If you can find this on draft, do yourself a favor and order it. its even better on tap. ;D
I enjoyed this beer. The record hops definetly adds some interesting spicy notes.
Festbier is much more drinkable in the summer heat than Oktoberfest. In the South we really need to delay Oktoberfest to Nov/Dec so we’re not sweating when drinking it.
Got the last 6 pack of this at the bottle shop last weekend. Wife and I both enjoyed it quite a bit. Agreed re: record hops being notable in the beer (in a pleasant way). Not a connoisseur of festbier at all but I couldn’t really find anything I didn’t like about it.
I bought a six pack and drank half so far. I wasnt dissapointed but it also wasnt what I was expecting. I really liked last years batch. When I have Oktoberfest in mind thats what fits the bill for me. I know this is all together different, cant even compare the two. Ill drink it but I wouldnt run out to buy another 6 pack. But I really like what SN is doing with the different breweries and the Oktoberfest.
At least they do mention on the packaging that is in the “vein” of a festbier.
I bought a six-pack of this beer shortly after returning home from Germany this August. My last meal in Germany was at the Hofbrau Brauhaus in the Frankfurt airport, drinking a liter of festbier. I drank lots of festbiers and marzens while I was in Germany, even though I did not go to Munich this time. SN’s Oktoberfest was worse than any I drank in Germany. I thought it tasted overly tart and not the right kind of malty. It reminded me of a homebrewed pilsner made with old extract.
Yuck.
I am trying my first one tonight. The mild complexity really caught my attention, and motivated me to come make a report here. I get the spicy hop note with a balanced bready/crust maltiness. I think it is delicious. It has a long pleasant aftertaste which I think is dominated by yeast driven flavors. Not my favorite style, but I find it very interesting and very pleasant to drink.
Pretty sure las year’s batch was a Festbier too.
I could be wrong, but I think last year’s batch was in the Marzen tradition. I’ll have to look that one up though to be sure.