Bell's Octoberfest

Bell's Octoberfest
Type of beer: Märzen
Container Type: 335 mL bottle
Alcohol by volume: 5.50%
Country of origin: United States
Rating: 61% (see below)
Number of times I've had this beer: 1st
Cost: $1.25
Tasted on: 10/26/09
Colours of label: Orange/Yellow/Black
Drank From: Mug

Label Reads: "Fall is my favorite time to drink beer. The weather turns cooler, there's a bounty of foods, and beer just seems to taste better. I hope you enjoy this traditional beer as much as I do. Prosit!'

website: www.bellsbeer.com/
Best for: Falling down
Ratings:
Taste: 12/20
Flavour: 12/20
Buy again: 11/20
Aroma: 8/10
Satisfaction: 7/10
Complexity: 5/10
Intangible: 6/10
Handwritten notes: The Oktoberfest parade continues. I'm still not sure about this genre, but it does fit the season. Instead of a nice crisp, clean, fresh tasting beer indicative of spring's sweet foreplay, we have the post coital Oktoberfest with its pungent smell and taste of decay. There is no mystery or intrigue with Oktoberfest. It just lays there, smoking a menthol and checking its watch.

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Beer #363 of 3,652

Half Pints Oktoberfest

Half Pints Octoberfest
Type of beer: Märzen
Container Type: 341 mL bottle

Alcohol by volume: 6.2%
Country of origin: Canada
Rating: 77% (see below)
Number of times I've had this beer: 1st
Cost: $3.00
Tasted on: 11/2/09
Colours of label: Brown/Orange/Red
Drank From: HP Glass
Label Reads: "toasty German malts with a flowery hop aroma", " 22 IBU".
website: www.halfpintsbrewing.com
Best for: Err... early November?
Ratings:
Taste: 14/20
Flavour: 16/20
Buy again: 16/20
Aroma: 7/10
Satisfaction: 9/10
Complexity: 8/10
Intangible: 7/10
Handwritten notes: I had this sumbitch in my fridge for a while, waiting for a special occasion. Then I realized October had come and gone, so that was the occasion. A very bread-doughy smell, or the smell of my old man making toast at 6:30 in the morning. Why did he have to get up so early? The taste of this beer is that which I've come to understand as the Märzen style. I had not tried, in any of my 31 summers, beer of this type until last month. Like any genre, there are good and bad variants. This one works well, though differently from the Sam Adams Octoberfest which I liked. This particular beer has a noticeable tang of alcohol at the end that ramps up the sour, butter-nut squash and decaying produce flavour. Ga-ja!
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Beer #349 of 3,652

Samuel Adams Octoberfest

Samuel Adams Octoberfest
Type of beer: Märzen

Container Type: 355 mL bottle
Alcohol by volume: 5.70%
Country of origin: United States
Rating: 70% (see below)
Number of times I've had this beer: 1st
Cost: $1.15
Tasted on: 10/31/09
Colours of label: Orange/Blue/Yellow
Drank From: HP Glass
Label Reads: "Seasonal brew. We brew Samuel Adams Octoberfest to celebrate the arrival of autumn. This hearty lager is rich... with a blend of five malts, carefully balanced with hand-selected noble hops. Samuel Adams Octoberfest is a classic beer style brewed in the finest American tradition. Cheers!"

website: www.samadams.com
Best for: licking your chops

Ratings:
Taste: 13/20
Flavour: 15/20
Buy again: 12/20
Aroma: 8/10
Satisfaction: 8/10
Complexity: 8/10
Intangible: 6/10
Handwritten notes: These Oktoberfest beers sport the sort of rotty-sour flavour like the musk of fallen autumn leaves. There is also a nice oakiness to this beer (almost like an Innis & Gunn). This is a perfect illustration of the genre. However, it is still not my favourite style. Do you like fall? Hellz yeah. Do you like beer? Yessa. Do you like Oktoberfest? Pfffff... not so much.

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Beer #346 of 3,652

Leineken Oktoberfest

Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest
Type of beer: Märzen
Container Type: 335 mL bottle
Alcohol by volume: 5.10%
Country of origin: United States
Rating: 20% (see below)
Number of times I've had this beer: 1st

Cost: $1.15
Tasted on: 10/23/09
Colours of label: Gold/Red/Yellow
Drank From: Glass
Label Reads: "A perfect beer to celebrate the fall season. Featuring Munich, Pale & Caramel Malts. With four specialty hops. Brewed with pride by the Leinenkugel family since 1867", "German-style Märzen", "Carefully brewed by the Leinenkugel family for five generations", "The pride of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin since 1867".
website: www.leinie.com
Best for: balling up your socks

Ratings:
Taste: 4/20
Flavour: 3/20
Buy again: 4/20
Aroma: 2/10
Satisfaction: 5/10
Complexity: 1/10
Intangible: 1/10
Handwritten notes: Oktopussy galore. A flat and useless form of the Oktoberfest or Märzen genre. From this beer I can't see the appeal. It tastes like a Canadian macro only with less flavour. No, that's not true. It has flavour, but it's a piss-like flavour with no depth. Like a Canadian macro some dude left in his pantry for three years waiting for someone to come over so he could offer them a beer. Then when one of his friends finally comes over, all he has to offer is a crappy, warm, expired beer. I have one Leinie left to review, and hopefully Leinenkugel can redeem itself after this poor showing.
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Beer #330 of 3,652

Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier

Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier
Type of beer: Märzen
Container Type: 1000 mL can
Alcohol by volume: 6.0%
Country of origin: Germany
Rating: 62% (see below)
Number of times I've had this beer: 1st
Cost: $14.90
Tasted on: 10/7/09
Colours of label: White/Blue/Red
Drank From: Oktoberfest stein
Label Reads: n/a
website: www.paulaner.de
Best for: a light snack
Ratings:
Taste: 11/20
Flavour: 12/20
Buy again: 10/20
Aroma: 7/10
Satisfaction: 8/10
Complexity: 6/10
Intangible: 8/10

Handwritten notes: After spending countless hours rummaging through thrift shops looking for my very own Oktoberfest stein, there it was. Fifteen bucks was a small price to pay, as I was willing to shell out $20 on ebay for one just like this. Unfortunately I bought this beer on a Tuesday night and as such I was only able to finish a third of it. I'm not a big Oktoberfest guy, in fact I've never been. The real, and perhaps astonishing truth about me is that I don't drink to get drunk. The most drunk I've been in the past 3 years was after the friggin 8-ball of O.E. I reviewed. The beer itself is a standard strong German style beer. It really has no personality of its own, which I assume goes hand in hand with the serving size being one litre. As such the most descriptive thing I can say about it is: it's really big.

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Beer #310 of 3,652