Oktoberfest - Sprecher Brewing Company

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.65/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Better than average Octoberfest, with significant smokey aroma, flavour, and even a grey tinge to the colour of yellow, and decent lacing. Easy drinking and well carbonated with good malting, caramel there, and some hop.And a fruity aftertaste.
Had again 5 years later a fresh bottle and malts were well attenuated, mild and wewll integrated smoke.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2006 00:41:20 | More by northyorksammy

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.98/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Oktoberfest orange with a coppery glow and a thick slice of pale caramel mousse up top. The head doesn't develop much interesting topography as it melts, while leaving only a short collar of transient lace.

The nose pretty much nails the style, with less Munich malt melanoidins than most, which is a good thing. This smells like it will be sweet, caramel-like and nutty beer. Hallertau and Mt. Hood hops aren't appreciated, which is fine.

Oktoberfest is solid beer from top to bottom and side to side. It isn't a beast on the flavor intensity front, but it's well-rounded and steers clear of most of those things that I don't like about this style.

Each mouthful delivers well-toasted whole grain bread, steely caramel, roasted nuts, and a balancing amount of tea leaf bitterness. Warming emboldens the whole, while allowing the drinker to separate out the nuances even more easily.

The mouthfeel is borderline too thin for what is supposed to be a malt-dominant style. In the end, the higher score was chosen since the carbonation is spot-on and a modicum of creaminess appears in the second half of the bottle.

Given their German-American heritage, it was almost a foregone conclusion that Sprecher would brew a pretty damn good Oktoberfest. Still, it's nice to see (and smell... and taste) that they actually do. Where's my liter mug?

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2011 12:32:51 | More by BuckeyeNation

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: deep, reddish brown color, clear, with a fizzy, light-tan head of foam, softly simmering down.
Aroma: soft, simple, fresh, malty, creamy, grassy, some vegetal notes, with a richness that grows as it opens and flowers.
Taste: malts up top and forever out, hardly a hop appearing..oh, wait, I caught a few! Wonderful, warm texture, medium-bodied, friendly flavor. Lip-smackingly sweet, but never treacly, never cloying. Sunny, bright, and yum, yummy, yum!
Nice, long finish, and all in all, one of the better American Oktoberfests I've sampled recently.
Thanks to jeffboo for bringing it across the border!

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2003 01:14:10 | More by feloniousmonk

russpowell

Oklahoma

3.13/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Got this one from Sebletije, cheers Seb!

Pours an effervescent caramel with 2 fingers of tight tan head. Some head retention & lacing

S: Breadyness & apricot

T: Leafy hops, apricot & some grainy astringency up front. Fruittyness dominates as this begins to warm, a little caramel sneaks in as well, plus more leafy hops. Finishes with leafy hops, more apricot &a bit of dryness

MF: Super-prickly carbonation, that softens a bit as this warms, the body stays fairly thin with just too much fruittyness

Drank okay, this just was out of style to me, maybe age has already gotten to this?? Other than the schwartz, this brewery hasn't impressed me. Will try this again if I can find it really fresh

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2008 06:12:24 | More by russpowell

tempest

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This is pretty on for the style. The only thing I noticed that was different from the imported o'fest beers is that this had long roasted flavor that followed the smooth caramel malts. The lager yeast could have had a little more character and maybe brought out more complexity. Still, this was a great beer and I could drink a big stein of it. Prost!

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2007 01:43:14 | More by tempest

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appears a deep caramel amber hue with a light beige head floating. Fine speckled lacing coats the glass. Aroma has fruit mild caramel toasted malts going on together, not overly sweet in the nose. Flavor sweet caramel, toasted malts, mild nutty tone, with a light herbal hops background very sweet almost syrupy at times. Mouthfeel has moderate carbonation a bit cloying at times but drinks decently well for the amount of sweetness. Drinkability overall is had to stomach this sweet malt driven brews are making me crave hoppy brews, weird.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2010 03:23:24 | More by WVbeergeek

ppoitras

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

16oz bottle obtained via trade with CRJMellor. Thanks for the opportunity...

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed 3/4" tan head over the clear dark amber brew. Head fades gradually, with plenty of lacing. Aroma is nutty malts with a light hoppiness. Taste also shows the nutty grains upfront, with a light fruitiness in the middle, and closes with a slightly sour bitterness that lingers in the mouth. Mouthfeel and drinkability are both pretty good, but it's got a little ways to go before being my desert island Ofest. Another nice Sprecher product.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2006 17:45:44 | More by ppoitras

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

3.3/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Purchased in a Sprecher mixed pack.

Pours a clear orange/brown, thick off white head forms, few lace spots, decent layer. Smell is sweet, caramelized, bread, iron and light citrus, thick malts, bit of floral, not bad. Taste is sweet, light fruits, citric sourness, bread, iron, caramel, light chocolate and a bitter finish. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. Decent Oktoberfest, maltier than most, but theres something about it that I don't really enjoy.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2007 00:52:57 | More by Viggo

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.38/5  rDev +15%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This clear copper brew is topped by a slight creamy beige head that is well retained. A deep malty aroma accented by some slight noble hop spiciness. This is one of the better tasting Oktoberfests in the midwest. Very nice malt profile here. The caramel tones stand out. Underneath that, there are layers of graininess and toastiness. And to boot, there's a nice little (emphasis on little) hop kick and bitterness. Smooth and creamy full bodied mouthfeel. Nice marzen.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2002 15:17:04 | More by Bighuge

corby112

Pennsylvania

3.23/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark amber orange color with dark golden orange hues when held to a light source ans a thin one finger yellowish tan head that quickly fades leaving no lacing.

Light spicy aroma with hints of caramel malt, cinnamon, brown sugar and slight hops.

Medium bodied with some nice caramel malt flavor balanced by a prominent spice characteristic. Lots of cinnamon and brown sugar along with subtle hoppy bitterness. Nicely balanced with a dry finish. Easy to drink but I probably wouldn't drink more than one of these in a night.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2010 03:04:56 | More by corby112

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.55/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pretty cool orange and amber appearance, reminiscient of the season related to the beer. Aroma is woody, malty, bready.

Taste is not boring, a common reaction I have with the style, it comes off a lot like the doughiness of a biere de garde, complex, slight spice edge to it as if brewed with pepper or rye, ever so miniscule.

A fraction of sweetness and hops, the beer reeks of fall.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2011 18:42:32 | More by Beerandraiderfan

plaid75

New York

3.98/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a deep amber hue with a one finger foamy off white head. There was decent retention and lacing.

The smell featured a robust cereal grain with hints of caramel and a subtle noble hop.

The taste was upfront sweet cereal grains with hints of toffee, chocolate malt, smoke and dark fruits. There was a slight metallic element however.

The mouthfeel was of average fullness for the style with a dry finish.

Overall a very tasty and robust Oktoberfest.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2007 01:46:17 | More by plaid75

Dogbrick

Ohio

3.53/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Shocking that it has taken me this long to try a Sprecher beer. This seasonal pours a dark copper color with a medium light tan head that diminishes pretty quickly. Stringy lacing. Caramel malt aroma with touches of fruit and hops. Medium-bodied and smooth with roasted malt, caramel and plum flavors. Touches of mildly bitter hops are there as well. The finish is short and sweet with a caramel aftertaste. Overall this is an above average Oktoberfest.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2007 20:22:30 | More by Dogbrick

tavernjef

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Color is a dull coppery amber brown with a nice light brownish head thats whipped buttery smooth and nearly an inch high. Takes some timely length to fade. Very minimal spotty lace. Aroma is strongly malty sweet with a honeyish toffee and some dulled dark citrus of plum and starfruit. Nice nose, just not as toasty as I like, but I like it anyways, screw the toast. Taste follows the aroma with a good portion of sweet toffeeish malts with some caramel aspects. Light dulled fruit also noted in some of the sweetness. Quite close to a being a doppelbock in its flavor. The finish brings out some late, slight toasty notions, but this sucker is all sweet rendered malts. Quite scrumptiously yummy. Close to full feel with a pretty creamy feel the whole way through. A nice O-fest, not as toasty as I like in the style usually, but I'll make an exception cuz this is a damn good beer non-the-less.

Another thanks to jeffboo for the sample!

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2003 04:21:57 | More by tavernjef

RoyalT

Ohio

4.22/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance – This is a beautiful shiny brown in color and just a tad cloudy with a righteous white head that came up easily.

Smell – The malts are simple and sweet with a light toasty character. There’s not anything to get in its way so it comes out of the glass pure and inviting.

Taste – The wonderful malt flavors explode on the tongue. The sugars come up more in the balance like liquid malt. The toasty malt comes back at the finish giving this a hearty flavor profile.

Mouthfeel – This is in between light and medium-bodied with a nice sweet middle and a heavy finish.

Drinkability – This bier is hard to drink slow.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2006 01:48:08 | More by RoyalT

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sprecher Brewing Company, one of the best U.S. breweries at German styles. Oktoberfest, stubby bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: A dark brown in color, inpenetrable by light. Small tan head forms and leaves behind some lacing.

Smell: Light on the nose, just some faint bready malt notes. Sweet caramel as the beer warms.

Taste: Initially greeted with a big sugary maltyness with a toasted edge. Raw cocoa, brown sugar and fig all chime in at times, nice rich malty flavor. Tea like hops keep the beer from becoming too sweet. This is a malt bomb and a pretty kickass oktoberfest.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, chalky finish. Smooth and easy drinking.

Overall: Another impressive brew from Sprecher. I guess I'll have to order a case of this when it once again becomes available.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2011 18:36:17 | More by Stinkypuss

scruffwhor

Illinois

4.3/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Appearance- Pours a good one and a half finger head with about a five minute retention. Color was a mix between rye bread crust and golden amber. The head eventually receded to a ring o' foam around my beer.

Smell- A comforting mix of fresh baked bread mixed with that same bread toasted right before your eyes and nose.

Taste- Tastes just like the smell except. The only difference being that if their wasn't a slight metallic finish, the taste section of this review would receive a "5".

Mouthfeel- Bready, warm and very comforting. Felt good to drink trhis beer right after work.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2006 03:06:24 | More by scruffwhor

ZAP

Minnesota

3.85/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A pretty nice Octoberfest...soft toasty nose...taste is initially slick and sweetish with a small spicy hop accent...toasted grains emerge after that...Mouthfeel gives me a somewhat sticky, sweet, syrupy texture...overall I think this is pretty good, but I have had several better (Summit, Hacker,Paulaner,Goose, Titletown,Capital)...better than average but not elite in my opinion..

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2002 21:26:04 | More by ZAP

dirtylou

Washington

3.93/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

16oz single from Steve's on University

appearance: a deep copper pour, a clear reddish/brown color...1/2" creamy white head with a nice linger

smell: bready, malty, yeasty! some apples and spice, maybe some cinnamon...pretty decent aromas

taste: nice and malty, sweet apples, bready, nice caramel flavors, and toffee, earthy and grassy. Overall, a pretty tasy oktoberfest. I think it's the 2nd best I have had this season, behind New Glarus Staghorn

mouthfeel: creamy turned smooth and refreshing

drinkability: easy drinking

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2005 02:18:42 | More by dirtylou

cokes

Wisconsin

4.35/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Golden-brown body with a sizable, creamy, off-white head. Retention and lacing are top notch.
Nose is slight, but pleasant, with toffee/carmel note, and some underlying grainy roastedness. Spicy hop aromas are noticed.
Buttery toffee and toasted carmel are the dominate players in the taste dept. Bready with shadowy hints of ripe fig. Tettnanger hops add some tempered spiciness, but little in the way of dryness. Malt is the showcase here. Roastedness lingers long into the finish.
Not hugely complex, but very fresh tasting.
Solid mouth feel, 2/3rds creamy, 1/3rd crisp. It adds ups.
A very nice autumnal beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2002 21:23:18 | More by cokes

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

3.85/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

16 oz bottle poured into a Sprecher nonic.
6.0% ABV, 122151007FL on shoulder.

A - Sprecher Oktoberfest pours a crystal clear ruby-highlighted copper color that's virtually inactive. The beer's dense tan head slowly dropped to a thin skim of tiny bubbles and left very little lacing to speak of.

S - When the head disappears the aroma becomes unpronounced, filled mostly by lightly toasted Vienna malts and accented by some caramel sweetness. Biscuit follows with very little hop aroma save for a touch of dirty earthiness. Upon a swirl, faint nutty and very lightly fruity aspects surface.

T - Initially sweet with Munich and caramel gooey-ness Sprecher Oktoberfest changes directions fairly quickly getting hoppier and more dry with a bit of an earthy, almost herbal kick. Dry toast and biscuit linger on the palate through the finish of this beer.

M - Sprecher Oktoberfest is a crisp yet medium-bodied lager that begins smooth and finishes a touch dry with a mild bitterness and moderate carbonation. Despite it's bitter maltiness, the balance that comes through in the flavor passing on to feel, really makes this a nice and easy-to-drink Oktoberfest!

O - Mild fruity carbonation is a hindrance to this lager, a style which should impart no yeast influence through and through, but damn if it doesn't continue to go down nicely! Sprecher Oktoberfest is a crisp and easy-drinking version of the German classic. While there are steps to take to really elevate this to something bigger, it does score with a nicely malty base and hop follow-through in the feel.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2012 23:58:33 | More by BeerFMAndy

Brent

Kentucky

4/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A very nice beer. A bit of sweetness to the malt with gentle fruit notes. Toward the middle there is a bit of white wine dryness. The finish is very clean, bordering on too clean, but there is sufficient residual bittering to balance out. Nice maltyness, while at the same time the overall character is a bit lighter and fruity than the average O-fest. Rather than being a detraction, this adds to the beer's drikability.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2003 14:50:13 | More by Brent

blackie

Virginia

4.58/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

appearance: The beer pours a 0.5" tan head that gradually falls back to leave a thin layer and a ring. The beer is medium amber-brown in color.

smell: Oh man. Big, bready caramel malts make a huge appearance on the nose with a toasted hint. Sweet and juicy aromas of sweet apple, raisin, fig, and overripe banana. Light wisps of ethanol round out the aroma along with fresh nobles. For me, very reminiscent of a doppelbock. Smells f'in great.

mouthfeel: The carbonation is a high medium, and the body a nice and full medium...quite nice.

taste: Plenty of delicous caramel and toasted malts upfront give a moderate to high sweetness to the flavor...again, almost a little doppelbock-ish. Sweet notes of light and dark fruit, including red apple and subdued date, are found. After the swallow, the flavor becomes that of crisp citrus and a moderate bitterness that cleans up the finish somewhat and lingers quite awhile with some toated malt notes. Eventually, all that is left is some caramel sweetness on the tongue.

drinkability: A very good beer that I would gladly drink a few of...though probably limited to about 4. Well balanced, well done.

Single bottle purchased in Madison and smuggled back via checked baggage

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2006 06:36:59 | More by blackie

merlin48

Kentucky

4/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Luminous copper body with a small beige head and minimal lacing. Aroma is toasty and malty with a big dose of caramel. A spicy hop note in the background. Mouth is creamy and medium bodied. Good carbonation. Taste is awash in chewy caramel, balanced by a pleasant spicy hops bitterness. A hint of red apple fruitiness adds a nice complexity. Smooth toastiness from the bready caramel maltiness is the keynote here. Very drinkable. One of the better American Oktoberfest biers.

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2006 18:15:42 | More by merlin48

KarlHungus

Minnesota

2.95/5  rDev -22.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

This beer pours a dark bronze color. The head is a quarter inch in height, and vanishes within seconds. The aroma is of caramel, with some floral notes. The taste is similar to the aroma. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with very low carbonation and a sugary texture. Overall, this beer is quite a let down. It is bland and boring, and I can't see myself drinking it again.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2010 22:31:21 | More by KarlHungus