October's a special time of the year for me, friends.
Halloween and the cooling temperatures, and all the costumes you could ask for
till the next convention. And Oktoberfest!
Yes, I realize that Oktoberfest proper was a few weeks ago.
Sue me, you’ll still see these brews on the shelves for a little while. So for
the occasion, I thought I'd give a try of some brews specifically for
Oktoberfest. The first is a German import, Weihenstephaner’s
Festbier Marzen. Weihenstephaner has been brewing since the
year of our Lord 1040, in the town of Freising, in Bavaria, Germany. Almost ten centuries of Old World brewing
expertise, let’s see how this goes.
an import, Weihenstephaner’s Festbier
On first pour, it's got a modest head that thins out quick
but lingers as a thin layer on the top and clings a little to the edges of the
glass. It's recommended to drink a marzen from a mug or stein.
Full disclosure, my mug is big enough for three pints so instead I've used my
jam jar pint glass. What? There’s
several drinking establishments out here that use those damn glasses at the
bar! Ok, they’re hipster recycle-chic bars, and I only went that one time, but
they’re still completely legitimate. Moving on, the bouquet is like a stronger
pilsner, the faintest of sweet malt with a tang from the hops and yeast. The body is a clear effervescent gold. It's a
simple brew if one compares it to craft brews from the New World, but wow. You
can clearly taste the ingredients. The barley, the subtle hops, and the yeast just
sidling in, they’re well balanced. It’s a crisp brew that avoids real bitterness,
with a clean finish. It's not fancy, but damn good quality. Most American
lagers, or “macrobrews,” who dreamt up that sobriquet anyway, how they have
that stronger tang that turns into a rough, skunky, bouquet? This is what those
brews only wish they could be. You would need an actual skunk to make this brew
curdle. This goes in crisp as a winter chill, finishes smooth as a frozen pond,
with a respectable ABV of 5.8%. Do you want to build a snowman? Prost!
And if that’s too long for you, here’s the short version. I
liked it, it’s good, try it yourself.
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