A Tale of Four Oktoberfests

I intended to do a flavor comparison of several Oktoberfests about a month and a half / two months ago, but I never got around to it. I decided now was the time. I had four on hand, so I set myself up with them and everything I needed to taste compare them - in addition to the camera, I laid out my Oktoberfest coasters (to set the mood, of course) made sure my church key was on hand, set up a small bowl of pretzels and a bottle of water to cleanse my palate between beers, and four separate glasses. It means more washing, but I could view them side by side this way.



The Oktoberfests I had were sampled in the following order:
1) Leinenkugel's
2) Hoffbräu
3) Samuel Adams
4) Sprecher

Leinenkugel's

This comes in a 12 ounce bottle with a screw cap. It has a golden brown hue with a slight reddish tint. It pours with a minimal head that fades away quickly. It has a light sweet malty scent, soft and subtle. The flavor is robust, but not overpowering or overly strong. It is a full bodied malty flavor with just a hint of bitterness (which I like). The maltiness has a rich grainy character to the flavor. The aftertaste is carries a wonderful bread like taste that is probably my favorite part aside from drinking it. I very much like it. It is a very good, very solid Oktoberfest; and I will definately drink it again. I rather expected it to end up being my favorite.

Hoffbräu

This comes in a 12 ounce bottle with a pry-off cap. It has a beautiful light golden color that is very pale, but has more depth than a Miller or Budweiser. Despite the fact that the Hoffbräu is very light, it does not taste like a light beer. It has a more complex flavor without being as heavy on the malty flavor. It has a small, light head that fades away quickly. It has a slightly sour smell with a subtle, sweet maltiness. It has a very lively, floral malty taste - not sweet, but a light summery taste with a solid malty backing. There is a hint of bitter in the background, but it is very, very mild. Despite the sour scent, it does not have a sour flavor. There is a hint of bitter in the background, but it is very, very mild. There isn't much of an aftertaste, but what is there is a mild remnant of the bitterness. I like this Oktoberfest a lot.

Samuel Adams

This comes in a 12 ounce bottle with a pry off cap. This was a little more carbonated than the Leinenkugels or the Hoffbrau. It also had a minimal head that faded quickly. It had a beautiful reddish hue. It was very very beautiful, darker than the Leinenkugel's. It had a very subtle scent - sweet, almost like wine - like smelling a German white whine, but less strong. The flavor is a very solid malty flavor. No bitterness, and no sourness, but not much depth either. It has a surface flavor that sticks to the front of your toungue, but it doesn't envelope your whole mouth. The flavor reminds me of fresh baked bread or an English muffin (but less yeasty). The flavor doesn't stick with you, and there isn't much of an aftertaste to speak of. Although I like malty beers, this one doesn't have much to it. Compared to what I look for in an oktoberfest, this one is too light. There isn't a lot of body or depth, and it doesn't stick with you. It's not a bad beer, and I would pick it over mny others, but as far as Oktoberfests go, I wouldn't say it's one of my favorites.


Sprecher

This comes in a 16 ounce bottle with a twist off cap. It is more carbonated, much like the Samuel Adams. It has a light head that fades quickly. It has a darker color - a reddish brown that is a beautiful fireside sort of color. It has a very, very mild scent. It's not a very distinctive smell that has a light maltiness to it. The flavor is robust - rich, and malty. There isn't much bitterness, and what is there is only noticeable by comparison with something that is completely lacking any bitterness. More than the Samuel Adams, but that's easy to do. It has a little bit of citrusy sourness in the background, but the primary flavor is a standard maltiness. It is a GOOD Oktoberfest. The hint of bitter and hint of sour lend some real character to the depth of flavor provided by the maltiness. It carries the whole flavor into the aftertaste, which is lovely.

The following is the order in which I liked these:

1) Sprecher
2) Hoffbräu
3) Leinenkugel's
4) Samuel Adams

I liked the Sprecher the best, followed closely by the Hoffbräu. It was so close that I had to try the two back to back several times to decide. My third favorite was the the Leinenkugel's. I liked the Leinenkugel's aftertaste quite a bit. I figured that it would come out on top.

All in all, it was a wonderful taste-test.

First Impressions of 4 Beers

This last weekend was a very busy weekend for us. We went out to Amanda's home town - Boyceville. Saturday was her 15 year high school reunion and Sunday was her family reunion. Since both started in the afternoon or evening, I figured we'd have some down-time, but I was wrong.

We stayed with her mom, so Saturday morning we drove into Menomonie to go to the farmers market and take her shopping. While we were out, we stopped to pick up some things for the family reunion on Sunday. While I was window shopping beer, I saw that both the super Walmart and the Marketplace foods carried Budweiser Chelada. Brad, at work, doesn't really drink beer, but he loves Cheladas. I've never actually seen them sold, though. They are a mixture of Budweiser (or Bud light) and Clamato. I mentioned it and Tess, my mother in law, bought some. I was going to ask her if I could have one, but in the rush of the weekend, I never got around to it. Oh well, I know it's sold in my area, so I'll get my hands on some eventually.

The reason I had been window shopping beer was because I was looking for craft beers local to that area which I haven't seen at home. I settled on the Badger Porter from Sand Creek Brewing Company in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. It has a nice dense feel to it with a pleasant roasted coffee flavor and a smooth finish. I like it, but I don't know that I like it enough to go out of my way to get it. I'll enjoy the rest of the six pack, but when I find Sand Creek Beers again I'll try something else before going back to the Badger Porter.

That evening we had Amanda's highschool reunion at the Glen Hills Golf Club in Glenwood City. My experience in that area is that more common to find big name beers (Miller, Budweiser, Coors, etc.) than craft beers or imports. Which isn't a bad thing, but since I tend to prefer craft beers I tend to have a harder time deciding what to drink. Well, I made things easy and started with bourbon. When I finally decided to start in on beer, I went for a Leinenkugel's Original. Surprisingly enough it was the first time I had their original. There was nothing really special about it, but it tasted like a good old fashioned American beer. Not my favorite, but I had no complaints.

Sunday, while we were setting up for the Family reunion, I opened a Breckenridge Brewery Summerbright Ale. I loved it. It had a full flavor that wasn't heavy. It had a little sweet tartness without really being sweet, and finished with a hint of bitterness. It was great for a hot day outside.

Toward the end of the day I was thirsty, but didn't want anything too heavy. Amanda's aunt and uncle typically dring Milwaukee's Best (or the Beast as I like to call it), and I've never been interested in trying it. Amanda's cousin had brought a cooler of Milwaukee's Best Light, so I grabbed one. Not being a light beer drinker, I don't have much to go on, but it wasn't bad. It reminded me of those lightly fruit flavored bottles of water you can find. Except instead of a hint of fruit flavor, this had a hint of beer flavor. Not the kind of thing I'd like to drink with dinner or while watching TV, but it would go well with mowing the lawn or doing other yard work during the summer.

Leinenkugel's Brewery Tour!

Amanda and I had a very busy weekend, and we capped it off by taking today off of work and stopping by Leinenkugel's Brewery for their brewery tour this morning before we came home.

It was fantastic! First off, it's free, second off, we got vouchers for 3 beer samples each. Not 3 full glasses, but 3 small sample glasses - the size you usually get for a beer chaser with a bloody mary. But still - free is my favorite price!

We had the dogs with us, so we dropped them off at a dog daycare in Eau Claire, we drove 15 minutes to the brewery in Chippewa Falls.

We started in the gift shop - which was HUGE and filled with Leinenkugel's swag. We grabbed the 10 AM tour so there was just the two of us and a family of four. It wasn't a long tour (45-60 minutes-ish) and there were parts of the brewery that we couldn't go into because it was a tour of the operational brewery. I'm fairly new to brewery tours, and this is the first where we were in the areas where they were actually doing the production. It was really cool!

Then we headed back to the gift shop and spent a bunch of money. It helps that I like several of their beers, you can find them all over the place, and that the only beer Amanda drinks is their Berry Weiss. I "joined the leinie lodge" which I believe means I get a newsletter. Amanda picked up a Berry Weiss pint glass and we got some clothes.

Highlights from the tour - found out they use corn in more than just a couple of their beers, which I didn't know. Their beer takes about 28 days from the beginning of production until it gets shipped out. Their kegs have a shorter shelf life than cans or bottles. They have distribution to 48 states (which has been helped since they became associated with Miller Brewing Company). They're still run by the Leinenkugel family. Leinenkugel's no longer makes their Apple Spice. Berry Weiss is no longer a seasonal beer.

I wish I'd asked it on the tour, but I didn't think of it until afterward, but I want to know why the cans and bottles have a longer shelf life than the kegs. Is that true of all beer?

When we got back to the gift shop, I started out with their Red, which I like, and Amanda had Berry Weiss (no surprise). I followed with their Oktoberfest (which I also like), and Amanda had a "pink lemonade" which was a mix of Summer Shandy and Berry Weiss. I had a sip and it was good - but not very beer-like. It tasted more like a wine cooler. I finished with a "black bear" - which was their Creamy Dark and Berry Weiss. I liked it - better than either of those two beers alone. Amanda finished with another Berry Weiss.

On the way home Amanda said we need a kegerator. I love her.

Milwaukee's Largest Fish Fry

On Wednesday after work, Amanda and I had a bunch of friends over and then we headed over to Milwaukee's Largest Fish Fry.

I got home from work about the same time everyone was getting here, so I changed real quick and headed into the back yard. Well our friends had brought some beer - which was great, I really wanted one. They'd brought Guinness and Bud Light Lime. Well I know I like Guinness, but I really wanted something lighter, so I asked for a Bud Light Lime. Amanda was surprised because she knows that I don't really care for light beers, and I'd never had Bud Light Lime before.

Well I may not typically be a light beer drinker, but there have been several occassions where at the end of a long, hot day outside I've gone out with friends and gotten a pitcher of Bud Light, so I figured it would be safe to say that in the mood I was in I would enjoy the Bud Light Lime. I did. It's light and citrusy. Not a lot of body, and the lime adds more flavor than I've usually tasted in a light beer. I won't drink it often, but I think I could incorporate this beer into my summer beers. And being from a major brewery, it's easy to find.

Then we headed over. Milwaukee's Largest Fish Fry is in it's second year and it ran for 2 days - Wednesday and Thursday - at State Fair Park. The proceeds went to benefit Hunger Task Force. It didn't seem very well organized, but I had a great time. While we were there I had a Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss. I haven't had one in a long time, since they didn't strike me as anything memorable. I enjoyed it. It's definately got a nice flavor, but I still don't believe it's a very memorable beer.

Wisconsin State Fair

Every year, Amanda and I try to take a night after work to go to the Wisconsin State Fair for a couple beers and some fatty fair food - the kind that will give you a heart attack just by being within 10 feet of it. I always get the smelt boat from the Door County Fish Boil (because I love fried smelt, and I don't find it very often anywhere else), and I try to have one of the unique and possibly disgusting sounding new fair foods. This year it was the Krispy Kreme cheese burger. It was okay. Not as gross as I suspected but not great.

Before I got my burger, I grabbed a Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale from the World Cafe area near the westside marketplace (Amanda likes window shopping random fair swag). It was the only craft beer they had at that location (although there are others sold at a couple other locations).

I've never had it before. I liked it. It was a beautiful golden color with a smooth, slightly tart taste. I really liked it.

Unfortunately after my burger, I just wasn't interested in beer any more. Which was disappointing (although it saved me money).

Amanda on the other hand found the Leinie Lodge and they were serving the cheapest beer on site - she got a 20 ounce Berry Weiss for $6.00. It was such a great price (for the size, compared to the rest of the site) that I would have overcome my post-burger disinterest if they'd been serving something I was interested in drinking.

I'll get another chance this Saturday, when we go back with friends.

Fruity Beer

The last week of July (Monday or Tuesday, I don't remember which) we went to lunch at Waterstreet Brewery. There was a convention in town, and it didn't work out to our advantage because they were B U S Y. While we were waiting for a table, one of my co-workers bought me the Raspberry Weiss - Well, I ordered it and he insisted on paying for it. Gotta love a free beer - I ordered the Raspberry Weiss because it was a warm, sunny day and I was expecting a nice light beer with mild sweet tartness.

Or so I had hoped.

I had never had it before and as it turns out, I didn't care for it. It was too sweet and too fruity. Drinkable, but not something I'm interested in trying again. It reminded me too much of Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss, which I'm not really a fan of. At the Brewfest we attended on 7/31 I had amanda try the Waterstreet Brewery Raspberry Weiss because I wanted to see what she thought of it since Leinie's Berry Weiss is her favorite beer. She said the Raspberry Weiss isn't as sweet and fruity, but it was "okay".

In retrospect, I might be willing to use it as a beer mixer. In my opinion, there are two good ways to mix beers - at least two good ways that I've tried. One is the layered approach, like you get in black and tans, and the other is just to pour two beers together, like the Honey Bear (a mix of Leinie's Honey Weiss and Berry Weiss which had some limited popularity a couple of years ago. I've never tried it).

I'm a big fan of the half and half layered style drinks. I've done it with Murphy's Stout and Hardcore Cider. Guiness Draft and Harp. Guiness Draft and Bass. Guiness Draft and Berry Weiss (which was only "okay" in my opinion).

But I also tried a mix of Guiness Draft and Lindemans Framboise Lambic - which I rather enjoyed. It was suggested by a friend of ours who was bartending when Amanda and I went out a couple of years ago. She asked if they had Berry Weiss. He said they didn't, but that they had Framboise. He said that he liked it mixed with Guiness. I tried it and had to agree with him! New Glarus Brewing Co. also has a nice raspberry framboise ale - Raspberry Tart - that works well.

The Raspberry Weiss doesn't have quite the same kind of flavor as the framboise, but it might work in a similar mix, so I might try it sometime.

Summer cookout - Summer beer

The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy, but I've tried some new beers and had some great beer moments. So I figure I'll back it up to Sunday, July 25th. Amanda had invited a friend of ours over to start planning a State Fair party, and while he was over he asked if we had any summer beers.

Unfortunately, I didn't.

And it got me thinking - maybe I should take more advantage of the seasonal aspects of beer. That evening, we decided to have a cook out with John, John and Gregg. I ran to the store to get some brats (I just grabbed a Johnsonville party pack) and some summer beers. John had mentioned Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, so I picked up a six pack, and since I don't care for Summer Shandy I also picked up a six pack of Sam Adams Summer Ale, which was a new one to me.

Now one thing I like about cookouts is beer brats. My love of beer brats is two-fold. The first is definately the easiest - I love eating them. But the second is important in maintaining a properly stocked refrigerator - Making beer brats gives me a chance to use beer in my fridge that I'm not drinking before it gets old and skunky.

Why would I have beer in my fridge that isn't getting drunk? Because although I'm willing to try any beer, I'm not willing to keep drinking some of them. Since everyone has different preferences in beer, it stands to reason that there isn't any bad beer, there is just better beer. But that doesn't mean I'm going to drink a beer I don't care for if there's something else available.

This time I used MGD and Harp. I don't really drink MGD, but we always try to keep some on hand for guests. Plenty of people drink Miller and I'd rather have MGD in the house than Miller Lite. I've gotten to the point where it has become my preferred beer for making beer brats and beer dip. But this time I only had one bottle left in the fridge so I broke into the next oldest beer in the fridge - Harp.

Unlike MGD, I do drink Harp, but since I prefer darker beers, I only drink it regularly. I had originally bought it to make black and tans (or more acurately half and halfs, since Harp is a pale lager instead of a pale ale) - but after a couple I got tired of them and the Harp wasn't going anywhere - So it was time to start cooking with it.

Anyhow, the cookout was a good time - relaxed and enjoyable. A perfect way to end a relaxing weekend. The Summer Shandy's went over well and I got to try my first Samuel Adams Summer Lager. It was a success. It was light, with a pleasant tartness and a little bitterness that went down quite nicely over dinner. I had thought of having a second as we sat out in the back yard around the firepit and chatted, but I find that beer makes me thirsty and I didn't want to end up dehydrating myself before work. That's fine, it's still there waiting for me.

Eastside Dark and Murphey's Red

On Friday my wife and I had supper at Paulie's in West Allis, and I tried Lakefront Brewery's Eastside Dark lager. I liked this local Milwaukee beer. It was dark, a little dense, rich and creamy. Does it make the top of my list? No. This is the second creamy dark lager I've had, (The other was Leinenkugel's Creamy Dark.) and although they were both good they just don't seem to be quite my style. I don't know why not, I can't qualify what it is that just doesn't quite do it for me. I think I'll have to drink more to see if I can figure it out.

After dinner I tried the fat tire for a second time, and definately like it. The wierd thing is that this time I got it in the actual New Belgium globe glass. I'm not sure how I feel about beer coming in stemware. I understand why you do it for wine. And snifters are fine for brandy, whiskey, and liqueurs. But for beer? What purpose does it serve? Give me a pint glass, pilsner glass, or stein glass. Even a good old fashioned German beer stein. But stemware? Why?

Today, my second new beer was tried. We went to the Bristol Renaissance Faire with the intention of catching up with friends and eating and drinking our way around the site. While I worked there, I didn't drink during the day, so I'm not as familiar with the bar's around site as many people who go there are, and I discovered a couple of things -

1) Import beers are served at all of the bars. Unless I remember incorrectly I had thought only one did and the rest served your standard Miller fare. Well, if it's something that changed within the last few years, I like the change.
2) They now serve hard liquor at the bars (previously, it had only been malt beverages and non-alcoholic items).
3) I don't know if the other bars do it, but the Blackfriar serves Black and Tans and similar split beers.

Well, I was only interested in beers and water (can't let yourself get dehydrated on a warm day like today). I started with a Murphy's Irish Stout (not a new beer to me) then I decided to try the half Murphy's Irish Stout / half Hardcore cider. That was a new combination to me - and I liked it. I think I'm going to have to play around with that. Then I finished off with a new beer for me (that's right - only 3 and I quit early and drank water. I needed to be sober when we left). The new beer was Murphey's Red. I liked it. Stouts and Reds are probably going to be winners for me every time, but no need to make an assumption when there's uncharted territory just a tapper away.

Friday - good time, decent beer. Saturday - great time, great beer.