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It's getting to be a rarer and rarer thing these days for
me to find new beers when I go to do my beer shopping. A few weeks ago,
however, I was pleasantly surprised to see a few cases of Brooklyn
Oktoberfest beer at my preferred package store. Of course I snapped up a
six-pack, along with a few others, and proceeded home with my score. I have
had most of the Brooklyn line in bottles and on draft at home, in bars, and
at beer festivals over the years, so I had high expectations for the
Oktoberfest.
Brooklyn's brewer, Garret Oliver, is extremely well regarded in the
industry. Well-spoken and articulate, he is a panel reviewer for All About
Beer magazine. Brooklyn's bottled beers are not actually brewed at it's
brewery however (draft product is made there), but are instead brewed and
bottled by the FX Matt Brewery in Utica, New York. Matt is most famous for
its Saranac line of beers.
The Brewery holds an annual Oktoberfest celebration in its taproom, this
year on October 13th and 14th. In addition to their own brew, Brooklyn also
serves several other Octoberfest beers including some imported German ones.
There is German food and, oddly, Latin music.
Brooklyn Oktoberfest is packaged with an attractive orange label that sports
a Bavarian-style blue-and-white checkered banner along the top and bottom.
The beer pours light orange in color with a generous head formation and a
slightly sweet malty nose. The palate is on the sweet side, crystal malty,
slightly chewy. The nutty-toasty flavors I look for in the style are hinted
at but never fully developed. The finish is sweet with a tea-like aromatic
hoppiness but no real bitterness. Still, this is a nice malty brew and I'd
give it 4 out of 5 on the Epinions rating scale.
I had it tonight with a medium well steak, baked potato, and garden salad. I
really enjoy malty beers like this one with red meats.
Update
10/08/2006:
Once again, fall is in the air, and you
know what that means: beer is in my glass. Of course, beer is in my glass in
winter, spring, and summer, too. But it isn’t always the same kind of beer.
In the fall, I like to drink a lot of Oktoberfest beer (or, Octoberfest beer
as we call it in America).
Anyway, my beer fridge is always full of the stuff by the time September
rolls around. And you can usually find among those beers several bottles of
Brooklyn Oktoberfest. Although it’s not my favorite example of the
style, it is a decent enough brew and one I enjoy drinking when the
temperature begins to drop.
Brooklyn sells this beer from August to October, or so they say. I often see
it available a bit later in the year than that as the last remnants are
slowly sold off as just as the Christmas beers begin to arrive. Bottled
Brooklyn Oktoberfest is actually made by Saranac/Matt Brewing in Utica, New
York, under contract.
The beer is made with genuine imported German malts, including Munich malt.
Hard to have a decent Ofest beer without Munich malt, after all. Boston beer
tried just that for a number of years before changing their recipe to
include Munich malt. Anyway, Brooklyn Ofest is hopped with two varieties of
Hallertaus: Perle and Mittelfreu.
Brooklyn Oktoberfest pours to a bright russet red and orange color
with a light creamy head formation and a slightly nutty malt nose. The beer
is medium bodied with good mouthfeel and a slightly creamy consistency. I
get a little toasty nutty flavor here, but just a little, and it really only
whets my appetite for more of the same. A very subtle hint of chocolate is
present, too, along with just a little caramel and toffee.
An Oktoberfest beer should not finish overly hoppy, and this one doesn’t.
There are enough grassy hops to balance out the malt sweetness, but Brooklyn
Oktoberfest is by no means a bitter beer. There’s Munich malt here, but I
would like some more.
I enjoyed a glass with a roasted chicken dinner, and it did wash that repast
down nicely. Certainly not the best Ofest I’ve tasted this year
(domestically, that would Be Sam Adams version).
Update 9/22/2016: Picked
up Brooklyn Oktoberfest again this year and I'm glad I did. The beer seems
to me much closer to what I want in an Oktoberfest than it did when I last took
notes ten years ago. Lots more deep nutty malty goodness and Munich malt ooomph
and an appropriate to style grassy gently bitter hop presence. I'm bumping it up a half star to 4 as a result.
Brooklyn Oktoberfest has an alcohol content of 5.5% by volume
and runs $9.99 a six-pack these days in these parts.
Ingredients from the website:
Malts: German
Pilsner, Light Munich, Dark Munich, Carafoam, Caramunich, Belgian Aromatic,
Melanoidin
Hops: Challenger, Hallertauer
Mittelfrueh
Yeast: Our Oktoberfest Lager Yeast
Also from the website:
When Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria wanted to celebrate his wedding
engagement in 1810, he did what any good Bavarian prince would – he threw a
beer festival. Both the festival and the special beer served there became
known as Oktoberfest. Brewed from the finest German malt and hops, Brooklyn
Oktoberfest is true to the original style, fullbodied and malty, with a
bready aroma and light, brisk hop bitterness.
Update 9/4/2019: Well look at you,
Brooklyn Oktoberfest! All decked out in your new lederhosen. Still a toasty
nutty malty treat of a brew, and a refreshing throwback to when beer was
beer in today's world of every brewery having 53 IPAs. Reasonably priced,
too, at $9.49 a six-pack at Target.
   
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For
reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled (D)=Draft |
Try?