REVIEW 132: FESTBIER

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Victory Brewing Company

STYLE:  Märzen

ABV:  5.6%

PURCHASE:  Six-pack of 12-oz. bottles, $14.99

SERVING:  12-oz. bottle, poured into pint glass. A normal pour yielded an initial head of roughly 2 1/2 inches. Not much variance in head size with respect to speed of pour; a slower pour did cut away an inch, but a faster one didn't really add any. Great retention.

APPEARANCE:  Transparent but slightly hazy amber-copper body. Head is a light cream color. Steady bubbling. Thin and inconsistent lacing.

BOUQUET:  Pleasantly balanced between malt and hops, both of which are mild relative to the notes of dark fruit and confectionery cocoa or fudge that seem to jump at you. Scent rounded out by tea leaves and orange spice. Not sure if this is smells like a true Oktoberfest beer.

PALATE:  Not sure if this tastes like a true Oktoberfest beer either; in fact, it could almost pass for a Belgian. Dark fruit essences immediately set in upon entry. Mildly hoppy mid-palate, followed by a blending-in of sorts from notes of cocoa and malt at the finish. Multi-dimensional aftertaste one of orange rind and tea, complemented by lingering burnt malt/grain.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  It seems you can't go wrong with anything from Victory, and the Festbier reinforces this notion. That said, it doesn't seem to ideally represent the Oktoberfest--or Märzen--style. A lot of these beers do indeed have notes of chocolate, but of the bitter variety; this one's chocolate factor was cut from the Belgian abbey/European confectionery cloth.

Then there was the tang at the very end of each sip. I'm not complaining--tang is good. But again, it prompted me to ask if I was really drinking a true Oktoberfest, which is proving to be a very eclectic category for me, and hence one that is difficult to pinpoint in terms of common characteristics. Oh well. What difference does it make if I nonetheless enjoyed the beer? 

On another note, I don't remember ever actually drinking Tang as a kid.




GRADE:  B+