McCoys Oktoberfest

On tap at McCoy’s in KC. Pours a lightly clouded, deep red-orange-amber body with a frothy, finger-width, beige head that dissipates quickly and leaves a moderate lacing. Aroma is some bready caramels with a light toast. A light nutty and fruity hop barely creeps in here too. Flavor is a moderately sweet, light caramel and toasty toffee with a small amount of resiny, fruity bitterness. The hops come out more than the malts at the end and give this a nice, drying, light leafy bitter finish. Medium length aftertaste of lightly sweetened caramels, a hint of toasty toffee, and an even bitter fruit flavor. Medium bodied with a bit of a crisp carbonation. Overall, not as malt forward and toasty as most Oktoberfests, but tasty and balanced. The hop profile makes this somewhat different, which I found enjoyable.

Draught sample at the St Louis Park, MN location, October 8 2006. Very dark brown with just a hint of head, muddy/dirty looking....smoky, sweet, low-powered malty aroma, little to no hoppiness.....thick, sweet, a bit syrupy with tarry/burnt caramel malt dominating, the mouthfeel curiously too sticky at first but getting rather too dry and papery at the finish....like the other beers I sampled here it’s the mouthfeel/finish that really undoes things.

Darker red, but still held onto some copper notes. Thin head but solid and lasting with an off white colour. The aroma was somewhat dull but held a bit of caramel, a bit of spice. The palate was a bit chewy and nice. Not sticky or creamy, or even heavy. Just a good feel in your mouth. The flavour was mostly caralmel like malt with some toast as well. The flavour is mostly sweet but still well balanced. Well done, not overly exciting but very very drinkable.

Absolutely gorgeous copper color. Otherwise an average Oktoberfest--somewhat malty, slightly sweet.

Malty aroma, lightly bready and toffeeish, with hints of hop spice (Hallertau?) and toasty barley. Medium copper-red color, with a lightly creamy, fine head. Caramel malt flavor, some brown sugar sweetness but nicely balanced by spicy hop bitterness, even some faint peppery notes at the end. Prickly finish. Good Fest style.

A very suprising offering from an average brew pub. Big beautiful biscuit like head topping off a sweet, malty, rich amber colored body. A well balanced Oktoberfest that can rival Goose Island and many other better known breweries.