City Festbier

Brewed by City Brewery (Melanie Brewing Co)
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
La Crosse, Wisconsin USA

Clear amber body with thin streams of bubbles that slowly drift upwards. Toasty crystal malt aroma with light bittering hops. A stronger hop presence in the flavor with their taking on a juicy-sweet stem and strawberry thing. Beyond that there’s the same dry toasty caramel. An enjoyable flavor, the hops do good for it.

clear golden look with minimal head. aroma is earthy with a quick, light bitter taste. not very impressed but maybe marzen isn’t my thing.

From Vinnie’s in the La Crosse airport. Bright amber color with a medium thin khaki colored head. Thin and spotty lacing. Earthy malt aroma with mild hops as well. Medium-bodied with hoppy bitterness at first, and more malt and caramel showing up later. It seems unbalanced all around though, veering from a generic Lager to a generic Oktoberfest. The finish is mildly bitter. Altogether avoidable.

Bottle. Poured a clear, sparkly lighter golden with a short layer of white head. Aroma of stale flowers, sweet caramel, leaves, and some autumn-type spices. Lighter-bodied with a caramel base and some spicy, slightly bitter floral hops. Tasted pretty good, but had a fairly medicinal feel around the edges and at the finish (finish also carried through the caramel and some spicage). Not too impressed with this one, but it was certainly drinkable.

Cloudier than 2, and amberier, too, in hue, with a lushier, taller head...is this the start of a trend, here? Soft in the nose, light and subtle, faint citrus and spice...beautiful, but indistinct. Bigger in the mouth than 2, too, heavier mouthfeel, more vibrant spice and fruit, hinting at a weizenbock, plenty complex. Rich, and delicious. Nicely texture, fuller bodied, ...this matches nicely with the better German weizens I’ve had, particularly the dunkels. I’ll be back for more of this one. But, I’m scratching my head wondering what comes next... Hooray, Bell’s!

Pours copper, not much head. Caramel malt and spice are the main flavors, with some toastiness. Body is thin, slightly syrupy and palate is fizzy. Not bad, but nothing special.

I have had this a few times in the last few years. I thought I had rated, but I am just now getting to it. The body is a dark orange and gold with a white head. There is a fair amount of lacing in the glass. The aroma is light leaves and some earthy wood. There is also caramel and some The taste is dirt and some light caramel. Finishes with some sharp bitterness of orange peels. I was surprised by the character of bitterness, especially for the style.

Transparent and magnifying pale copper with a wide spanning dusty white head. Disparaging aroma of allspice, wood shavings, paprika and caramel. Taste digresses briefly as it borders an acidic point of no return but it gives way to a more appreciated flavor profile led by caramelized pecans. Granted, the nutty pecan quality resembles the breed you’d buy from Aldi, but it’s a decent attempt, nonetheless. Some almond extract comes in on the backend, partially responsible for a stale, biting palate feel. Could have been a lot worse.