Coney Island Freaktoberfest

Shmaltz Brewing Company
Brewed at Olde Saratoga Brewing (Mendocino Brewing Co.)
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
San Francisco, California USA

Bottle from Crown #19. Poured hazyr red color with an average frothy off-white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate fruity citrus aroma. Medium body with a soft carbonation. Medium sweet flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration. My expectations where met with a very interesting beer.

This was an odd duck. Pours a muddy red, with a pink head. Must have been some of the worst chill haze I’ve ever seen, because it totally cleared when it warmed. Aroma was sweet malt and earthy, slightly floral hops. Taste matched, with a surprisingly bitter, slightly strange, very drying finish. Some fruity esters floating about, undefined, but there as well, as if it was fermented a bit too warm. Not bad, just very odd, appearance aside.

Tallahassee, Fl. - Liquor Loft - 22 oz bomber. Pours a funky Hawaiian Punch Red - beers without fruit is not supposed to be this color. Light pithy white head. Nondescript aroma - some food coloring perhaps? Muddled flavor with some ripening vegetable notes, some muted maple syrup notes and some alcohol notes. Clumpy mouthfeel. Not one for the ages.

Aroma is strong, mainly malty with a fruity, almost cider-like overtone. Pours a warm clear coppery red with a thick, pinkish-beige head. Flavor is crisp and malty with just a touch of fruit, an edge of hoppy bitterness, and a nutty hint. Texture and finish are satisfyingly smooth, and aftertaste has a whisper of sweetness as well as a little hop bite.

Sampled 11/20/2008. This Marzen pours a blood red color form a 22oz bottle. Small to medium sized pink foamy head. The aroma is slightly roasted malts, fruity and sweet. A medium bodied Marzen. The malts are caramel and sweet, with a touch of fruitiness. The hops are earthy and floral with some spiciness. Nice balance. Good carbonation. Fairly decent Marzen, and once you get past the blood red color, very drinkable. There is a slightly odd taste that I am assuming has to do with the food coloring. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Bomber poured a clear blood red with a small lasting dark pink head. Aromas of toasted malt, carmel and light fruittiness. Palate was medium bodied and smooth. Flavors of toasted malt, earthiness, light carmel and a hint of fruittiness with a smooth malty finish.

Appearance: Clear, red food dye body with a thin, thinning, pink head. Smell: First and foremost, the nose is grainy, with secondary notes of gently toasted malts. Predominately spicy hop character with very minor notes of citrus. Taste: Pale malts, a touch grainy, and then some sweet, toasted maltiness following close behind. Spicy hops, even a bit of citrusy grapefruit with a medium amount of bitterness present. Unfortunately, a slight strange and lingering astringency begins to creep into the taste. Drying to the end with a final ’pop’ of graininess. And you’re left with that odd taste, which I’ll attribute to the dye, as I’ve gotten that when using stage blood orally for Halloween. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: Not the best oughta the Shmaltz bag.

<b>10/30/2008</b>: FREAK! What? RED beer? Seriously, it is really red with a raspberry-colored head to boot. It looks like fruit punch! However, Coney Island Freaktoberfest does smell like beer. Unfortunately, there really isn’t much else to note. Maybe it is slightly dry like cranberries, but there really isn’t any berry to it. My mind keeps telling me that it should be berry-scented because of the color, but it really isn’t, but maybe it should be... As far as the flavor goes... Um, what the? This beer tastes a lot like a generic macro lager, but with more roast and is slightly dry. What the hell is this supposed be? I definitely doesn’t taste like an Oktoberfest. This beer is just weird, both in color and flavor. It tastes like Autumn, but I think the color freaks with my mind. Overall, this beer definitely freaked me out!

<i>1 pit, 6 fl oz bottle shared by Tmoney99 at the weekly Party Source gathering. Thanks Tom! Rating #102 for this beer...</i>