favorite domestic version this year.

 

One of my favorites this year as well.