Fall is here.
The leaves are turning colors, football is back and the beers have turned a decidedly darker color. That’s right it’s Oktoberfest beer time and that means local craft breweries are dusting off their best autumn lagers, or marzen, recipes and breaking out the steins and lederhosen.
I stopped in to one of the local bottleshops and picked up all of the Oktoberfest beers I could find (and one harvest ale wild card). There will be many more in the coming weeks, but here’s my thoughts on the six-pack I tried:
The Paso Robles, Calif., brewery (Paso Robles is Spanish for “Pass of The Oaks”) delivers a marzen beer that has a good malty backbone and a clean, subtle hop (Noble) finish. This was my favorite. ABV: 5.0 percent; IBU: 24.
This marzen from the Missoula, Mont., brewery pours very dark, but don’t think it’s an overly malt-heavy offering. It’s not too sweet and has a good hop character. Bayern proudly states it’s Oktoberfest is brewed according to the strict standards of the Brewers’ Guild of Munich. ABV: 6.0 percent; IBU: 23.
This was the sweetest beer I tried and the strongest. Not to say it’s not balanced; the hop finish is strong as well. This autumn lager from the Seattle brewery reminded me of an amber more than anything. ABV: 6.7 percent; IBU: 35.
This marzen from the Longmont, Colo., brewery pours a beautiful copper color and is more biscuity and hoppy than malty sweet. This is a very clean beer and I thought it might be the best bratwurst complement of all the beers I tried. ABV: 6.6 percent; IBU: 24.
I love many of the beers from this Silverdale brewery (Ridgetop Red, anyone?), but have to admit I was a little disappointed with this offering. Not that it was bad, just not memorable. ABV: 6.25 percent; IBU: 21.
Harvest Ale
As a French farmhouse-style saison, this is far from an Oktoberfest beer. But I had to try it: I love saisons. This one is very good. I enjoyed it with a friend after a long hike and it had a nice crisp finish. There were notes of fruit and spices and was complex without being dominating. ABV: 6.5 percent.
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