I know this is a long shot but has anyone seen this around any more? I am working my way through a lengthy blind taster involving four sets of oktoberfest beers and the top five overall are going into my final bracket. The problem is Unchained 15 made the final 5 and now I have no other bottles left and haven't seen it in awhile. Any sightings...please pass along....great beer.
Haven't seen any around. I drank the last bottle in my fridge the other day and it had already succumbed to some oxidation.
Funny, I had my last one of these yesterday. I have to agree with Billhelm. At this point it is battling oxidation. No surprise. It's a relatively delicate beer and we have gone beyond its 150 day date code. I hope you find one Zap. However, I'm not sure you will be doing the beer any justice by including it in your tasting. It's not the same beer it was a few months ago. One of the fun things about this beer was that it came out so far out of season. Now that the season is here, you have a number of great (fresh) October brews to choose from. Including our regular Oktoberfest. Which isn't too shabby if you ask me.
Not to pile-on with the two guys above me, but I also noted the creep of oxidation when I enjoyed my last bottle in late June. I managed to get a couple of bottles out to distant tasters, and hope that they were okay by the time they arrived for sampling, because it was a great beer and deserved to get some notice from people who enjoy this style. I hope that you can score at least one more for your tasting, ZAP! *Once #15 had hit I couldn't get enough of it -- went through a case within the first month of its release. Even with the Maibocks (and a few Bocks stashed) which were in season, this one was just so nicely-balanced and easy drinking that I almost swore off my daily ration of cheap canned swill for an entire month. Almost -- I just doubled-up on my intake.
Mine must have aged well as it stood out in its grouping as it tied for first in the grouping of five.. I stuck the Unchained in for kicks and didn't know how it would hold up but the one I had was very good still. The Munich malt really stood out still. Your regular Ofest showed nicely as well and finished second in its group of four.
John, this beer NEEDS to return in some capacity. The acclaim is seemingly unanimous. This is/was an incredible beer! I could drink it year round!
agree 100%. Best American-made festbier I've ever had. I am sure it probably wouldn't work for margins to have it replace Summit's Oktoberfest but would love to have this again regularly. I went through two cases and drank a ton of it on tap.
I'm still drinking up all the regular ol Summit Ofest that I can find and really enjoying this years edition.....not as boozy or hot and just really a nice mellow sweet maltiness...just a different take than the Unchained Fest
