REVIEW 73: OKTOBERFISH

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Flying Dog Brewing Company

STYLE:  Märzen

ABV:  6.0%

PURCHASE:  Draught (60-oz. pitcher), $8.00

SERVING:  Said pitcher, poured into chilled pint glass. The initial standard pour yielded head that took up half the glass (roughly three full inches). A slower pour didn't produce much less. Ironically, the fast pour I did for round 3 got the least! Better than average retention, in any case.

APPEARANCE:  Transparent auburn-copper color, with an off-white, wispy head. Little bubble action in the glass, though more in the pitcher. Lacing was splotchy initially, though much, much better on the subsequent pour.

BOUQUET:  Appleskin and malted barley stand out above all else. A bit on the toasty side. Not much else in the nose.

PALATE:  Very soft carbonation paired with a slightly heavy body. A toasted malt flavor is almost immediate. By mid-palate, however, the overall mouthfeel becomes a malt-apple hybrid, more or less. The finish is where things get a little more complex: A slight hop bitterness enters the picture, as does a subdued note of mild spice, likely clove or coriander. Finish has an apple-like nature in terms of texture, although not really in terms of taste. The aftertaste maintains the hop bitterness, but gives rise to a significant yeast presence as well as traces of coffee and/or tea; more roasty than toasty at this stage. Coffee? Tea? SEGA?!

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  More of an Oktoberfest than the one I reviewed from Hofbräu last week, that's for sure. This one looked, nor smelled, nor tasted, like a Helles lager--that I can tell you.

As an Oktoberfest brew, it's solid but nothing special; on a par with Sam's Octoberfest. I rank it accordingly.



GRADE:  B-

"Coffee? Tea? SEGA?!"