26 Aug 2011
by beerdoctor
in beer, Beer Advocate, Octoberfest, oktoberfest, Sam Adams, samuel adams, Shiner Oktoberfest, Spoetzl Brewery, St. Arnold Brewery, Stevens Point Brewery
Having recently opened a Twitter account (TheBeerDoctor2), I sent a tweet to Beer Advocate, jokingly asking if all the Oktoberfest beers could be listed on a single thread. “All is not possible” was their earnest reply, and indeed this is true.
Then there is always the perennial question: Which is the best Oktoberfest? Which is, when I come to think of it, a very silly question indeed. Each brewer has their own take on the Marzen style, Samuel Adams uses five kinds of malt. Leinenkugel four specialty hops. The Stevens Point Brewery in Wisconsin uses Vienna, Crystal, and two-row Munich malts, combined with Tettnanger, Hallertau, and Perle hops. Variations on a theme for sure.
Marzen being a bottom fermented beer takes time to produce. The Saint Arnold Brewery in Texas has their own take on this, replacing lager yeast with a top fermenting ale yeast. While their state brethren over at the Spoetzl Brewery produce Shiner Oktoberfest, using a more traditional approach, which is surprisingly moderate in alcohol. In other words, there is no such thing as the best Oktoberfest. The only criteria is freshness, and which flavor profile you like.
The authentic Oktoberfest beers, which are the six breweries located within the city of Munich, Germany, have a floral note in the finish, which I suspect is due to their proprietary house yeast, of which each brewery is so proud. A fresh five liter can of Hofbrau anyone?
Of course, Marzen style beer is not for everyone. The emphasis on malt, puts off some of the hop obsessed crowd, and quite remarkably, I have read people who say they quickly grow tired of the style, which seems odd, since this style of beer is consumed in the millions of liters.
It is also one of the most food friendly styles, complimenting many hearty dishes. Good beer and good food: what’s there not to love?
24 Sep 2010
by beerdoctor
in 40th anniversary, beck's, beer, bitches brew, dogfish head, marzen, miles davis, Octoberfest, oktoberfest, Sam Adams, samuel adams
I was recently asked what is the difference between German and American Oktoberfest. After many years of sampling these annual celebrations, I think it comes down to the yeast and the ester interaction with the malts and hops, which produces in the German versions, a very distinctive dry floral finish. People who complain that American takes on Marzen lack this, really have little to complain about, since fresh versions from Munich are available.
People who do not care for Samuel Adams Octoberfest (with a C rather than the usual K) do not seem to appreciate that Jim Koch and company have developed their own North American take on this style.
It is also equally true that elite beer drinkers have difficulty acknowledging that commercial interests such as Beck’s of Bremen, Germany, have shown they are quite capable of brewing a highly drinkable fest bier themselves.
Since the Marzen march continues to this day, I want to mention a somewhat extraordinary drinking experience from a couple of weeks ago, when I got my thirsty hands on a 25 ounce bottle of Dogfish Head Brewery’s tribute to the 40th anniversary of Miles Davis Bitches Brew, that groundbreaking 2 LP set that is considered by many as the beginning of jazz fusion music.
The Dogfish Head tribute is several parts imperial stout combined with a honey ale that uses gesho, a traditional African root used as a replacement for hops. The result is an incredibly balanced (yet mysterious!) presentation that is silky smooth, where neither the chocolate notes nor honey sweetness dominates. Some reviewers at Beer Advocate have said they taste alcohol, which despite this being a 9% ale, I could not detect at all. Just a delicious focused ale from start to finish.
Of course the perfect musical accompaniment for this is Miles Davis Bitches Brew, which 40 years later is still worth listening to.
Alas, bottles of the ale were sold out within a day around here. So it is very likely that I will never taste another. I am happy that I was able to experience it
25 Oct 2009
by beerdoctor
in anheuser-busch, Avery, Bass Ale, beer, budweiser, business, Dundee beers, Flying Dog, InBev, matt brewing, oktoberfest, samuel adams, saranac pumkin ale, Uncategorized
Much has happened since neglecting my favorite web site, due to crazy local events. I refuse to bore you with those details, so let me get to the subject at hand: Beer!
I am sure by now almost everybody has tasted their fall marzen, or what is commonly called Oktoberfest. I usually sample as many of these as possible, but this year I slacked off a bit, but still had time to try the Kostritzer version from the black bier people in Germany. A change of pace from the caramel malt laden versions around, like Samuel Adams Octoberfest.
But the caramel malt profile has become synonymous with autumn beers in the United States. As the weather turns cooler the body has a need for more malts, which makes super hop productions seem out of season for the moment.
Since it is autumn and we are rapidly moving towards Halloween, I do want to mention one of my favorite seasonal productions, that being Saranac Pumpkin Ale.
Many compare this beer to pumpkin pie, although I do not eat pumpkin pie as a rule. No, what I like about this pumpkin ale is the recipe. I prefer it over Brooklyn Brewery’s Post Road, which Matt Brewing does the contract brewing for.
About a month ago I attended a distributor trade show where Rochester, New York brewer Dundee had samples of their Oktoberfest. A very good take on the style, that is not as widely distributed as it should.
I also got to sample Sierra-Nevada’s Chico Estate. A complete “in-house” brew, using hops grown by the brewery. It was quite good, but time limitations prevented the kind of serious, sit down contemplation this smooth ale demanded.
At the very same show (hell, it might as well been called a party) the Schlitz Gusto folks were in full promotional mode. Schlitz Gusto is the trade book name for the revived early 1960′s formula of Schlitz, before the marketing geniuses came up with the idea of tweaking the recipe, to supposedly produce more, while using less ingredients. That lead to the ultimate disaster where Schlitz, the number one beer in America since World War II, lost its market dominance to Budweiser, and never gained it back. As a kid, I heard beer drinking adults refer to Schlitz as “Shits” when the reformulated suds turned people away in droves.
But corporate amnesia was in full play this evening. Like Microsoft wanting you to buy 7 and forget all about something once known as Vista, the Schlitz Gusto had not only tied in to their daddy or granddaddy’s beer, with its Schlitz classic logo, they even had buttons promoting it as the beer of choice for the 1969 Woodstock music festival.
I also had to marvel at the riffs being used by the sales representative. Not only was he promoting Schlitz with quite a bit of gusto, he also had on hand their strong (8.5%) malt liquor, which he made a distinction that it was not malt liquor (which is in fact, a rather ambiguous term) but a high gravity lager.
Which was also in full play at this trade show, the distinction between craft, regional retro and corporate has becomes pretty much of a blur. I know the so-called craft brewers want to seperate themselves from the rest of the brewing industry, but is that actually possible, or is it by now, just another marketing ploy? I mean after trying Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat, how is it different than other big brewer’s wheat productions? From Coors’ Blue Moon to Bud Light Golden Wheat?
As I stated in a previous post, the recipe is the final deciding factor. Consolidation of brewing interests can reek havoc on a beloved brew. Take what A-B Inbev as done to the venerable Bass Ale. Corporate concerns have forgotten all about the character of this famous ale, that once upon a time, in Burton-On-Trent England, was brewed with gypsum mineral rich water that provided a somewhat chalky but delicious finish. None of that is present in the concoction now sold as Bass.
Luckily, some recipes have not been changed, or in rare cases, actually improved. Two of the early winter arrivals are outstanding: Avery’s Old Jubilation Ale and Flying Dog’s K-9. Both of these examples show that if you are going to fork out some serious money for a six pack of beer, it had better be worth it. In the case of these two, I would say it is.
As always my only prayer is thank you.
Alas, bottles of the ale were sold out within a day around here. So it is very likely that I will never taste another. I am happy that I was able to experience it
