One type of beer you all may have heard of is an Oktoberfest. Spelled a variety of ways, the Oktoberfest is a festival celebrated every October in Bavaria. It's been celebrated every year since 1810. This is a festival of food and beer - and as you might imagine, there are restrictions on what kind of beer can be served at this celebration. Only beers brewed in accordance with the 1516 Reinheitsgebot (or "purity law") can be served. The beers have to be brewed within the city limits of Munich and with an alcohol content of over 6% to be considered for the Oktoberfest.
Today, some Oktoberfest beers are also called "Marzen" beers. Such beers are pale lagers over the 6% ABV floor. They're called "Marzen" beers because they initially were brewed in March, cellaring until October when they could bring out the casks and tap them for the festival.
Now on to today's review - Port City's Oktoberfest marzen.
Made by Alexandria, VA-based Port City, this beer is a 5.5% ABV marzen brewed with Vienna, Pils, Munich, and Caramunich hops. I was initially drawn to the color of the box. I like that blue and white pattern! It caught my eye, and when I saw that it was made by Port City, I snatched it up. Port City makes a mean brew - in fact, my first Port City beer was their peerless Optimal Wit released in the summer. I have been consistently impressed with this brewer in the past, so it was natural for me to want to try this. They also have tap room tours and tastings - they're not really close to the Metro but they are just a short drive from Old Town.
On to the beer. I eagerly cracked this open and let it sit for a moment before pouring it into my tasting glass. It has a very smooth pour, typical for its heritage. Fast pour, very little carbonation. Clean and clear (and under control.) I really like the vivid amber color of this beer.
The nose on this beer isn't terribly strong, but if you stick your face in it you can get nice hints of spices and malts. But just hints, though - nothing too aromatic. As you can see, it was pretty foamy.
And when we hold it up to the light, it becomes neon orange. Look at that color. Awww, yeah.
And now to the taste - the first sip was very crisp and malty, with those nice spice aromas we smelled earlier coming to fruition with the taste. The taste is full-on wheat, direct to the palette. It really grabs you! It's smooth, malty, and has notes of salt. The flavors are crisp, developed, but few in number. This beer doesn't get caught up in what it COULD be - no loopy flavors or gimmicky ingredients. It simply delivers a perfect Oktoberfest-style taste that is representative of this particular subset of lagers.
Delicious.
The finish to this beer is not complicated at all - no hodgepodge of flavors or mix of complex tastes.There's a very pleasant aftertaste of Triscuits. Yes, Triscuits. It's very appropriate for the kind of beer and for the season. That toasted wheat flavor rounds out the spices nicely for a clean, dry finish. This means the flavors don't stick on your mouth after you swallow your gulp of beer.
So what's great about this, and why it works so well this season, is that it balances spice and flavor with levity and wheat tastes. Summer is known for its light, fruity ales, and winter for its dark and heavy stouts. This Oktoberfest bridges the gap nicely between spiced, heavy beers and lagers. It's perfect for a session beer and great to enjoy on a fall day outside, whether it's at your BBQ or on the back deck.
But even beyond this beer's fidelity to the Marzen line, I wanted to touch on the idea of "drinkability." I alluded to this in numerous previous posts.
Obviously, every beer is literally "drinkable." No one is going to make a beer you aren't physically able to consume. But lots of beers aren't meant to be had in any quantity, which is what I mean by drinkability. Think back to some of the reviews I have done in the past...some beers and wines have been very interesting to try, but because of their taste profiles and/or alcohol content, they've been tough to really enjoy thoroughly. Like the barleywines I've tried - yes, they're delicious, but very heavy and strong. I don't know if I could drink that reliably just to drink. But beers like the Oktoberfest are great to drink all night. They're light enough in alcohol content not to hit you hard (unlike the barleywines) but are also flavored nicely and are enjoyable. So in the future, when I say "drinkability," I'm talking about that quality of beer or wine that allows the drinker to enjoy it but not spend their all their mental energy thinking about WHY they enjoy it.
In conclusion, this beer is very drinkable. And I don't say that for every beer I review, and nor should I. But for Port City's Oktoberfest, you can certainly enjoy it as much as you like. Pick some up if you get a chance.
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