Summit Oktoberfest

Brewed by Summit Brewing Company
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
St. Paul, Minnesota USA

My first Summit beer. Clear, medium amber-brown colored with a small, frothy, white, mostly, totally, and rapidly disappearing head. The aroma is tainted overall by a heavy metallic note. So distracting, that it’s hard for the impression to be saved. It’s malty with moderate notes of husky toasted grain, light-to-moderate note of caramel; Hoppy with a light note of herb; Trace yeasty sharp-cheesey. The flavor is moderately sweet, moderately-to-heavily bitter with a long, moderately sweet, lightly astringent, moderately bitter/dry finish. The body is medium, the texture is watery and the carbonation is fizzy.

Head is initially small, fizzy, off-white, fully diminishing. Body is light amber. Aroma is lightly malty (cookie, husks), lightly hoppy (flowers, apricot), with a note of metal shavings. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter, slightly husky. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation, metallic. Very poor...lots of grain husk and metal.

This is actually a lot better than I expected after reading these reviews. This is an extremely drinkable and packs a punch at 7.7%. This is very smooth but still is pretty flavorful. Had aroma and flavor of light spicing, caramel malt, and a little hop spiciness.

Summit Oktoberfest 12 oz bottle Recent brewing, drank 08/06 Medium pour in a pint glass Poured clear orange with 1/8 inch whiteish fully diminishing rocky head. Smelt of roasted grain, almost wheat-like, and a hint of leatheriness. Initial taste was bready, lightly sweet, acidic and bitter, then finishes in a strong heavy spicy bitterness that clings on for a fairly long finish. Mouthfeel was light to medium with lively carbonation and moderate astringency and a subtle alcoholic warmth. Overall, a simple yet aggressive Oktoberfest that hides its ABV well.

This beer, once poured, shouts "Pick me up and drink me!" but fails to deliver. A nice thick white head belies the rather flavorless red body. It disappears in the mouth, insubstantial, which is pretty disappointing.

Aroma of biscuity toasty malts, light floral hops. Pours a hazy golden orange with a small, creamy yellow orange head. Taste is the same (malts and mild florally hops) with a little alcohol in the the taste, but almost no burn in the finish. Very little bitterness, moderate sweetness. Also, just before the finish I got a quick tinge of caramellized raisins.

Bottle; tasted at River’s Bend. Matt pulled a bottle of this out of the cooler toward the end of the tasting... I was quite disappointed with this "Oktoberfest" brew. It didn’t seem to have any of the qualities that a true Oktoberfest/Märzen beer should have. This more or less tasted like a regular lager and actually had characteristics that reminded me of a wheat beer. As much as I love Oktoberfest and Märzen style beer, I cannot recommend this one.

From a 12oz. stubby twist cap brown bottle with no bottled/freshness date. Made a good appearance, poured a slightly hazy orange hued copper with a foamy off-white head that settled into a thin lacing, decent carbonation. Had a sweet grainy, nutty and caramel malty nose with a little herbalness in the background. A crisp, creamy smooth medium bodied mouth feel, good drinkability. Sweet grainy and caramelized malty taste, a light nutty spiciness, a soft herbal bitterness and a dryish grainy and bread malty finish with a little lingering alcohol warmth in the palate. A nice Oktoberfest beer from Summit, maybe my favorite from this brewery.