Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Live Blogging: Ayinger Oktoberfest


It's 9:26PM, do you know where your beer is?

So I'm sitting here still recovering from my trip back to Charlotte (posts coming later), and I notice that there are a couple Marzens or Oktoberfests I have not tried that are at the house. I tried this one yesterday...

Michelob Marzen
Bottle to Beer Mug
Copper colored, white low head. light caramel smell with vegetal. Some breadiness and sourness. A little more bitter than I would like.It has moderate drinkability and slightly high carbo. The bitter aftertaste lasts on the back 2/3 of my tongue for a good 60 seconds.Maybe it's b/c I'm near the end of my oktoberfesting, but this one is angling for a 2 star. A couple more swigs and the munich malt is coming through. And the bitterness is not as pronounced. Not bad,but not all that great either. High 2 star b/c it's of the more boring oktoberfests I've had.

One time for Michelob at least putting out a Marzen. Again, they are digging their own graves with these light versions of craft beer. But moving on...

Trying this one right now...

Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen
It's in a 500 ml bottle that I'm pouring into my 2005 North Carolina NCAA Basketball champion beer mug (go Heels). Mmm, cloudy copper color with an off-white strong head. Smells good and malty. There is even a small slight citrus sourness in the smell as well. The head is very sustaining, and I will pour a little more in there. Tasting, now that's more like it. Malty, medium bodied, slight roastiness and a slight sourness on the aftertaste, all in that order. It could be that I just ran 4 miles in 40 minutes in that park about an hour ago, or that I've been having some disappointments in Oktoberfests, but this one is very tasty. The aftertaste is now more roasty. This baby moves instantly to the TOP of my Oktoberfest lists, which I will stop messing with come Halloween. I f8cks with this Oktoberfest. 4 Stars for sure.

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