On a recent trip to Roger Wilco (the old Wine Warehouse in Voorhees), I picked up a mixed six of harvest ales and Oktoberfests. One of these bottles was the Schlafly Oktoberfest. We had tried the Schlafly Tripel Ale and I was interested in trying another out of their lineup. Schlafly is a brewer from St. Louis that runs out a 6 bottle year round series, a 6 bottle core seasonal series (including the Oktoberfest), a 5 bottle special release series, a 5 bottle limited edition series, a 2 bottle wood aged series and a 4 bottle run of bottle conditioned beers.
Here is what Schlafly has to say about its Oktoberfest:
Our Oktoberfest is a traditional Bavarian Märzen with a toasty malt aroma and slight caramel taste. This rich, amber lager is balanced by the use of German noble hops, while the lager yeast ferments cold and slow, creating a smooth, crisp beer.
I found the Oktoberfest to have the following characteristics…
- Appearance: Orange amber with good foam and lacing.
- Aroma: A little sweet (caramel), a lot of hops with a hint of spice (cloves, allspice).
- Taste: Sweet with some spice and a little bit of hops in a slightly bitter finish.
- ABV: 5.5%
This was a very good beer. Finally, a seasonal that is not only refreshing and easy drinking but certainly session-worthy. While I still might find the German Oktoberfests to be superior this was a nice find.
