Schooners Oktoberfest

Draught at Beers in the Plaza as "Oh! Fest!". Amber with a big head. The aroma is pure toasty malt with a pleasing sweet-nutty quality. The flavor is rich toasty malt with a light hint of grainy sweetness before a dry finish with just a touch of hops. Not a style that I go crazy for, but this is a very nice example.

Beautiful dark amber pour with a hint of deeper red tones with a cream colored head. The nose was sweet from caramel malt and some apparent dark fruit, as was the flavor, with a touch of biscuit, earthiness and a medium full mouthfeel.

Out of the tank in the back? Thanks Craig. Reddish amber, roasted malts, hoppy, bready, little caramel, dry finish.

Bottle from Aspidites. Drank out of a snifter. I don’t know, maybe that was a bad move, but this stuff is not enjoyable to me at all. I’m surprised the ratings are all so high. Aroma is very vegetal, almost watermelony, and the flavor is a dank, dangerous muddy, fishy flavor that I dread going near every sip. I love a good Oktoberfest, but this just isn’t doing it for me.

This Marzen poured a deep yellow gold color from a fresh growler. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is caramel and malty, Medium bodied Marzen. The malts are caramel and fruity, semisweet. The hops are earth and floral, there is also a nice rye bread like spiciness here that is quite nice. Nice carbonation. Good balance. A very drinkable Marzen. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

On tap at the Schooner’s Brewery/Restaurant in Antioch. The beer poured clear copper – caramel color with light tan foam ring. There’s a mild aroma of spice, faint dark fruitiness and caramel malts. The fruitiness noted in the nose jumps out in the flavor with dates and prunes that meet up with a mild spice and beat sugar flavor mixture. There is also a diluted caramel sweetness running through along the background.

Courtesy boboski. Pours a nice glowing red-copper color with a broken off-white head. Aroma is a meld of sweet malt, spice, cut apples, and light hints of brown sugar. Easy palate - medium-bodied, lightly carbonated. Taste is mildly dry throughout and contrasted by varying tones of spice and hops and a hint of sweetness that provides nuance and balance. An interesting, well done brew.

The pour creates a thin, light beige head that sips atop a crystal clear body of a most stunning color array: exquisite deep mahogany, ruby and deep fiery orange/brown. Beautiful, sedated. the aroma is loaded with bready German malts, just piling out of the glass. Dark malts extrapolate deep-seeded dark fruit notes from one of the most complex expressions of the style I’ve encountered. Mild hops disperse across the waves of grain. The nose is neither too sweet nor too raspy, just enticing and fresh, full of life and ambition. Alcohol is nonexistent, so are any flaws. The flavor is pleasant, mildly to moderately bitter, a perfectly integrated spice topping to dress a malt base of intricate detail. Malt is laden with toast, caramel and Viennese tradition. Sweetness is medium and delectable. The finish is malt-centric, hops fluttering about in a sweet descension to nothing but raw caramel long after the finale. The mouthfeel is very lowly and softly carbonated, a variety of which would lend to excessive and joyful Autumnal quaffing. The palate is soft even though its weightiness is substantial. Just incredible, a feat that will be hard to topple in this category. Certainly, this doesn’t adhere to any traditional stylistic guidelines, and that’s okay. This beer accellerates at pushing the envelope. When it’s all said and done, it’s still closer to a Märzen than any other style. Awesome. I would absolutely love to have access to this on a regular basis, in Autumn or otherwise.