Okto Braü - Blue Hills Brewery

Jason

Massachusetts

2.38/5  rDev -27.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

22oz brown bomber with no freshness date.

LOOK: Hazed orange amber

SMELL: Sweet-tart, toasted grain, very biscuity, bready, floral, fruity

TASTE: Smooth, slick, medium body, fermentation twang, toasty, biscuity, husky, dust malt, herbal, spicy, yeasty

A ridiculously narrow style (Marzen) when it comes to guidelines, first thing I always look for is if the beer is clean or not. Second is the malt profile and hops are last but not least. unfortunately for Blue Hills this is not clean, the malt profile is way out of whack and the hops are lost. Perhaps they meant to go down this road but it is not the road of a true Marzen.

Serving type: bottle

10-11-2011 01:40:33 | More by Jason

DBosco

Massachusetts

3.25/5  rDev -1.5%

05-18-2013 07:21:57 | More by DBosco

MAbeerNE1

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -9.1%

03-14-2013 13:32:40 | More by MAbeerNE1

hockeyfighter19

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +21.2%

11-10-2012 21:42:30 | More by hockeyfighter19

BanrionMAB

3.75/5  rDev +13.6%

11-07-2012 00:31:56 | More by BanrionMAB

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.4/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Starts with a large bubbled head. It settles into a single layer of minute bubbles. Some spots remain on the glass. The liquid is clear with a deep amber color

Some toastiness to the aroma. I also detect a beef stew aspect to the smell.

Malty with a touch of caramelized sugar. Thin bodied with a low level of carbonation--in a word, watery. Light hop finish.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2012 22:47:38 | More by smcolw

Massbmx

Massachusetts

2.25/5  rDev -31.8%

09-28-2012 23:39:47 | More by Massbmx

milkbone_underwear

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -9.1%

09-08-2012 20:43:41 | More by milkbone_underwear

noyellowfizzbeer

Massachusetts

2.5/5  rDev -24.2%

12-31-2011 17:30:25 | More by noyellowfizzbeer

BillDon

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -9.1%

12-24-2011 21:32:45 | More by BillDon

codon2004

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +21.2%

11-29-2011 18:54:20 | More by codon2004

ZacharyJ

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -9.1%

11-24-2011 03:10:08 | More by ZacharyJ

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.5/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 16oz bottle into a mug glass.

A: The beer is a deep orange/amber color, with a large off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thin on the glass.

S: The aroma contains fruit, caramelized malts, lager yeast and some hops.

T: The taste starts out sweet with flavors of caramel and fruit followed by a lot of breadiness from lager yeast and a hearty but not too heavy malt character. The hops presence is decent for the style and brings a little bit of balance. The after-taste is sweet.

M: Crisp and a little smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: A little tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, mild kick, decent representation of style, it’s a decent beer but there are definitely several other beers in the style that I would choose first.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2011 03:21:14 | More by TheManiacalOne

jkoravos

Massachusetts

1.25/5  rDev -62.1%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

I could go into all the details but this beer has the classic signs of an infected batch and it appears others have had the same impression. Hopefully this is an anomaly and not a sign of things to come from Blue Hills, as it speaks very poorly of their quality control to let this on the market. I've made similar tasting batches in my homebrewery and they ended up down the drain, just as this one did.

I could see some potential behind the lactic twang in the way of malt profile, but it's really tough to see exactly what they were going for.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2011 19:57:22 | More by jkoravos

rebelthrower

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

22oz bottle

A - Orangy/brown in color and a bit hazy. Over an inch of head, a bit off white. No lacing. Head disappeared quickly.

S - A bit bready, sweet, a bit of malt and grains.

T - A bit of caramel malts, toasty and a bit of yeast.

M - Medium body, a bit over carbonated, smooth, chewy/creamy

D - Very drinkable, abv not to high. Average over all beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2011 02:13:16 | More by rebelthrower

DirtyPenny

Massachusetts

3.05/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Had on tap at Cibo Matto in Mansfield Mass, which had a surprisingly good craft beer selection.

A: Orangey brown, or browny orange. Pour had 1-finger of off-white head that fizzed out really fast.

S: Didn't get much on the nose but a leafy, slightly vegetal scent

T: Pretty typical caramel malts that move into an odd, sour, almost pickled flavor. I'm seeing a lot of other reviews that describe this beer as having a fruity or citrus taste, but it was oddly dill-like, in my opinion. Maybe something from lunch interfered? But it seemed like every sip had that same flavor regardless of what I was eating at the time.

M: Light-medium and kinda creamy.

O: Eh. Not bad but there are a lot of better Oktoberfest beers out there.

Serving type: on-tap

10-29-2011 19:21:37 | More by DirtyPenny

donkeyrunner

Massachusetts

2.05/5  rDev -37.9%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Bright amber to deep pumpkin color. Translucent. Head is quick to skim into a pangea-like mass that floats in the glass center. Dainty little lace specks.

A very familiar yet hard to discern aroma...vegetal and off putting like when the dishwasher needs to be run...but with a sweeter orange zinger tea. Ah yes, teryaki. I dare you do sniff this beer and not think it smells exactly like teryaki. Good for chicken, bad for beer.

Vienna and munich come across as a toasty tangerine and apricot jelly sweetness. Much too sweet and fruity IMO.

It may make a good marinade?

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2011 16:03:50 | More by donkeyrunner

jbertsch

Massachusetts

2.03/5  rDev -38.5%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

Bomber poured into a tulip.

Appears dark copper with almost no head. What little head forms disappears quickly. No lacing. The picture on the bottle is of a cartoon mug OVERFLOWING with huge frothy, foamy goodness….the complete opposite of what this beer does. Dissapointing.

Aroma gives off caramel, bread, and fruitiness.

Caramel comes through most on the tongue. But then it gets weird. Suprisingly there’s a very noticeable note of citrus (lemon, apricot), but it's not from the hops. And then, I notice a note of chocolate creaminess which throws me. Hops aren’t noticeable.

The carbonation is terrible. Flat, lifeless, albeit creamy.

I don’t quite get some of the praise this one gets. It’s all over the place, and lackluster. It drinks like a low ABV session brew though it's 5.8%. It’s not a traditional marzen. If BHB is trying to take a creative interpretation on the style, fine, but it doesn’t work for me at all.

I can't think of one marzen I like less than this.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2011 03:11:50 | More by jbertsch

johnnnniee

New Hampshire

3.43/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a slightly cloudy deep copper color with a decent beige head that slowly dissipates to nothing. Smells of caramel and hints of chocolate, malty and bready with an earthy edge from the hops. Taste is bready and slightly fruity. Earthy hops cut through the malty sweetness even a little too much. Slight chocolate and caramel seem a bit out of place. Medium body with a crisp carbonation and an almost tart mouthfeel. Decent enough brew, but nothing at all like the real deal's from Germany. That aromatic malt and melanoid are sadly lacking in this example.

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2011 00:49:50 | More by johnnnniee

DrinkingDrake

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +28.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Amber orange color with a thick foamy head. Head vanishes pretty fast and leaves a thin amount of lacing. Large malt nose. Sweet caramel and roasted grains. Smells like fresh grain steeping in the mash. Rich creamy body. A lot of the that caramel, fresh grain/bready malt. Buttery smooth finish that is refreshing and light drinking for such a large malt body. Great Oktoberfest drinking beer.

Serving type: on-tap

09-25-2011 18:59:11 | More by DrinkingDrake

MoreThanWine

Massachusetts

3.43/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured a reluctant and meager 1/16" white head. Smells mildly of malt, not too complex. Color is like pale tea. Taste is extremely mild but has interesting hints of cocoa butter and something I can't quite put my finger on. In the Octoberfest tradition this weak mild beer would be easy to drink a whole lot of. My real complaints were a) it's so mild, and b) it's almost totally flat, which granted might be a problem with just my sample, but then again it's the right time of year and I live near the city where they brewed this, so I'm not letting them off the hook for it.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2011 08:43:09 | More by MoreThanWine

cbeer88

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +32.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Reviewed directly from 22oz bomber, but I also had a couple of glasses from a growler just a few days ago.

Poured into 20oz imperial nonic glass.

Appearance: Hard pour down center fills glass with about a finger of thin white head. Gorgeous amber to light orange color. Pretty and nice thin lacing as the beer goes down. The head is a little lacking but otherwise this beer looks great.

Smell: Malty, bread, with a twinge of hops. There are some other sweet-ish stuff going on too, but I'm having trouble putting my finger on it. Quite nice.

Taste: Awesome. Oktoberfests are great because they're all over the place, yet somehow manage to all have a similar "Oktoberfest" flavor to them. This is another one that hits the flavor mark, but doesn't taste like any other Marzens. Malts, earth, nut, buttery, maple, sweet. All blended into a nice crisp lager.

Mouthfeel: Medium carbed, nice and smooth body. Nothing to complain about here.

Drinkability: Unlimited. It goes down easy, it's delicious, the ABV isn't too high, it's delicious, it's a nice unique flavor, and it's delicious.

Overall: I love this beer, and it's the best thing from Blue Hills. They're awesome with the malt (Okto, Dunkel), so I don't know why they focus so much on the hops with most of their lineup. Great beer, and for $3 a bomber at the brewery it's a bargain. For reference, there are no notable significant differences between the bottle version and the growler.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2011 01:14:45 | More by cbeer88

jondeelee

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +28.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Okto Brau opens with a rich and malty nose, resplendent with aromas of fresh-baked yeasty baguettes, wet wheat fields, and sticky brown sugars, all tinged at the edges with apricot, orange, and hints of white grape.

On the tongue, the immediate flavors are sugary grains, the beer opening with a smattering of brown sugars atop cereal-and-biscuit flavors. Deeper into the mouthful a darker grain base comes through, adding earthy hints of spent grains and whole wheat bread crust, as well as shades of toasted pecan. Light fruit esters bring welcome touches of orange, apricot, and berry. The hops add a tingle of grapefruit and bitterness, and perhaps a shade of rosewater. The aftertaste is a quickly-fading continuation of the grain flavors. Mouthfeel is a silky medium, and carbonation is medium-light.

Overall, this is an excellent Marzenbier, being both delicious and refreshing, and heavy with memories of Fall. Sam Adams may have the world's best-selling Octoberfest beer, but they could take a flavor lesson or two from their Boston-area Blue Hills Brewery competitor.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2011 01:03:42 | More by jondeelee

elbobbo

Massachusetts

4.35/5  rDev +31.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Got to taste this right out of a fresh 22oz shortly after bottling (8/25/11)

This is not a typical "Oktoberfest" Marzen you'd expect. In this case, it was a welcome surprise.

The color was a nice clear copper color with an amazingly sweet & spicy aroma. The first sip is the win/lose for this and it won me over. The mouth feel was fantastic (the bottle was near room temp, on the colder side.) Nice smooth finish and an amazingly earthly and malty taste, with subtle sweetness.

While this isn't the typical "Oktoberfest" you'd expect, the lack of overabundant spices make this a perfect fall beer that could almost be session-able.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2011 15:03:38 | More by elbobbo

Duhast500

Massachusetts

4.4/5  rDev +33.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from the 22oz. bottle into a dimpled glass.

The color is a hazy golden/amber with a finger foamy white head that dissipated a bit quickly and some thin lacing left on the glass.

The smell is pretty malty at first. Some maple flavor that is coming out first with a slight oat flavor.There is also a slight noble hop presence as well.

The taste has a sweet malty flavor that is a little sugar and a little maple in flavor. It also has a nice buttery bread flavor that is really smooth also had a bit of nutty flavor as well.

The feel of this beer has a medium body and sits well in your mouth as it goes down. A smooth feeling beer, this has a nice silky feel and is a better version of the previous version of Oktoberfest beer by Blue Hills Brewery. A great fall beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2010 02:51:12 | More by Duhast500