Victory Festbier

Brewed by Victory Brewing Company
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
Downingtown, Pennsylvania USA

12oz bottle. Pours vibrant, clearish copper with a thin, fizzy, offwhite head. Smells sweet malty, slightly cereal with some metallic notes as well. Tastes metallic and sweet malty, slightly fruity and cereal. Medium body, ok carbonation.

Bottle, #414 Dark amber pour with nice white head and decent lacing. Sweet but light aroma and malty flavor. Pretty light Oktoberfest, good session brew.

Pours golden with a nice thick, off white, foamy head. Aroma is fruity, hints of yeast. Taste is yeasty, lots of carbonation. Not much going on here. Is this realy an ’’Octoberfest’’ brew?

Easy to drink, non offensive, session beer. Seltzery notes, sweet malt, grape notes, definitely light bitter hop presence. On the sweet malty end, but pretty mediocre (in a good way).

Courtesy of damienblack. Pours orange/copper, off white head. Aroma and taste, some nice hops, caramel malts, possible notes of corn giving a sweet aroma. Aftertaste of light hop bitterness. Nice risp finish, refreshing and easy to drink.

Bottle courtesy of sebletitje. Pours a clear copper with a one finger white head that fades leaving good lacing. Aroma of sweet malt, caramel, light DMS, and noble hops. Taste is the same as aroma. Medium mouthfeel with a mild to moderate amount of bitterness. Very good.

From a 12oz Bottle. Mostly transparent, coppery amber colored pour with a two finger head of fine bubbled ivory. Nice munich malt aroma with a healthy dose of melanoidins. A whiff of herbal hops is there, but nearly imperceptible. Notes of baked bread crust; exceptionally clean. Medium light bodied, moderately carbonated mouthfeel with a smooth, malty texture. Flavors of baguette and lightly toasted nuts. An almost raisiny, melanoidin sweetness comes through mid-palate before a dry and refreshing finish. A light toasted note dominates the flavors a bit much; some more melanoidin complexity would be nice. Noticeable hop bitterness in the finish, but not in the flavors. Very clean, tasty, and accurate stylistic representation.

I expected a good deal more from Victory. As someone who looks forward, every year, to a new batch of marzens, this one sorely disappoints...especially coming from a very capable brewery. The appearance is the highlight of the brew, featuring a medium copper color and decent head. Nose is malty and sweet, with hints of dark fruit. But the flavor? Well, the mouthfell is fairly thin and short lived, the flavor is a little too sweet, though it hints at hops in the finish, and it’s altogether lacking in complexity. RE-RATE: I was too harsh in my first rating. Flavors aren’t that bad...they’re just too short lived.