A Feast of Oktober

It seems at the moment that every brewer and his uncle is having an Oktoberfest celebration, whether or not said brewer regularly makes bottom fermented beers in the German style (and they say craft beer isn't marketing driven!).

Being a fan of the lager arts, and not wanting to limit my Oktoberfest drinking to Sierra Nevada, I gathered together 7 bottles of American made versions of the 'style' to try in a blind tasting. As ever I was ably assisted by the lovely Mrs V, and her willingness to traipse up the stairs when I had finished each glass of beer is much appreciated.

The beers for this little taste off were:

• Port City Oktoberfest
• Ninkasi Oktoberfest
• Blue Mountain 13.Five O'Fest
• Samuel Adams Oktoberfest
• Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest
• Brooklyn Brewery Oktoberfest
• Shiner Oktoberfest

Such a delightful little lineup...

Using, as ever, a slightly modified version the Cyclops beer evaluation method, here's my findings.

Beer A

• Sight: rich copper, ivory head, dissipates quickly
• Smell: general sweetness, touch corny, wood and spice
• Taste: bready, touch of burnt toast, clean finish
• Bitter: 2.5/5
• Sweet: 2/5

Overall well balanced though on the thin side, nothing to really hunt out.

Beer B

• Sight: orange, large off-white head, slight haze
• Smell: some toffee, baking bread, floral
• Taste: sweet juicy malt, herbal hob bite
• Bitter: 2/5
• Sweet: 3/5

Ever so slightly boozy/hot, mouthfeel was nice and full, and slightly creamy, a bit on the too sweet side.

Beer C

• Sight: rich golden, white head
• Smell: bready, biscuits, trace of spice
• Taste: sweet toffee, pretzels, earthy hops
• Bitter: 3/5
• Sweet: 3/5

Nicely balanced, good clean dry finish, clearly well made and nicely integrated.

Beer D

• Sight: gold, voluminous white head that lingers
• Smell: grainy, light lemon and herbal hops, almost like autumn leaves
• Taste: bready malt, sweet but not in a caramel way, firm bitterness
• Bitter: 3/5
• Sweet: 2.5/5

Slightly creamy mouthfeel, but firm bitterness cleans that right up, very nice beer.

Beer E

• Sight: light red, smallish off white head
• Smell: syrupy caramel
• Taste: heavy caramel, dark toast
• Bitter: 2/5
• Sweet: 3/5

Full bodied and a touch cloying, really needs a hop bite, finish not as clean as expected.

Beer F

• Sight: deep orange, off white lingering head
• Smell: raw wort, weetabix topped with caramel sauce
• Taste: Very sweet, sickly caramel/syrup dominates
• Bitter: 1/5
• Sweet: 3/5

Tasted undercooked, like the raw dough in the middle of an underdone loaf, barely any noticeable hops.

Beer G

• Sight: rich copper, small, stable, white head
• Smell: lots of toffee and bread, spicy hop notes
• Taste: cereal, caramel, like dulce de leche on toast
• Bitter: 1.5/5
• Sweet: 2.5/5

Sweet, warming, and overall nicely balanced, bit too sweet though for my tastes.

Having drunk all seven beers, I ended up with the following rankings:

1. Beer D
2. Beer C
3. Beer B, G
4. Beer A, E
5. Beer F

My favourite beer, and here I wasn't actually surprised, was Sierra Nevada's Oktoberfest, with the Ninkasi right on it's coat tails, a sign perhaps that I prefer the more modern pale Oktoberfest style to the older, darker, sweeter variant.

The other beers were:

• Beer A - Brooklyn
• Beer B - Port City
• Beer E - Sam Adams
• Beer F - Shiner
• Beer G - Blue Mountain

So there we have it, 7 beers, all bar one that I would drink a pint of, 1 that I would happily drink plenty of, and one that I have been drinking maße of.