Having just enjoyed a Blue Point Oktoberfest a few days before, my appetite was still whetted for a nutty-malty Vienna-Maerzen style brew. And so I popped out my last bottle of Boulevard Bob’s ’47 Oktoberfest, from the Boulevard Brewing Company of Kansas City, Missouri. I had had this beer before actually, at Taco Mac 9where else) on October 12 of 2012, but last year this beer wasn’t sold in Georgia in bottles.

This year, though, it was and I picked some up for a more formal scribbling of my thoughts. A little about the beer: Bob’s ’47 Oktoberfest is a Vienna/Maerzen style lager of 5.8% alcohol by volume. My bottle says the beer is best by December 13 of 2013, though refrigerated I am sure it would keep well longer than that. The beer is about average in price, $8.99 a six-pack. Ingredients according to Boulevard:

Malt: Pale Malt, Munich, Cara 20, Amber, Malted Wheat

Hops: Perle, Saphir, Vanguard

Where does the name come from, you ask? I’ll let Boulevard explain:

Our fall seasonal beer, Bob’s ’47 Oktoberfest is a medium-bodied, dark amber brew with a malty flavor and well-balanced hop character. With this Munich-style lager we salute our friend Bob Werkowitch, Master Brewer and graduate of the U.S. Brewer’s Academy, 1947.

Indeed, the bottle has a dedication to Bob on the neck label. I’ll salute Bob as well by tossing back a bottle of his namesake

Boulevard Bob’s ’47 Oktoberfest pours to a rich copper color with a moderate foamy head formation and a soft, nutty malty nose. The palate features the toasty, nutty malts I want in an Oktoberfest beer, albeit I think just a smidge less than I’d like. Mind you, only a smidge. There’s caramel, too, and in the finish a gentle grassy hop aroma and balancing bitterness. All in all, a tasty little Oktoberfest beer that’s drinkable and delicious for a reasonable price.

Comparing this to the Blue Point, I found the Munich malt melanoidin toasty-nutty flavors to be a bit more prominent, and for that reason I would drink this one over that one if given the choice. Boulevard Bob’s ’47 Oktoberfest is a delicious beer for fall, one that you shouldn’t pass on. Why not offer a toast to bob Werkowitch while you enjoy?

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