Round Four: An Oktoberfest Outside of Oktoberfest, Because We Don't Play By NO Rules.

I'm have to express how happy I am to be doing another review on a seasonal beer.

You may remember my previous post about the Pumking Ale, and how I enjoyed that.
But, I have to be honest: Pumpkin flavor gets old fast.

Instead I wanted to investigate a fall beer without the gimmicks. A brew that has been crafted for centuries, but has only served to have gotten better.

Today I bring to you a review on Hacker-Pschorr's Original Oktoberfest
also known as the amber Marzen.

Look at that bottle... So simple, so elegant.

A quick background: When refrigeration wasn't a thing, beer couldn't be brewed in the Summer. Instead beers would be brewed in the Spring, and kept in remote and cold locations until the Fall. Many of these beers were brewed in March -hence the name Marzen- and when brewing could be continued again there were huge celebrations, or Oktoberfests.

In America we often see these celebrations as big German festivities with plenty of beer and German food. A general good time for all. And, let me tell you... the beer is fantastic.

The Hacker-Pschorr sports that it has been brewing since 1417, and was bottled in Munich, Germany.
It sticks very closely with older German recipes, and is brewed according to German Purity Laws of 1516

On to the Review!

The Oktoberfest pours a nice clear and bright amber. The head stays on the beer for a while forming up perfectly after about 15 seconds of waiting. I poured mine into a Stein/Mug, which is recommended for this kind of beer. You can also serve them in your standard pint glass. No big thing.

This is my Nautical Mug- shout out to moms who give great gifts!

The smell was dominated by this toasty malt, and reminded me a bit of biscuits. Very, very appetizing. 

The initial taste I can only explain as a powerful carbonation -it isn't carbonated mind you- but had the bite of a carbonated drink. The toasted malts came through very clearly, and after I said the word biscuits I was hooked on the idea. The beer subsided into a nice crisp finish, with hints of caramel.

The beer is filling, and leaves notes of malt and caramel swirling around your tongue. There was no hop bite, at all. 

I am very pleased with this Oktoberfest. I enjoyed it, and will be having more soon. I would say that the beer is heavy, and would not pair well with others. It's the kind of beer you stick to for the night.

I picked mine up at a Total Wine, and it was not overly expensive. The beer is available all year, here in America, so you can go out and get it right now. 

Please let me know what you think!

Round Three: I Can't Even... Pumking Beer Review!

It’s the fall, and sadly in Florida we see so little of it.

The clouds outside have spelled rain for the last few weeks, but any Floridian can still tell that it is definitely the fall. I mean I can’t even…

It’s pumpkin spice time. Yes, the time of the year all young white women fight to the death to get to that pumpkin spiced latte, with a side of pumpkin roll. So much excitement and even beer lovers can celebrate.

That’s what I decided to do this week: Celebrate the fall with a nice pumpkin beer.

The Pumking, by Southern Tier Brewing is well known for being one of the most iconic pumpkin beers. I have heard from so many beer lovers, and white girl wannabe’s that I needed to try this one.

So, I went down to a Total Wine and bought a bottle determined to tell you what I thought.

Sitting at an 8.60% ABV (alcohol by volume) this beer has a nice kick to it. A few bottles and you’ll be white girl wasted –yes, it hurts me to make that joke; it’ll be my last one. Yet, with so much actual taste, I would say that the alcohol is hidden well.

Opening up the beer, the head disappeared pretty quickly, and what was left was a beautiful golden orange beer.

The pumpkin smell dominated the aroma, but behind that I could smell nutmeg, a slight vanilla, a bit of cinnamon, and I swear just a tinge of pie crust…

Like a whole pumpkin pie, the beer was delicious and filling. Smooth to drink with very little hop taste. The pumpkin was very obviously on the forefront of the tongue, brown sugar and cinnamon wafted around that. Spice came on the back end, with an almost crust like finish.

Southern Tier Beer in a 3 Daughters Glass... 

I like this beer, I can’t drink it all the time, but it is a great treat for the fall. I could see drinking this in a backyard with the leaves turning. There would be football game on the television and the promise of turkey in the next few minutes.

I recommend this to anyone who loves pumpkin-anything.

Give it a try, and let me know what you think. Comment down below or tweet me @Devinbur

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