Highland Clawhammer Oktoberfest

Brewed by Highland Brewing Company
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
Asheville, North Carolina USA

Fresh bottle. Pours a clear, dark amber hue with a medium, fading head of off-white froth. A soapy wash of lace dries to scattered micro-spots. The nose is clean and fresh, with light grain and toffee malt being countered by floral, peppery hops. Flavors show the same, fresh cereal grain and clean pale malt spiced with lively pepper and dried floral hops. Medium bodied and lively carbonated, it drinks easy. Simple, but well executed.

Poured from the tap to a bright reddish orange with thin off white head and slight lacing throughout the glass. Aroma was a faint fruity (orange and apples) with a backdrop of spices and cookie dough. Mouthfeel was medium bodied nd slightly tingly, and the flavor brought out more of the doguh and spicy fruits. Finish slightly spicy and refreshing. Not bad.

pours dark reddish brown with a thin head. some breadiness in the aroma and a bit of maltiness. flavor is more hoppy than i expected, which is predictable coming from Highland Brewing. notes of roasted grains, toffee and butteriness. fairly clean finish. good, not great.

Honey malts, biscuity, spicy hops on the nose. Pours amber gold with a thin white head. Very smooth and malty, biscuity, with spicy grassy hops in the flavor. Very mild, but very drinkable.

Amber/gold. Off white head. Toasty, biscuity malt and earthy, bitter hops. A bit of an old wood element on the finish. Medium body, balanced carbonation. Drinkable, but unimpressive fest beer.

12 ounce bottle from Whole Foods Market, Cary, NC. Pours a hazy orange color with a thin creamy white head. Poor head retention and decent lacing. Aroma of lightly toasted malts, nuts, caramel and faint apricot and other fruits. Taste is lightly toasted grain, floral and fruity notes including notes of plum and peach, some nutty notes and a leafy hoppiness. Medium bodied.

12 oz. Clear copper with a quarter inch of creamy foam that tries to last. Nose of dry earth, husky grain, caramel and a tinge of spiciness. Flavor is a nice blend of light toasted grain, caramel apple and a touch of earthy spice. Hints of pepper, lemon and wood resin on the finish. Light-medium body is mildly tingly, softish and smoothly carbonated.

Bottle. Poured a slightly hazy medium orange color. The head was thin and white. Smelled of hay, subdued noble hops, and sweet cream. Light to medium bodied. Delicately sweet up front with a dryish finish. I tasted hay, bitter earthy leaves, and a hint of toffee.