Climax Hoffmann Oktoberfest

Brewed by Climax Brewing Company
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
Roselle Park, New Jersey USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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Bready, toasty, round, brown malt character is pleasantly inviting in the aroma. Clear, copper coloured body is topped by a low but long lasting, off white head that coats the glass. Toasty, bready malts are dominant up front with moderate finishing bitterness. Mid-palate floral and perfumey hop flavours and caramelized, doughy characteristics emerge. Medium body fills the mouth with gentle effervescence. Sampled on tap at Barcade in NYC with Olivier_MTL and Rastacouere.

A very good example of an oktoberfest beer. Not like the lame versions that are coming out of Germany now. A nice big malty backbone without being cloying.

From a bottle with a blue and white checkered diamonds label, gold leaves in the middle. The bottle actually does not say climax on it, this is labeled as Hoffmanns Lager Beer Oktoberfest. Very nice good smelling darker beer but not brown nor black in color. Wew, hitting the buds, this beer really comes across as tart and I’m liking it. Funky tart farmy thing going on here. Very good carbonation. There must be some farmy wild yeast in there. Near sizzle cutting sour on the palate, very enjoyable since I like sour brews. I’m telling you, this borders on some of the better tasting sour or tart brews I’ve had. Mild and friendly yet interesting beer. Reminds me of beers I get from indigo imp. I hope I’m not interpreting an infected brew as a wild sour. Very nice crisp finish. Just enough hop presence to smooth it out in the end. As a sour beer lover, this has got to be some of the best fest I’ve tasted. Probably should not be in this style even tho it says oktoberfest on it. I should have bought a sixpack of this stuff. Was pretty cheap as I recall. House of 1000 beers. An unexpected pleasure for the evening. Yum. Hides its 6% well, no sign of alky in this sour soda pop mess.

Pouer red/amber good head. This is an excellent Mart[zen, made in my back yard in NJ. Try it. On tap it was a 10!

UPDATED: SEP 10, 2003 Had this off a keg at a friend's house-it is one of the first produced this season. Much better than the past. Very clean and malty. Dark red color. Hopfully a sign of things to come for this brewery, for Climax has been terrible of late.

Cask at Barcade under the name Hofmann(sic) cask-conditioned oktoberfest. Eternal rocky off-white head tops the dark amber and hazy robe. Both heavily malty and heavily hoppy nose. Generous toastiness is like biting in a biscotti, grainy, soft, clean. Awesome complexity in the hop profile and fruitiness for an Oktoberfest. Several notes of leafy lemon, juicy figs, litchis, peach join together in a spicy, peppery medley of flavours that are attached together by expert hands. Light-medium bodied, oily restrained carbonation, finishing quite bitter, close to astringent. The softness of the malt, the suppleness of the union of the elements together. Climax rules with lagers, impeccable execution.

Growler purchased at Oaktree. Pours a nice clear deep ambe rwith a thin off white head and some lace. Aroma is nutty, toasted malts, bready, munivh and vienna with a nice herbal hop balance. Sharp hoppy flavor with nicely toasted malts, nuts, light caramel, toffee, and a nice clean bitter finish. Nice lingering finish in the mouth. Solid Oktoberfest.

Pours amber/red, with very little head. Aroma is sweet malt. Flavor is well balanced between malt aand hops. It’s the malt that shines thru, but there are more hops, (mostly in the beginning), here than most Octoberfests. It’s not too heavy, and is smooth going down.

sampled from growler. A nice amber/copper with a small compact off white head. medium carbonation on this beer. Aroma is malty with some citrus hops. Taste is nice and malty, some grain, lightly roasty, citrus and floral hops, slightly bitter finish. By far the best Oktoberfest I have tried so far, although I haven’t had many.

10 oz. "growler." Aroma of dank hops and cinnamon-raisin bready malt. Flavor follows right on cue. This is sort of like Ayinger’s version except not as extremely dank and earthy...yet I really like it...which might result in me liking the Ayinger more than I originally did...which is irrelevant to this rating...perhaps I’m finally learning Oktoberfests! Whoo!