Jekyll Seven Bridges Oktoberfest may be a little late to the party, my friends, having just been released in
the first week or so of October,but we’ll forgive them for that. Yes, Oktoberfest in Germany is over now and actually starts towards the end of September, but this is Jekyll’s first lager, so no worries.

When I saw that Stout’s Growlers here in Canton had gotten a keg I ran right down and bought a growler. According to Jekyll, distribution is limited indeed only to select growler shops and on tap. Taco Mac seems to have kegs as well.

I don’t know a lot about the beer except that it is, as mentioned, a lager. Alcohol by volume is 5.3%, and I paid $7 for a 32 ounce growler, a reasonable enough price. But what about the name? Aha, now that’s another matter.

Could the Eagles famous song, Seven Bridges Road, be the inspiration? No; it’s not that. There’s a Seven Bridges Grille and Brewery in Jacksonville, Florida, but certainly they are not the inspiration. They do an Ofest beer, though, so hopefully their lawyers have not seen this. How about 7 Mile Bridge on Georgia’s Jekyll Island? No, that’s not it either, despite the fact the brewery is named for that island.

No, according to the Jekyll Facebook page, the name is derived from…..queue creepy gothic music….The Legend of The Seven Bridges Road. Actually, Jekyll only references Berry College, but I got the rest of the story from my dear wife. My wife is a Rome, Georgia girl, and Rome is where Berry is located. I lived in Rome myself for the first year and a half I lived here in Georgia, and unknowingly passed over The Seven Bridges while we were out taking photos one fine day.

The legend tells that as you walk out over the road, counting your bridges, there will be 7. When you head back, however, there will only be 6, at the end of which is a haunted church with howling ghosts and so forth. Bwah ha ha ha ha!!! I never counted the bridges myself, but will be sure to do so the next time I’m there.

Now for the beer. Sad to say, but in this case, the legend is better than the beer that bears its name.

Jekyll Seven Bridges Oktoberfest pours to a bright orange amber color with a thick chunky head of rocky foam and a remarkably non-descript nose. Taking a sip, I get a very light hint of caramel, some very, very light toasty nutty notes, a bit of orange fruit and some light hop bitterness at the last, but surprisingly, this one seems to me watery in the finish.

I am disappointed in this one. Jekyll certainly has the hoppy ales thing down pat, and they brew some delicious beers indeed. But they haven’t got there yet with malty lagers (to be fair, this is their first lager). Toasty nutty malt is the heart and soul of Oktoberfest Maerzen, and it’s lacking here. Try a Paulaner Oktoberfest, locally a 5 Seasons Oktoberfest or even a Samuel Adams Oktoberfest to see what I’m talking about.

This is not a bad beer, and it is clean and drinkable with subtle notes of what I want in the style. But like the Seven Bridges Road on the way back, it’s missing something. It’s not a rebuy for me, though I will qualify that as for this year only. There’s enough here to make me want to try it again next year.

Update 9/24/2017: OK, I know, I said this was not a rebuy, but hey, I'm all about second chances, so when I saw Jekyll Seven Bridges Oktoberfest on tap at Taco Mac I figured I would order it up. It's been 3 years since I originally tried it, and you know, that was (I think) the first year they offered it. I'm glad I gave it another go around, because the beer was much more authentic this year,  better than their first attempts. A beautiful dry toasty nutty maltiness in the nose and palate pervades. Perhaps pricey at $6.75 for my draft mug but it's reasonable at Target here for $9.49 a six-pack in cans.

Update 10/11/2020: Sadly, Helen Oktoberfest is canceled this year due to Covid 19. Instead, I am enjoying Garagetoberfest with somne great German and local Oktoberfest beers. One of these is a  crowler of Jekyll Seven Bridges Oktobefest in one of my Helen Oktoberfest glasses. This one could use more Munich malt, and I am taking it back down a half peg from the last time I opined, but it is a tasty caramel malt loaded beer with hints of toasted nuts. $9.25 for a crowler this time around, not a bad price these days for craft beer.

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

(G)=Growler

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