Skytop Barrel 28 Octoberfest

This batch is head and shoulders above last year’s. Draft at Brewpub. I had two with dinner. The first sat at the bar for a bit as our waitress was busy tending a wide scattering of tables. The second had a nice tight pale white head. Nose was whispy and parting. Quite pretty in glass as I got up and walked about with it. the lighting at the dining area was pretty dim so I felt I needed to go the extra distance to get a decent look at it. Worth the walkabout. A nice deep golden. Rounded Medium malty body with stronger toned hops. A nice balance. Lacing is delicate and medium lived. This baby goes down smooth and lets you know all about it. a tinge of alkaline at the finish. One of the best Octoberfests that I have ever tasted. My wife says the lacing looks like spider spit. This is my Toast to MJ’s Passing Brew. Thanks so much for showing us what else is out there!

(tap at brewpub) Clear bronze body with a small off-white head. The earthy malts on the nose were inviting. The taste was a bit light and like most of their other beers the body was rather thin, borderline watery. The malts didn’t have a roasted flavour, in fact they felt very raw. Basically this was just some raw malt, some light caramel and some dark beans I could have done without. Drinkable but forgettable. Barrel 2.8

Any first impressions?
-A ring of foam surrounds the deep caramel copper.
-Tiny red fruit and whispering caramel maltiness make up a clean, but complacent aroma.
-Cranberry fruitiness, bready malts, and caramel sweetness all lay low, but efficiently garnish the palate.
-The lean maltiness, as in most their beers tasted that day, is very drinkable, if uneventful.

What if you dig deeper?
-Maltiness earns more respect than the frail hoppiness, but I don’t see malt lovers really reach out for this one.
-The finish is a fading of the aforementioned flavors, so pretty soporific.
-Another clean lager from Skytop, but another which I found unmemorable.

On tap at the brewpub.

On tap @ Brewpub. Ok nose, Yeasty. Sourdough, lite caramel, nutty, egg/sulphur. Clean orangy bronze color, no head. Sweet bitter flavors, Roasty, caramel. Little fruit, little soap. Medium body, lite creaminess, dry bite on the finish. Alright, wish I could have gotten some info on it from the bartender.