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Tasting Oktoberfests

Think you know your beer? Well, there is nothing like a blind taste test to prove how much you don’t know.

I stopped by Coyote Roadhouse on the way home from work on a recent Monday for a quick beer and a bit of information on a story I was working on. Owner Scott Graybill promptly invited me to a blind tasting of Oktoberfest beers later that night with his wife, Carrie, and customers Dennis and Eileen.

Carrie had lined up eight Oktoberfests through her various beer distributors. She already knew that Spaten Oktoberfest would be returning to the tap lines, so she did not include that among the tasting. She was looking for a couple of others to add, although she said the results of the tasting would not necessarily guarantee a place for any of the beers.

The beers were numbered and then poured into corresponding numbered glasses for the tasters.

I am going to write down my brief thoughts on each beer, and then I’ll tell you what those beers were.

1. Lots of carbonation; sharp finish.

2. Malty as an Oktoberfest should be. It’s either a German Oktoberfest or New Glarus Staghorn.

3. Sharp finish.

4. Does not have the malt profile I expect.

5. A bit light for an Oktoberfest.

6. Very light for an Oktoberfest.

7. Malty sweet and fruity.

8. Very hoppy. Not even close to Oktoberfest profile.

Well, I was in for some major shocks when Carrie revealed what we had been sampling.

1. Hinterland Oktoberfest. What? I like Hinterland beers, but this one just didn’t strike me right for an Oktoberfest.

2. Sam Adams Octoberfest. This is the one I was convinced was a German beer, or a faithful representation by New Glarus. When I think of Oktoberfest, this is the taste I want, caramel maltiness.

3. O’toberfest from O’so. I love this brewery in Plover and what owner Marc Buttera is doing for the industry, but I just didn’t find what I was looking for in this one.

4. Staghorn, from New Glarus. Whoops! I thought I could pick out a Staghorn from the crowd. Obviously not.

5. Central Waters Octoberfest. I just did not get the depth of malt character I expect.

6. Leinenkugel’s Oktoberfest. I could tell at the tasting that this was more of a dumbed down mass-market version rather than a craft beer effort.

7. Big Eddy ـber-Oktoberfest 2014 by the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. Love this beer! Leinenkugel’s truly redeemed themselves with the Big Eddy lineup of big bruiser beers. (Carrie said this one will be going on tap for certain.)

8. Tour de Fall from New Belgium Brewing. I think Carrie was toying with us here because this beer is not an Oktoberfest, but a hopped up (Cascade and Amarillo) pale ale.

It was a fun and eye-opening experience.