Sam Adams Octoberfest

Fall is my favorite time of year and nothing says "Fall" like the arrival of the Marzens/Octoberfests. Like most seasonals, Sam Adams Octoberfest is a little different each year. This year I'd describe it as big and robust, malty, yet hoppy. It poured with a tall foamy caramel colored head; the beer itself  is a deep coppery bronze hue. About the only extraneous flavors that I caught was a little orange peel. I could sit and drink several of these on a cool autumn evening .

Boulevard Bob's '47 Oktoberfest

Not that different from your standard run of Octoberfests, but then again I haven't had an Octoberfest that I didn't like! As Octoberfests typically are, this one is a medium malt lager, I would imagine that you could drink this with any kind of food, or just by itself, as I'm doing now. Octoberfests tend to be slightly higher in alcohol content, usual between 5.5 and 5.9%. I've tried a lot of O-fests in the past few weeks, this particular one has a bit of 'toasted' in the taste. A beer for manly men (and womenly women!)

Sam Adams Barrel Room American Kriek

Not available in Nebraska, picked a couple of bottles up at the Sam Adams Boston Brewery. May be on the table at Thanksgiving!

Boulevard Bourbon Oak Barrel Aged Quad

No review yet...we'll be drinking it on Thanksgiving!

Great Pumpkin Imperial Stout by Millstream Brewing

Stopped in to Jake's a few weeks back and found this on tap (it's not there anymore - limited availability) and immediately voted it my favorite pumpkin ale. Great Pumpkin is as dark as any stout or porter, with no coloring to suggest the pumpkin flavor lurking within. It ours deep brown with a frothy tan head and is as heavy as some of the best stouts out there. Lots of auxiliary flavors - coffee, toffee, chocolate all swirl about the pallet and compete with the pumpkin, squash and...hmmm...is that creamed corn?...in the mix. Some spices, notably nutmeg, as well. Overall a complex, but satisfying brew.

Accumulation White IPA by New Belgium

Pours a slightly cloudy, almost neon yellow with a one finger head like an evening snowfall. Citrussy hops and lightness point more to a summer ale than a winter seasonal, but who says you can't drink a lighter brew in the colder months? There's a variety of flavors battling for supremacy, including lemon. grapefruit and even some tropical fruits. Overall a pretty decent adult beverage.

O' Dempsey's Cold One Pale Ale

Another advantage of constantly trolling for new beers - you actually find some. Cold One was allegedly a pale ale, but it didn't have the crisp hoppiness that one usually finds in a pale ale. It almost reminded me of some of those bourbon oak barrel aged ales that seem to be making a comeback. There's some generic fruitiness in there, almost like a fruit punch. Not a bad ale, but very hard to pigeonhole.

As I was checking their website I realized that I'd had one of their beers before: Your Black Heart Imperial Stout. That was good stuff too!

Erdinger Oktoberfest Weißbräu (Hefeweizen)

You learn something new in the beer world every day it seems, and I just learned something new today: not all German beers that are labelled "Oktoberfest" are lagers! Erdinger's Oktoberfest is a  Weißbräu, which means "wheat brew", sometimes known as a Hefeweizen. Erdinger wisely packed their seasonal ale in a brown bottle, better to make the transatlantic trip skunk-free. It pours a lemony yellow, with a fluffy white head. There are notes of apple and citrus right up front, with a creamy finish. Lightly carbonated and balanced just right in the hop department. All around a fine brew.

Weihenstephaner Oktoberfestbier

Established in 1040, Weihenstephaner is the world's oldest brewery, so without tasting a drop, one can assume that they have the basics down! One of the things that might surprise a regular consumer of American style Oktoberfests is that the German version, that is, the original, does not have the heavy maltiness that we in the U.S. have come to expect. Firstly, it pours a clear straw color, with a fluffy white head, just like the lager that it is. Another thing that surprised me was the lack of any "skunkiness" that you often get with imports, especially the green bottle variety. Now that doesn't mean that you're getting a weak, characterless brew - indeed no! This Märzen is as full-bodied as they come. The main flavor is a sweet biscuit, and I swear that there's some strawberry in there somewhere. The hoppiness is assertyive, but not obnoxious, finishing off crisply and leaving you wanting just one more.