Bells Octoberfest Beer

Brewed by Bells Brewery
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
Kalamazoo, Michigan USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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Profoundly disappointing. Looks OK, normal clear copper marzen. Smells essentially metallic. Flavor is just awful--cooked vegetables, metallic, relatively sweet, with a strong dry bitterness. Basically tastes like a bad macro.

Orange like colour, thin reminants of a white head on top...barely any aroma at all, maybe a small hint of toastiness. Somewhat thin body, thin on flavour as well. A bit of a caramel note with some doughy-ness. Not a whole lot beyond that. There is a slight aftertatse of some spice, but even that is on the thin side. Dissapointing, but easy drinkng at the same time. I think overall this one comes off as nothing more than forgettable.

This beer sucks, what a disappointment. The aroma is very light and what is there is light malt. I don’t get the carmel or other aromas I generally get with an Oktoberfest, in fact there is very little there at all. Boring appearance, looks filtered, hardly any head at all. Full bodied it ain’t; it is thin an watery. While it might have redeemed itself with flavor, here it falls terribly short as well. It tastes like a full bodied miller light, none of the malty nuances found in a quality Oktoberfest. Maybe the first time I have really disliked a Bell’s beer. Draught at the Happy Gnome, St. Paul.

On tap at D’s. Very clear copper color, no carbonation, small white head. Lightly sweet aroma of caramel, apples and hints of sour grapes. Heavier body than most oktoberfests. Flavors of bready malt and sweet fruits... apples, pears, grapes. Not the biggest oktoberfest fan, but this was pretty good.

Draft at brewpub. Poured clear copper color with an average fizzy white head that was mostly lasting with good lacing. Moderate toasted caramel malt and small hop aroma. Medium body with soft carbonation. Medium balanced flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration.

On tap at the Eccentric Cafe. Slightly hazy orange body, medium off-white head. Aroma of candy corn and caramel, balanced by grassy hops. Sweet, cerealy body, toasty. Apparently uses the same yeast as the Consecrator Doppelbock, lending a unique perfumey, fruity character to the beer. Light grassy hops finish. Hints of caramel, but these light. Rather pedestrian, lacking the layered malty depths of some of the better German examples, but it is well-balanced.

UPDATED: OCT 5, 2006 on draft - it’s the expected copper color with a crisp malt bill and leafy earthy hops throughout the background. large biscuit and bread presence in the malt flavor but not overdone. if anything, this beer is too balanced. very good, and i hope it stays available every year for octoberfest!

On tap at Ashley’s in Ann Arbor. I’m not terribly experienced with the Oktoberfest style, but this was significantly smoother than any other I’d had. Great full maltiness at first, with a pleasant (and what appears to be typical of the style) doughy bread-like flavor to follow. Good, clean, hoppy finish. Again, this is extremely smooth and pleasant. If you can find it, it’s certainly worth a try.