BeerBorg

I just had Florida Beer Co's Conchtoberfest. It's got the color and the flavor, but it's also got some alcohol bite to it that I did not like. Overall, pretty decent and the price was right!

Ibasterd wrote:My ownn oktoberfest. I may be prejudiced, but I like it.

Nice. That's exactly how I think an Octoberfest should look.

OK, out for happy hour with friends, so I tried to (mostly) stick to style...

Had a sample of Fort Collins Oktoberfest to start (no pic). Very pale. Surprisingly so. Bitter and flavor was pretty spot on.

Next, Little Harpeth PROST!

Maybe a touch sweet and light on the bitter. A bit foggy. But a nice representation of the style by our local lager brewery...



And a change of venues...

Widmer's Okto Festival Ale, which is a pretty good, though not outstanding, representation of the style...



Finally, Red Hare's Hasenpfeffer Oktoberfest, which, again, is a decent, though not outstanding, version of the style...

Making me regret getting that Widmer Okto!

Really, it's fine. I've just had better. I can say that about plenty of beers in the style (Shiner, Sammy, Leinenkugel, Narragansett, Abita, BBC, Harpoon, Magic Hat, Yuengling, Dundee, etc.). None of those are bad beers... in fact, most are good. I've just had better in the style.

Just poured a Brew Kettle Oktofest. Very good. Sorry, no time for a pic this time.

Looooooooooong week so back to the Octoberfest!

The last one I had to try was Firestone Walker's Oaktoberfest:


As you can see, it appears somewhere between the Weihenstephaner and the Ayinger in color.
The aroma was malty, but nowhere near as sweet at the Ayinger - and tastes like malt but without the sweetness that Ayinger had.
This one light, yet flavorful and something that I could a few of. By far, this was my favorite beer of the three. Not being overly familiar with the style (other than a few Sam Adams over the years) I can't say how true to style it is but I can say that it's not hoppy but tastes like there is just enough in there to take away any sweetness from the beer.

This is my new standard for the style as far as I'm concerned. I did see that Nikasi has one out too so maybe I'll try that if I come across one.

This beer was also perfectly clear (wow).
And yes, the Naked Cat pint glass was my glassware of choice for these beers.



Cheers boys and girls!

The Naked one is in my lap as I type this and says "pppuuuuurrrrrrrrbbbbbbbbb, ppppppppuuurrbbbb" while making biscuits. I think that means "Cheers".
I call her kumquat from time to time, because she's a small weird fruit.

@Dave, I haven't forgotten about your loss.

Brooklyn Oktoberfest is generally my favorite American o-fest, though Yazoo's is right there with it for me. Malty, great bitter, a bit of caramel, some munich, just a solid representation of the style. Oh, and #properGlassware... well, kinda... Proper in logo, though not proper in style.

FWIW, the Ayinger is a very good representation of the traditional style. It is on the low end of the IBU range at around 21, where they can go to about 28 in the traditional style, but it is also lower on the ABV scale - more bitter beers are usually stronger. A lot of the American versions go up to that max 28 number and/or use a less malty grain bill and/or avoid the full decoction mash that kicks up the maltyness and adds a bit of caramel sweetness in a traditional beer. Some of them exceed that number to cater to American craft brew tastes IE "balance" the beer more to the liking of APA/IPA drinkers.

That doesn't make them bad, but they are very much "different". It's all a matter of taste of course, but saying that most any American fest bier is better then Ayinger is really comparing apples to oranges. In a true style competition many of the American ones would get dinged.

The best American Oktoberfest I have ever had that is more traditional is the Great Lakes brewing company version. It is more bitter then the Ayinger, but its also of a good bit higher OG, and it uses higher carbonation levels to also make it seem less cloying. I'm not sure if I like it more then Ayinger, but it's just as good in it's own way.

Peak Organic Hop Harvest. Very different take on an Oktoberfest. Really hop forward. I would consider it an IPA if not for the malty backbone of Munich, Vienna, and Victory malt. It uses; Centennial, Chinook, and Simcoe hops, which give it an earthy piney quality to my nose. Not a traditional Okto, but I like it because it's different. I have had other good beers by peak in the past.

Thanks for lesson Dave - always good to add to the knowledge base. Seems as if there are a number of enjoying different version of Octoberfests now - what will do in October?!?!

Keep drinking Oktoberfest beers, of course!

I had the Widmer Okto today... Not impressed. Was a little bland compared to other festbiers I've had.

Hacker-Pschorr Festbier Golden Oktoberfest Lager



A very different take on what we see as an Oktoberfest beer. This small single-brew batch for the US is one of the beers that HP serves in Munich at the O-fest. Hallertau leaves a grassy character on the lighter, but still grainy, malt bed. Very dry finish. No sweetness here. Very much different than their Original Oktoberfest. Glad I paid the $4 for the large flippie bottle.

Very interesting reading on this Hacker-Pschorr beer series...

linky

Munich-based Hacker-Pschorr Brewery is expanding its U.S. offerings with a limited-release specialty beer series consisting of four small batch beers, brewed and packaged specially for variety-thirsty U.S. beer lovers. All four beers will be available on draught and in collectible half-liter, 16.9 oz., swing top bottles.

The first in the series, Hubertus Bock, will reach retailers in March 2014, followed by Sternweisse in May, Festbier in August, and Animator in November. Each beer will be brewed to order in a single small batch and completely allocated to retailers who place pre-orders.

I'll have to keep my eyes out for other beers in this series...