Coney Island Freaktoberfest - Shmaltz Brewing Company

asabreed

New York

3.1/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Bomber into a pint glass.

Appearance: Blood city. I love it. Blood-white head and a blood-colored body. I feel like I'm in a horror movie. And decent head retention also.

Smell: Not much. I hope there's not real blood in this. Malts with little balance and little hops and little everything.

Taste: Malt average aromas with not much else. The folks were right. Maybe they wanted blood without much else. Caramel malts. Some semblance of balance fleetingly. And then a bit of hops. Some citrus. Maybe blood. Maybe that's the point.

Mouthfeel: Decent mouthfeel for blood city I suppose. Aside from the look this is the best aspect that it has to offer, moderately carbonated. Medium mouthfeel. Best to feel.

Drinkability: I don't think they wanted it to be this way. Glad I got a bottle. Not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2008 05:21:02 | More by asabreed

hurleymanvw

Georgia

2.7/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Apperance was great. Nice bright red color with a thin white head. I thought the glass had been fill with a Lambic.

Aroma didn't have much going on at all i could smell a hint of sweet something but i could not attach anything to it.

Taste was more of the same not much going on. After eating and the beer warming up it did get a slight hop bite and the alchol was more up front.

Mouthfeel was light with high carbonation

Overall it was a good beer to SEE and not one i would go after again.

Serving type: on-tap

09-19-2008 18:18:22 | More by hurleymanvw

MMAJYK

Georgia

3.05/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

A. Bright red in color with pink head of 1/4". Hazy. The most unique looking beer I have had in quite some time.

S. Sweet and malty, no hop profile to speak of. Maybe it because of the color, but it smells sweet of cherries.

T. Sweet and malty, but the alcohol taste overwhelms it. Lightly bitter from the hops. A little bit of a robatussin taste in there too that is a tad off putting.

M. Medium in the mouth and high carbonation.

D. Too much boozy taste but definitely a treat to try!! I definitely wouldn't seek it out, but a good experience.

Serving type: on-tap

09-19-2008 16:45:50 | More by MMAJYK

TerjUGA

Georgia

2.25/5  rDev -30.3%
look: 5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

A- beer looks awesome, very dark red with pink head! sadly enough this was probably the best thing about the beer.

S- smelled a bit sweet but pretty boring.

T- a little dry, it was almost sweet but then not, kind of artificial, finished with a metallic taste. not to much going on here.

M- Pretty thin, again the metal taste and feel, pretty boring.

D-pretty easy drink, wouldnt buy it again, maybe if i wanted to show someone the color. had much better.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2008 04:20:54 | More by TerjUGA

rajendra82

Georgia

2.9/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

The shocking red appearance was enough to make me yell "what the hell is this", but that was nothing compared to the pink foam forming above the body. Alright, now that I was done with this part of the review, I could turn off the lights so that I could get myself to drink this. The smell was not quite as weird as the looks, but the cooked vegetable matter hidden under the hops made this somewhat unappealing in that regard as well. The taste was a decent blend of hops and malts, but felt a little bland. The aftertaste was initially metallic, but improved as the beer warmed up. The beer felt pretty good in the mouth with a medium thick but sticky palette. This did not turn out to be the drain pour that I was afraid it might be, after I first laid my eyes on it.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2008 04:00:08 | More by rajendra82

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

2.75/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Okay, this beer is red and has a freakin' pink head! Not very marzen-like, but plenty freaky!

Word ahead: I glanced at the reviews before my own reviewing, something I rarely do. Doesn't look promising.

Appearance, clear, red, and pink, as previously noted.

Aroma: a little sweet, but...nothing else, really.

Tasting it:...sweet, but not from malt, I suspect. Artificial rosy-ness...Very little body. Very little substantial flavor. Incredibly boring. And artificial feeling.

I've enjoyed every Schmaltz offering yet, whether He'brew or Coney Island. This is just not good at all.

Empty. Hollow. Feeling more like a fake "alco-pop", or "malternative", than any kind of real brew. If they intended on a "Freak" Oktoberfest, they succeeded, but in entirely the wrong way.

Where did they go wrong? Maybe in adding artificial color and flavor. Maybe in not having an actual, full-bodied marzen underneath the freaky trappings.
It makes me feel dumb for having drunk it, let alone paying $6 for the bottle. How about putting a real beer in here, fellas?

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2008 08:13:54 | More by feloniousmonk

kkipple

South Carolina

2.08/5  rDev -35.6%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

My friend yelled and stepped back upon seeing this Icee-red beer splash into his glass. I chuckled, but upon further inspection became more than a little disturbed. This beer looks like cherry Kool-Aid, Hi-C punch and every other artificial red-dye drink you quaffed as a hyperactive child. There is NO indication on the bottle that you're buying something so blatantly dyed. Reinheitsgebot, my buttocks! In sum: this is fake, bright red fizzy beer that has no reason to be.

Smells like... well, not a whole lot. Vague bitter hops, not citrusy or piny, just bitter. Boring and lifeless as the Dead Sea.

Even closing your eyes as you drink this crap doesn't help; this is flat-out awful. Thin, watery and bitter with an absolutely uninteresting, timid malt profile -- is this some sort of Yiddish joke on us Gents? By the rod of Moses, what is going on here? Shmaltz is capable of making good beer (Lenny's, etc) but this is an embarrassment.

Mouthfeel -- oh, why bother? You don't want this beer any more than I did. It's a gimmick beer that fails miserably.

I honestly think Shmaltz had a batch fail on 'em and rather than dump it, they simply dyed it red and shuffled it out the door. Shameful.

Note to Shmaltz brewers: If you're going to make an off the wall red-40 beer, at least make something worth drinking. Dank!

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2008 16:02:56 | More by kkipple

phisig137

Virginia

1.48/5  rDev -54.2%
look: 1 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

A- Bomber pours into my pint glass a deep red, with a one finger bright pink head. Poor retention, no lace. Looks like mildly carbonated Kool-aid. Why?

S- Not a whole lot going on here. Zero hop presence, and only a faint whiff of stale malt. Again, disappointing.

T- Much like the aroma... not much going on. Thin and insipid in the beginning and middle. Finish is harsh, metallic, and an odd chemical flavor as well. Its almost like all you can taste are the defects.

M- thin, under carbonated, boring.

D- I'm about half way through my first glass, and I think the rest might be a drain pour.

Extraordinarily disappointing beer from a brewery that usually produces extremely good seasonal and anniversary beers. If their other beers weren't so good, I'd expect this. But this is an abomination compared to everything else they make. I want my $4.99 back.

Listen up Shmaltz... the next time I see a beer this color from you, it had better be from the pomegranates . So disappointed...

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2008 23:53:57 | More by phisig137

bashiba

Iowa

2.1/5  rDev -35%
look: 1 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

Poured a strange fake red color with a bright pink head. Looks fake and terrible. Fruit Punch like.

The nose has just a touch of toasted malt with a hint of floral hops.

The taste is very one dimensional has a light bit toasted malt, but then is quickly taken over by a strong coppery bitterness that lingers on and on and covers all the other flavors up.

Mouthfeel is oily and coating leaving the unpleasant flavor soaking into your tongue.

Not good, I would pass on this with the highlight being the nifty label.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2008 21:52:12 | More by bashiba

chemmie

Florida

2.93/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Whew! Some harsh reviews so far.

I had mine in a bottle poured into a snifter.

Freaktoberfest... Just from the name, you know this is going to be a wierd one. It pours a crystal clear redish/orange color. I would suppose food coloring was used to get this color. I actually like it. The bottle labeling lets you know to expect something freaky, and it delivers with the color. Not much head on it and it is gone quickly.

The smell is of a little hops, a little malt and just a little bit of skunk.

The taste reminds me a lot of a Helles style. A lot of the Euro-pilsner flavor in this one. A lot of malt in there and a nice kick of bitterness at the end. Again, just a little of the skunk in there, reminding me of Europe.

Overall, I'm not a big fan of European Pilsners and this has a lot of the same taste features. It isn't bad as the other reviewers suggest. Even though I don't really like the style, the bitterness at the end is enjoyable. I'm going to buy a couple more bottles and give it a couple more trys.

Not bad. I'll try it again and I praise the Shmaltz guys for trying something new with the color.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2008 12:16:03 | More by chemmie

gonzo46and2

Florida

1.8/5  rDev -44.3%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Pours a fruit punchy red with a pink head. Not at all a long lasting head.

Smell isn't what you'd expect for the appearance or the style of beer it is. I get a not so special pale ale aroma of dust, funk, dark malt and hops. Gets a bit medicinal as well.

Taste is a bit bitter with a hop profile a bit of malt sweetness. Gets to an unpleasant bitter towards the end.

Mouthfeel is thick and has medium carbonation. Long bitter finish.

Drinkability. Tough to call. This may go down the drain. I have a 1pt 6oz bottle only a quarter the way down.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2008 04:12:26 | More by gonzo46and2

BBM

New York

2.8/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

I usually enjoy the Coney Island beers, but this one was a bit too weird for me. For one, it's a reddish-pink with a pink head. I found myself asking "why?" more than "how?". It throws off your sensibilities. In my humble opinion, if it ain't a lambic, it shouldn't be red or pink. But I digress.

The nose is slightly malty with a burnt bread quality and some bitter hops... odd but not entirely enjoyable. The taste is a bit more of that. Really burnt malt flavor mixed with a hop bitterness that does little to give the beer dimension. It's certainly drinkable, just unremarkable. On one hand I enjoyed the fact it was unique and couldn't be pigeonholed into a genre. On the other hand, it wasn't really great in any regard. Mouthfeel is somewhat full and mildly carbonated. I was done after one with no desire to go back.

B+ for originality, C for execution.

Serving type: on-tap

09-09-2008 03:54:52 | More by BBM

shbobdb

Indiana

2.8/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

I had just finished some Ayinger Maerzen and I figured, why not give the Freaktoberfest a try? Boy does this beer fail at being a maerzen, or even a mocktoberfest.

The beer pours a deep, bad lipstick red. This is a strange color for a beer, and the fact that the head is also an unnatural light pink suggests that perhaps a dye was used.

The smell and taste aren't bad, but they have about as much to do with "Oktoberfest" as my kittens' litter box. The smell has a light graininess to it and there is a little bit of citrus from pacific northwest hops.

The taste follows that initial impression. There is a nice toffee presence from the two-row pale malt, some biscuit malt, and maybe a darker crystal malt. The American hops are present, but restrained. There really is a nice toasted biscuit flavor to it. Then the finish is sort of a mess. I'm not sure what is wrong with it, precisely. It is somewhat chalky, mixed with lemon and pineapple, and another charactertistic that I really can't identify but is always present when I drink cheap beers.

Speaking of cheap beers, you know what? This beer actually really reminds me of Leinie's Red. Now, given proper circumstances, I am confident that I could tell those beers apart in a blind tasting, but if I were in, say, a smokey tavern playing pool with some buddies and they switched one for the other . . . I don't really think I'd notice. It tastes like a bargin bin beer. A good bargin bin beer, but a bargin bin beer. Big letdown, especially since I thought some other members of the Coney Island series were quite good.

I dunno, if I approached it as "any beer" would I be as harsh? Probably, actually. But especially if it is trying to claim to be an Oktoberfest style beer, and the name does make that claim. So the drinker is let down on two accounts: 1) it is an average-at-best beer and 2) it most certainly isn't a maerzen.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2008 23:13:52 | More by shbobdb