Hofbräu München Oktoberfestbier

Brewed by Staatliches Hofbräuhaus München
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
Munich, Germany

Golden colour with a white head. Malty aroma. Malty and yeasty flavor with a light sweetness.

Bottled. Golden coloured. Malty aroma. Sweet and malty flavour. Soft and pleasant.

poured a nice golden color w/ a thick fluffy head and ltos of carb ubbles. Scent of wheat, light grass hop, bannanas and nutmeg. Lightly carbonated light body a bit watery. sweet flavor light malt and a bit floral very mellow finish almost no hop to speak of. Overall it was ok but to sweet for my tastes.

This may not count, but I pulled a bottle of the ’Royal brewer’s Oktoberfest bier’ out of the cellar, completely forgotten about as it was dated Sep ’03. Thought "what the hell", and poured it into a tall stein. Pungent, rich melon-citrus and burnt caramel aroma, wafted out continuously. A short dense head formed atop a hazy honey gold body. Medium bodied with intense sweet malt made up the slightly gummy palate. Hints of orange juice and concentrated apricot syrup, a mild ethanol feel and light well lagered carbonation. This was obviously not the intended tastes and aromas, but shows what happens when you keep even the most ordinary of Märzen well cellared. Will have to try a fresh one for comparison. Just a pity I didn’t cellar a few more bottles.

One-dimensional German Oktoberfestbier. Poured a classic lager gold colour with a frothy 1.5cm white head that dissipated fairly swiftly but left some lace. Rather flat looking. Marmalade and peaches in the nose. Medium bodied, with an oily mouthfeel that declares the alcohol (6% in this import to Australia). Sweet malt and pears in the mouth, a little warming alcohol in the finish. In fact, the alcohol is a little intrusive, swamping any other flavours in there. Disappointing example of the style. (Bottle, Best Before 13/5/05)

Fairly light gold for the style. Almost amber, but not quite. Large white head. The aroma is massive caramel and some apples. The taste is a pleasant blend of coffee, toffee and toast. Also a hint of pear. Smooth carbonation and slick mouthfeel. Not the most character for the style but, I like this one a lot.

Bottled. Yellowish golden colour, with about 2 cm white head. Aroma of sweet malt and a bit fruity. Flavor is sweet and malty and a little bitter in the aftertaste. Still pretty boring beer. (Was rated in December 2004, but I temporarily had lost the papers with results from this particular weekend)

(12 oz bottle: Hi Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa, CA) Yikes, this is a pretty bland Oktoberfest. In fact, I think this is as close to a premium lager as it is to an Oktoberfest. The flavor is moderately sweet, somewhat grainy and malty, and very lightly bitter. The prevailing aroma is corn, but in general, it doesn’t have a whole lot going on in the nose. Pretty light in body. Pale golden color, or maybe even just plain yellow, but either way, it’s pretty light in appearance. Pours a nice sized white head which settles to a thin layer. The large, dense patches of lace that are left on the glass is possibly the only positive thing to note with this beer.