Bayern Oktoberfest

Bottle from Belmont Station--Poured a brown-chestnut body with a thin white head. Nose of bread and crispy grains. Resided on the malty sweet side. Mildly creamy with a touch of floral hops. Thin dull finish that needed more complexities for sure!

13-Jan-08 (12-oz bottle, Best Before 01-Mar-08: Purchased 04-Dec-07 for $1.30 from liquidsolutions.biz) Wow, this stuff pouring into my pint glass is dark! This isn’t amber, but light brown mixed with ruddy brick. The half-inch tall head is tan in color and short-lived, fading to a wide ring within a few minutes. malty and lightly sweet-smelling when swirled, but a modest sourness comes out if the beer is undisturbed for several seconds. On the palate, the beer is very malty, more so than most examples of the style. It’s moderately sweet too, but certainly not sugary, though a light tartness emerges in the finish. It’s seems apparent that they simply used a LOT of malt to make this beer. Hops are mild, but on the perfumy and floral side, offering some balancing flavor and mild bitterness, but malt remains the focal point here. Medium in body and carbonation with a bit of acidity to break up the clinging maltiness. No lacing on the glass. Overall, it’s packed with flavor and has a very aggressive profile for an Oktoberfest, but the malty sweetness and floral hops make this less enjoyable than hoped.

Bottle courtesy of Kyzr. Poured dark brown with a thin head. Aroma is malty with notes of bread, some roast and maybe a little yeast. Flavor is mostly sweet and malty with a lightly crisp finish and light roast. Kind of thin, but it is flavorful.

Hard to go wrong with this style, from the examples I’ve tried so far. Easy to get a bocky/bready aroma, somewhat harder to get a good head presentation.