Fall Beer Sightings (2022)

I just spotted SA Octoberfest at my local bottle shop. I wasn't looking for it at the grocery stores earlier in the week but I am pretty sure I saw there as well. I also saw DFH Punkin Ale and Shiner Oktoberfest too.

 

Yep, my local Weggies was the culprit back then. I should check their end-caps next month; the first Xmas Belgians may be ready to go.

 

Went to the store to stock up for my parents coming this weekend and saw the local pushed their Octoberfest already - Lost Forty Hunter. Good beer but not today....

 

I find July particularly horrifying. I see Oktoberfest beer on the shelf. Most of the time it's old beer from last year. Who's to blame, the brewery, the retailer, the distributor, or just plain negligence of everyone? 9+ months later, I don't buy the beer, move on and don't dig too deep.
...Then at some point in July I see a beer where I wonder if it could be a current, 2022 release. ..Sure enough, it is. But no better to this brewery. It's delivering the beer far too early. I don't think I have to explain more.

If it were up to me I'd wipe all festbierOktoberfest on the shelf by the end of July. A retailer's responsibility. Nobody should be buying it at this point anyways. Then put a retail release shelf date on new festbier no earlier than August 15. A grace period from July to August, but still restrained and enough time for retailers to sort the difference. Purge the old, but generate enough hype for the new release date. As it stands, July & August festbiers mix dangerously and somewhat risky times to be buying Oktoberfest beer. Do your diligence and good luck on finding it fresh.
None of this is likely to happen, but my two cents as the season approaches.

 

LOL!

Cheers!

 

I agree 100% with you here but there will be some BAs stating that they love Oktoberfest beers so much that they can never arrive too early.

And some breweries will state they have to have their Oktoberfest beers on the shelves as early as possible (e.g., July) in order to claim shelf space.

And then there is the issue that German breweries will package (bottle) their seasonal Oktoberfest beers in April (or May) for some reason I can not fathom.

I am fortunate that I have a lot of local craft breweries who produce high quality Oktoberfest beers and they choose to not package their beers until later in the season. I had one local craft brewery who didn't release their Oktoberfest beer until the second week in September. Cheers to them!!!!!

 

Wow, lots of the usual "hand wringing" about fall seasonal beers coming out in late July / early August - no one seems to complain nearly as loudly when summer beers come out in March, or Christmas beers in October - never undertood all the angst....people just do not understand how beers are distributed (I worked in the industry for several years for several breweries)....

Anyway.....just stopped at a local beer shop I frequent, and saw these beers this week, in addition to Masthead (Cleveland) O-fest, which was out last week....



and yes, most pumpkin beers these days are made with canned pumpkin, so what?? If you have ever tried to make a pumpkin ale (I have, both ways) from "real" sugar pumpkins, it is a mess and a lot of work, vs using pumpkin puree, which gives the same result)









folks who joke about "real pumpkin" apparantly think all brewers use "real hops" - as opposed to processed pellets, which account for the vast majority of hops used (except for the tiny amount used in "fresh hop ales") - how is using a processed (easier) form of one beer ingredient ok, but not another? Get real.....

 

Maybe not so much a “fall beer” as a “fall release”,., I got this in an email from Cigar City this morn - seems the Haze Craze is still on us:

Here at CCB, innovation is what lights our fire and that fire is burnin' bright. We have tons of exciting fall releases in the works and are thrilled to provide a sneak peak in the form of Hazy Jai Alai IPA, coming soon to a Jai Alai Mixed Pack near you!

 

Just saw this one down here in Panama City Beach where the temperatures are still in the 90s. The best by date was 5/23/2023. There were several other Oktoberfest beers available - all imports and all fresh.

 

The "Haze Craze" will not be 'going away' anytime soon.

For completeness the majority of that pack are non-hazy IPAs so there is that.

On a related Cigar City topic you and I not that long ago discussed the shelf-life of Jai Alai. A month ago I purchased four cans of Jai Ali, canned on 6/15/22). They were in the refrigerated section at my local supermarket and when I came home I immediately placed those four cans in my refrigerator. The first two cans I drank were wonderful with a vibrant hop aroma. Can number three was a bit disappointing with notable decreased hop aroma. I drank the last can a couple of days ago and there was essentially no hop aroma to that beer; very disappointing for me. Based upon this recent experience and the other (a year+ ago) I am personally 100% convinced that Jai Alai has a shelf-life of less than one month of canning even if the beer is stored cold.

Cheers!

 

Last year my local distributor (perhaps a master/wholesale distributor) didn't get the Maibock in their shipment due, he believed, to timing. He had to get a whole trailer or some large quantity of HB beer, which he got right before the Maibock would have come out. I did see that a local German club had it on draft at the proper time, so some did make it here last year.

 

Yeah ... "India Pale Oktober Fest" ... Thems fightin words right there.

 

Just NO. F-ck off. I hate this trend

 

I saw ST Pumking and Warlock at my local grocery store last night but no Oktoberfests yet.

A hazy Jai Alai sounds quite nice! I will be on the lookout but probably for singles.

I have had similar results and up to 30-days is when that beer is at its best. It's still good after that to me but it loses a bit...the orange just seems to takeover.

 

Even worse would be HAZY IPOF!

 

How about Cheesy IPOF!?!

 

Paulaner Fest and Märzen, H-P Märzen, Bitburger, Warsteiner, Lakefront, Founders, a few locals and a couple pumpkin beers. Yeah, the creep is creeping in earlier.

 

The early releases this year are indeed creepy!

 

Just saw this pop up on my facebook feed. NOW IN CANS!!