There Is No Such Thing As Too Much Beer
15 Sep 2011 1 Comment
in american ale, anheuser-busch, Anniversary Ale, beck's, Beck's Oktoberfest, beer, Beer Advocate, budweiser, craft beer line, feastive ale, Goose Island, Hudepohl Festival Bock, Hudepohl Oktoberfest Bier, InBev, nut brown ale, oatmeal stout, Shiner Oktoberfest, Spoetzl Brewery, St. Arnold Brewery
The science of tasting beer can be a hilarious subject. Take a look at members’ reviews over at Beer Advocate, where some brews are hailed as the second coming, while others, for the crime of being produced by companies owned by international corporations are banished to the outer darkness, the unholy ones, as it were. All of this of course, is quite arbitrary, especially when beloved breweries, such as The Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, receive an Anheuser-Busch Inbev offer they could not refuse.
It should be noted that Goose Island chose to discontinue producing their Nut Brown Ale and Oatmeal Stout before the acquisition. Their concentration on the beer connoisseur segment of business, emphasizing expensive, oak barrel aged products, seemed far away, from the Goose Islands I sampled in the last century, which were modestly priced ales of great character. Such is the nature of change, as the old cliché goes. But one thing I do hope for, is that Goose Island returns to bottling their Christmas Ale into 12 ounce bottles, instead of the 22ounce version, given the silly name of bomber, so in vogue with the craft beer crowd. With a few exceptions, most bombers means you are going to spend a lot of money for 22ounces of beer. Three $9 bombers means you are paying $27 for a five and a half pack of beer. I gather that many believe that this leads to a superior drinking experience. Equally, many believe that if a beer is modestly priced, it must not be good, and many a fine recipe is dismissed because it is not expensive enough. Delegating many tasty recipes to condescending terms such as a good gateway beer.
I bring all of this up because of recent tastings of different Oktoberfest beers, which are popping up everywhere. Take Beck’s Oktoberfest from Bremen, Germany. A fest beer given the Oktoberfest designation in the United States, since only the brews within the city limits of Munich are allowed to use the name in Germany. Beck’s, now a part of the Inbev global portfolio, still makes a very tasty Marzen lager for fall, using only the four classic ingredients.
Or take Shiner Oktoberfest, probably the lightest take on Marzen. Where a doughy palate is simple and direct. The 96 Anniversary recipe, called a seasonal ale on the bottle. But this is where geography plays into the picture. The Spoetzl Brewery, being in Shiner, Texas, has to designate any beer above a certain alcohol level as ale, regardless of the fermentation method. The geographic location also helps explain why this recipe has a lighter approach: it gets very hot in Texas. Different parts of the country have different requirements. There is certainly room enough for all to be enjoyed. 
Autumn Preparations
26 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
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?
