Spaten Oktoberfest Ur-Märzen

Brewed by Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu (InBev)
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
Munich, Germany

Bottle poured into lager glass- poured transparent dark amber, one finger off tan head formed and stayed for a little while. Aroma of weak malt with notes of fructose and bread. Hits the mouth with low-medium body, malt is noticeable, elements of caramel and maple, finish is crisp with a tiny hop note.

The beer is a copper amber color, very clear, producing an inch of white foam only because of an aggressive pour. Despite that, no lacing at all. Faint caramel malt in the aroma. A smooth taste, with some caramel malt and a little breadiness, but nothing overly compelling. The finish is a little drier with a hint of floral hops. No aftertaste to speak of. Medium body, okay carbonation. An okay beer, true to the style, (after all, it defined the style, right?) but ultimately too mild for me.

Pours with a frothy, initially fat-two-finger thick, light tan colored head. The beer is a brilliantly clear reddish amber hue and shows a bright-metallic, deeply red tinged, copper color when held up to the light. The aroma has a mix of sweet malty notes and dry, bread-like aromatics. Light hop notes contribute aromatics of lemon zest and faint herbal / grassy notes to the nose, but this is mostly a malt focused beer. Lightly browned soda crackers, fresh bread-crust aromas, aromas of fresh crushed malt and a touch of sweet, lightly caramelized grain character seem to be the main focus here. Not a bad aroma, but somehow leaves me wishing for a bit more depth.

Dry and herbal as it first hits my mouth, it quickly picks up a lightly sweet malt sweetness and a round, rustic bread like character. Each sip finishes with a herbal hop note that gets a bit metallic and a thin malt character. The malt sweetness while light is actually fairly rich and satiating, this balanced sweet malt character is exactly what I want to see in this style of beer, though it can be a touch too muted at times. I like that the hop character plays a significant role here in the flavor; it provides a nice balance to the malt character all the while contributing flavors of soft lemon zest, some light herbal notes, more hay / grass than anything and also a nice, biting bitterness that is found from beginning to end. Light enough to be quite drinkable, but the malt provides some body and texture to it that allows for the beer to stick just a bit to the palate.

A solid beer, nothing that makes me get really exited, but a nice beer that I could easily quaff a liter of. I definitely like that malt character here, even if it could use a little boost; it provides a nice biscuit-like, browned soda cracker flavored, rustic bread crust flavor to this brew that sort of defines things for me. Tasty and quaffable, though perhaps a wee bit forgettable.

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Bottle. Pours a deep amber with one finger off white foamy head. Caramel malt is about all I smell. Taste is mostly malt with just a hint of hops. Tasty, but not much to it.

Amber colored with a pretty good head. Nice balance in there. Slightly sweet in the aroma and in the taste. Some spices and malts.

An absoloute delight........ALTHOUGH the hangover is insane. Keep the asprin handy for the morning.

Brownish-amber pour from a bottle. Smell of sweet malt. Taste was also on the sweet side, but had a hint of spice.

GREAT beer, especially if you can find it on draft. Blows Spaten lager out of the water. Very well balanced.