Coney Island Freaktoberfest

Shmaltz Brewing Company
Brewed at Olde Saratoga Brewing (Mendocino Brewing Co.)
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
San Francisco, California USA

Had a bottle of this stuff on Halloween. It’s decent - pours a blood red color and has a malty, fruity aroma. Taste is pretty much typical Oktoberfest, malt and a mild bitterness. I got a little bit of fruit out of this, maybe strawberry/raspberry. Flavor is average overall though.

Sampled during Cellar’s Wine & Spirits Wednesday tasting. Pours a dirty rust/red brew with a hot pink head that slowly dissipates to a thin off-white ring. Aroma of caramel malt, some floral hops, a hint of grapefruit and tangerine. Taste is medium bodied, with flavors of golden grain malt with some caramel, stale toffee, a hint of grassy hops and some apple. Finish is a tad watery, with a fast disappearing caramel malt. With the red coloring I was expecting some berry or cherry flavors but none of those where there.

Bomber from Knightly. Poured blood red with a short, fizzy cap of white head.. would’ve really thrown me off if I wasn’t expecting it! The aroma opened with drawn caramel and toasty grapefruit amplified by rum warmth.. deep and by all means interesting. The flavor had a strong, grainy caramel sweetness at the core with quite a lot of bitterness around (dry grassy notes, grapefruit, and herbal notes were present).. dry and slow-moving on the back-end leaving me slightly parched.. warm finish with more of the above. Medium-bodied with a fuller feel on the palate.. balance was not entirely there, but it flowed OK.

16oz bottle. Pours a cheerwine (not sure if everyone is familiar with that soft drink, might be regional) red with a thin pink head. Malty smell with a tinge of hops and wheat. Strong taste of hops and alcohol with some minor fruity notes. The 6.66% ABV is a good touch. A decent beer, but really more clever than good.

Bottle from Once Upon a Vine South on 09/19/2008. Pours a slightly hazy red body with a rather large frothy pink head. Sweet grainy and toasty aroma. Sweet slightly grainy and toasty flavor with some citrusy hops. Medium body with moderate carbonation. This is more of an American Pale Ale with red food coloring instead of an Oktoberfest. Really not that bad, but the color tends to surprise you.

Weird cherry red color in the body, bright, artificial pink head. Malt and sweet candy aroma. Malt and fruity sweet flavor. Not great, but it’s different.

22oz bottle (10/9/08 Pre GABF Tasting)-Pours a ruby red body with a small red head. Aroma of malt and hops. Taste of hops with a bitterness along with a little malt. This medium bodied brew is well balanced and is a great blood red beer.

Tasting - Perfect Pour. Cherry red, pinkish white fizzy head. Aroma was citrusy with a light cherry earth undertone (from the cherry skins for those who did not know). Hoppy citric flavors fade into a weird autumn-like cherry taste. Hard to really explain at this point. Light bodied, soft carbonation, bittersweet finish. I think the Freaktoberfest name is appropriate here. Might want to go back to the drawing board on this one...