Dark Horse Octoberfest

Bottled. Pale brown with beige head. Citrusy hops up front. Fruity, malty and soft with loads of cookie malt. Quite bitter fruity finish. Very hop accented, but with good balance. Not even remotely similar to German oktoberfests, but a great beer.

Draft at Dark Horse.Dark amber hue with a moderate off-white head that diminshed slowly with good lacing. Roasted sweet aroma. Medium body. Good well balanced flavor with a dry smooth long finish.

2003 bottle. WOW. Bottle conditioned, hazy, dark brownish-tan with some light oranges. Good oatmeal colored head. Aroma is crisp, hoppy (quite a bit of bitterness) and has a hint of red raspberry. Opens up with a flavor so fresh, it dosent even taste bottled. Pure, clean spicy hops, full bodied, with plenty of toasted malt goodness. No harsh dry tones, no astringency, just incredible flavorful beer. If I was rating to style, this wouldnt get many points as it is very hoppy (too high alpha hops content for a marzen) but hell, this tastes so good, I dont care what style it is. Pure milk chocolate on the finish that lingers on.

This beer pours with a dark reddish brown body topped by a medium thick to thick off white, foamy head with good lacing. The aroma is sweet and malty with a nice fruitiness and a touch of hops. The flavor is slightly sweet yet bitter with more hops than malt showing through. The finish is slightly bitter. Medium bodied and smooth.

This is the darkest Oktoberfest I've encountered, pouring a dark red-brown with a light tan head. This is also a surprisingly hoppy beer. Floral, grassy, spicy and slightly bitter hops subdue the lighter caramel malts in both the aroma and the flavor. Not sure this really belongs under the Oktoberfest category, despite the name.