Reddish to copper hue covered by a tight, dense, mostly lasting off-white foam. Immediately bready, vigorously toasty maltiness playing both the subtlety and the full-flavoured games. Fruity whispers complement the sweetish leanings, the latter of which are swiftly compensated by the appropriate, very german, slightly earthy, but mostly leafy hops. Tight carbonation keeps the flavours in track and ensures a controlled sweetness feel. Very clean, yet rather rich. One to make you wonder if classics like Orval were once improving so much year on year off. How exciting this must have been.

Bottle... This beer rocks!... Clear, light copper lager with a mid-sized, fizzy, white head. Great retention. The aroma puts forward notes of caramel, honey, biscuit and maple. Full-bodied and chewy with tingly carbonation. Malty-sweet, fruity and minerally with remarkable balance. Malty, fruity, nicely roasted finish. A shout goes out to glouglouburp for providing the bottle!

My Bottom Line:
This Oktoberfest Lager expresses its maltiness most wisely with fruity caramel suffused throughout serene toasted bread allusions., as spicy hop subtleties grow within and finishing wooden hops are joined by a proficient toasted malt undertow. This is as authentically Bavarian as it can get outside of Germany.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A sticky sheet of foam lays atop the glowing amber red.
-Carbonation is quite active, but remains very comfortable.
-This is so drinkable (but never frail), I just feel like gluttonously downing the whole 750ml bottle in a few minutes.
-The malty fruitiness is quite eloquent, yet is never defined by one or two specific fruit.

Bottle.

Malt forward aroma features bready and grainy notes accented by grassy, herbal hops. Clear amber-tan coloured body is topped by a low, fine-bubbled and lasting off-white head. Flavour follows the suggestion made in the nose - malty and bready with a pleasant round sweetness that is cut short by moderate bitterness. Some apple and berry fruitiness especially in the aftertaste. Medium body with fair to moderate carbonation. Nice to see this beer improving. Shaker glass. Allowed to warm from fridge temperature. Bottle (Rahman, Jun-08).

2008-02-01. Bottle. 2007 Vintage. Orange amber body with modest white head. Lightly earthy smoky hints over toasty malt aroma. (6+) Flavour has similar lightly smoky earthy character distracts from the malty foundation. Average smooth palate. Very well made but not for me. My score seems low but I don’t know that I would raise any of the individual numbers so there it stays.