Oktoberfest Taste Off - To The Final Four

And so the 16 became 8...

Time for the quarter finals of the Fuggled Oktoberfest taste off. Once again I did this blind, with Mrs V choosing at random numbers for the draw and them bringing me the quarter finals in whatever order suited her whimsy. The quarter finals were:

• Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier vs Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen
• Port City Oktoberfest vs Goose Island Oktoberfest
• Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest vs Devils Backbone O'Fest
• Samuel Adams Octoberfest vs Paulaner Märzen

Unlike the first round, which if you are interested you can read about here, I am going to include my tasting notes for the quarter finals, as ever using the Cyclops beer tasting template designed by a friend of mine, and these are in the order Mrs V gave them to me, winners in italics.

Samuel Adams Octoberfest vs Paulaner Märzen

Samuel Adams Octoberfest

• Sight - light red, large ivory head, good clarity and head retention
• Smell - unsweetened cocoa, toffee, light lemony hops, bread crusts
• Taste - bready malt, light toffee, subtle spicy hops, just a touch thing
• Sweet - 2/5
• Bitter - 2/5

Paulaner Märzen

• Sight - copper, small white head, decent retention, very clear
• Smell - grainy malt, cotton candy, herbal hops
• Taste - Smooth, doughy bread, grassy hops, balanced but lacking bite, touch lemony
• Sweet - 2/5
• Bitter - 2.5/5

Although the Sam Adams was a bit thinner than the Paulaner, the lack of a clean snappy bite really counted against the German beer.

Port City Oktoberfest vs Goose Island Oktoberfest

Port City Oktoberfest

• Sight - rich golden, thin white head, lingered
• Smell - light citrus, cereal, slightly toasty
• Taste - toasted crusty bread, some grassy hops, subtle citrus, slightly dull finish
• Sweet - 2.5/5
• Bitter - 2/5

Goose Island Oktoberfest

• Sight - rich golden, thin white head
• Smell - orange citrus, bready, toffee, floral hops
• Taste - toasted muffin, flower meadow hops, some subtle spice, very nicely balanced
• Sweet - 3/5
• Bitter - 3/5

A surprise here in Goose Island winning over Port City, but it had more going on, especially in the aroma department, and the balance in the finish was very good.

Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest vs Devils Backbone O'Fest

Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest

• Sight - deep orange, tight ivory head, excellent retention
• Smell - toasted cereal, light cinnamon, bready malt
• Taste - brown sugar, juicy sweet malt, citrus hops, subtle lemon and lime, clean finish
• Sweet - 2.5/5
• Bitter - 2.5/5

Devils Backbone O'Fest

• Sight - amber, large fluffy head, excellent retention
• Smell - English toffee, toasted biscuits, light lemon
• Taste - rich toast, honey, bit thin in the finish
• Sweet - 2/5
• Bitter - 2/5

Sierra Nevada takes the tie here as a far more complex and flavourful beer, O'Fest is good, but not up to Sierra Nevada.

Hofbrau Oktoberfestbier vs Ayinger Oktoberfest-Märzen

Hofbräu

• Sight - deep gold, solid white head, good retention
• Smell - weetabix, light citrus
• Taste - boiled grain, metallic hops
• Sweet - 3/5
• Bitter - 2/5

Ayinger Oktoberfest-Märzen

• Sight - rich amber, firm white head, superb retention
• Smell - crusty bread, toast, subtle spice
• Taste - honeyed malt, sweet bread, toffee, lovely clean finish
• Sweet - 2.5/5
• Bitter - 2.5/5

Ayinger was in a league of its own here, like a proper homemade fruitcake compared to the sweet confection that masquerades as fruit cake come Christmas time.

And so we have our final four, and I have to admit a couple of surprises here, I really didn't think Goose Island and Samuel Adams would make it this far. How did they fair? Come back Friday...