Tag: Oaktoberfest

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Central Coast Okto Showdown

Today we compare / contrast two Central Coast Oktoberfest beers.

Firestone Walker Oaktoberfest, an oak aged lager, pours a pretty orange hue.  You can smell the malts from arms distance away. Crisp with malt taking center stage. Simple and straightforward.  A slight metallic note at the back but this is a lovely fall beer.

There Does Not Exist Oktoberfest Lager is another orange gem but this version is say more silky and missing some of the crispness.  I get an Navel orange citrus note as well that mingles with the malt notes.

Winner – This is a tough call. I would like to merge the crispness of the Oaktoberfest with the TDNE complexity.  But if asked which I would get seconds of, it would be the Firestone Walker.

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Featured Review – Oktoberfest v. Oaktoberfest

Since I bought Firestone Walker’s canned Oaktoberfest while I still had some of the Sierra Nevada / Mahrs Brau Oktoberfest in the ‘fridge, I thought I should do a taste test. Then I thought that I should do a blind taste test. Then I had my sister-in-law do the pouring so I could get down to business
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Here are the results:
Beer # 1 poured a darker shade of yellow in the taster glass with less bubbles but bigger ones. Malt and sweetness on the nose. Flavor wise the minerality comes through. Wheat toast and some floral character add to the roundness.

Beer # 2 is just a skosh lighter color wise with the bigger difference being more tiny bubbles. Not as much aroma on this entrant. The taste is a little sharper initially. Sweeter with minerality more in the background. Touch of honey as well.

# 1 is my winner. It seems heartier to me. More toast and fullness to it. This was really close though. Not a huge gap between them.

Most importantly, I guessed correctly. Identifyingy my choice of winner as Oaktoberfest from Firestone Walker.

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Paso Marzen

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As far as choices of beers to can, Firestone Walker made a good one, in my mind, by adding their “Paso Märzen Bier” AKA Oaktoberfest to their 16oz cans. Even if it is just a seasonal.

Usually this classic Märzen style with a skosh extra West Coast hoppiness is mostly available on draft. But this is the second time this all German ingredients beer has been packaged. The last being a couple years back since it didn’t make the schedule last year.

Which means, best try it now. Who knows if it will take another sabbatical.