Previously on A Crafty Look...
Hacker-Pschorr Original Oktoberfest Amber Marzen had a beautiful malt profile but it's hindered by a metallic finish.
Spaten Oktoberfest was boring and bland.
Sierra Nevada's Oktoberfest was good but not as good as last year.
Left Hand Oktoberfest was quite good and deceptively strong at 6.6%.
Now that you are caught up with what happened last week, I can get right into this week's reviews starting things off with again in Germany with Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen. Pouring a clear amber with a white head, Ayinger's version of an Oktoberfest beer was a delight drink. Its aroma is very bready, grainy with some caramel and a hint of fruit and spice. The flavor matches the aroma, toasted bread and caramel shine initially. The sweetness of the caramel is quite nice. It is balanced by a nutty, spicy, dry finish. This stood out nicely compared to the other beers I reviewed. As you will shortly find out with Yuengling's Oktoberfest, balance is important. Oktoberfest beers have a tendency to get a little too sweet. I think Sam Adams is a perfect example of this. Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen adds a really nice amount of bitterness to prevent this from happening. The result is a wonderful beer for a crisp Fall night session. In short, I really enjoyed this beer. It's not the best beer I've had but it's one of the best Oktoberfest beers I've had.
Overall rating: 4.25/5
Next up we have the aforementioned Yuengling Oktotoberfest. I admit I have not had this one in a few years but I remember liking it a lot. This all changed when I put this beer against other ones in the style. Yuengling's version is largely hindered by it's lack of balance. Its ruby red color with an off-white head looks amazing. The aroma was bursting with caramel sweetness, a light spiciness and a lot of bread. A caramelized sugar sweetness is what mostly dominates the flavor. This all leads to the classic bready, Yuengling Lager finish. This would all work nicely if there was more hops in the finish to provide balance. Sadly, Yuengling Oktoberfest is completely under-hopped. The malt sweetness dominates mostly everything you taste. The hops are there but they are in the background and make things more bland than anything else. It merits saying this is a less expensive Oktoberfest beer and it is not a bad beer for the price. This is however, an example of getting what you pay for. This is the kind Oktoberfest you bring to a party of people you barely know because it is worth trying a bottle. You just won't give it a second thought when you leave the rest behind.
Overall rating: 2.5/5
Of all the Oktoberfest beers I chose for this epic two part review, the one I was most excited to try was Bells Octoberfest. I am a huge fan of Bells Brewery and have not had a chance to try their Octoberfest. The main reason for this is the beer has not been bottled in 5 years. So when I saw it on the shelves next to their other fall offering Best Brown Ale, I grabbed it immediately. I just hoped it would live up to the high expectations I had for it. Unfortunately it only met those expectations halfway. The first initial taste reminded me of cheap beer. At 11 dollars a six pack, the last thing you want to compare your beer to is something you could have bought for 4. But let's make things a bit more positive here, there are notes of Toasted nuts, toffee, cracker with a slight fruitiness in the flavor. The finish had a touch of citrus which I thought was nice. As the seventh Oktoberfest beer I've reviewed any slight difference from toasted bread, caramel, and toasted nuts is quite nice. To sum it up, even though it is reminiscent of cheap beer, it is not bad beer. At times I actually found myself enjoying Bells Octoberfest. Unfortunately it's just nothing memorable. If they did not bottle it for another 5 years I probably wouldn't notice.
Overall rating: 3/5.
Finally my last Oktoberfest for the year, from Cleveland, Great Lakes Oktoberfest. At this point I am sure you know what to look for in the aroma and the flavor, so I will make this short and sweet. I am not really a fan of this beer. It gets a little too sweet at times. The caramel malt lingers a little too long after the spicy finish. It becomes a little distracting. Closing this blog with this beer may have been a mistake. Honestly after all this malt, I can't wait to drink a beer absolutely drowned in hops. Great Lakes Oktoberfest is definitely the sweetest one of the bunch and that is not a good thing.
Overall rating: 2/5
That concludes my epic 2 part Oktoberfest blog. For the first time ever, I think I am done drinking Oktoberfest beers by the end of September. Since the actual Oktoberfest ends around then, I think that's all right.
Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly exceptional
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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!
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