Allgäuer Festbier

Brewed by Allgäuer Brauhaus (Oetker Group)
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
Kempten, Germany

Bottled. A pale amber beer with a thin off-white head. The aroma has strong notes of sweet malt as well as light notes of caramel - too sweet for my liking. The flavor is sweet malty with light notes of caramel and hops, leading to a lightly bitter finish. Boring for the style.

Bottle 50 cl. Comes as "Allgäuer Oktoberfest". Clear deep golden with an off-white head. Malty and a little perfumy hops in the nose. Medium body with a solid malt base, a light fruitiness and a whiff of sulphur. Dry, lightly bitter finish. 120709

50 cL bottle as Allgauer Oktoberfest. Pours clear and golden yellow with a small white head. Aroma is light cornish and golden malty. Mild bitter and subdued grassy flavuored. Bitter and medium dry finish.

(500ml bottle) Lightly hazed golden body topped by big off-white head. Aroma is medium sweet, green apple, bread, light caramel. Taste is medium sweet, bread, apple, faint earthy. Watery light-medium body, minimal carbonation.

Pours a clear honey orange color with a white head, decent lacing and nice looking foamy bubbles. First impression of the nose is that it has a bit more corn and skunky yeast/old hops than expected, with a resemblance to pale lager that is hard to shake. It seems to lack any sort of “festive” smell, which is what I would characterize as fresh cut hay, light, dry hops, and maybe some mild squash. Doesn’t have much of that, instead it tastes like straightforward light malts and some wet and soggy corn. I assume that this is a fresh bottle, since it hasn’t been in the US for long (this season is the first, I think). But could this possibly be old stock that was pushed overseas?

Bottle: Amber color, light head and lacing. Nose of faint malty grains and some light lagery esters like a russian malt liquor might possess. The flavor has a nice mouthfeel with some full caripils notes and some munichy type malts. Overall it feels a bit adjuncted and maybe a bit too sweet.

Bottle from Keg Liquor. Poured clear golden color with an average frothy off-white head that was mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate toasted grassyaroma. Medium body with a sticky texture and soft carbonation. Medium sweet flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration. My expectations where met.

Bottle from State Line, Elkton, MD. Pours hazy dark straw with 2-finger white head. Aroma of malt, corn flakes, hopcit. Tastes malty, with corn flakes and some hopcit in the finish. Not real complex.