Here’s my first beer from the Societe Brewing Company of San Diego, California: Societe Festbier. I hopped on over to the Societe webpage and found no listing for this beer. I got my can from Craftshack.com, and glad I did; it sold out shortly after I ordered it. The brewery calls itself a San Diego tradition, which is encouraging.

Craftshack has this to say about the beer, which I assume comes from the brewery:

Fest Bier is crafted with Pilsner malts, Vienna, Cara Munich- from @weyermann_specialty_malts. These combine to support the soft pilsner malt mouthfeel of this beer with slight caramel & graham cracker flavors. The dry finish helps balance out some of the more “sweet” flavors and keeps you coming back for more. Our beer utilizes malts in a way that produces a lighter beer closer to the popular Oktoberfest beers developed in the 20th century and brewed in Munich.⠀

Crisp and clean with floral and mineral notes introduced by lager yeast, this year's batch has a touch of lemony citrus zest from the Sterling hops which are supported by traditional Tettnanger hops.

American brewers offer Oktoberfest-style beers in either the Festbier or Marzen versions; some offer both. Marzens seem more common in my experience, though as the years go by I see more Festbiers. Societe’s version is a tasty one.

Societe Festbier has an alcohol content of 4.6% by volume and I paid $3.99 for my can from craftshack. I am not sure what this beer sells for in stores, I could not find a price for it online. My sample was canned 09/10/20.

Societe Festbier pours to a slightly hazy golden color with a thick fluffy white head and a soft bready malt nose. Taking a sip, the beer is smooth bready in the palate as the nose promised, medium malty, crisp and finishes gently bitter. A tasty beer indeed, not quite up to the standards of the Germans, but then few domestics are.

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

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