Festbier - Victory Brewing Company

goodbyeohio

Oregon

4.53/5  rDev +21.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

bb 12/12/05

deep orange color, thin stream of lively carbonation and a respectable head of smooth velvet and coarse bubbles. solid lacing. aroma screams lager yeast with a perfectly subtle malt richness and the faintest hint of hops. so drinkable and refreshing. light black pepper notes and a crisp autumn malt sweetness are detectable.. full bodied but light in terms of gravity, this beer goes down in big gulps. so fresh... unbelievable. carbonation, freshness, hop spice and malt smokiness add a faux-sense of fall spice... when in reality, this is nothing more than a well crafted, four ingredient beer. mild hint of alcohol in the finish is the only negative i can see here. difficult beer to get right- bill and ron have done it.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2005 04:48:23 | More by goodbyeohio

jaluria

Connecticut

3.73/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Copper colored brew with an off-white colored head. Not much retention of the head nor much lacing. Relatively transparent considering the color. I can't really detect anything with my nose. I smell malt and some dried fruit, but it's faint. The taste is a good representation of the style; smooth and refreshing without being overly sweet or bitter. A balanced beer that lacks both complexity and any distinct features. Overall an enjoyable beer during Oktoberfest, but not one that I would want to have often throughout the year.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2005 14:09:22 | More by jaluria

Gaisgeil

Michigan

3.95/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

A very good example of the style, very flavorful yet light and refreshing making it easily sessionable.

Pours a medium clear amber in color with a wispy white head that had a nice creamy crown that retained throughout. Very malty in the nose, slightly nutty, some hop presence, but not very much. Taste is quite malty, sweet but with a good bitterness background to it to even out the whole affair. I could drink a lot of this.

Slàinte!

Serving type: bottle

09-27-2005 08:55:59 | More by Gaisgeil

Higravity

Michigan

3.68/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A decent Octoberfest beir from one of my favorite breweries. It had a good fall oragne color with a clean white head that gives lacing in the glass. The smell is clean muted heavy malt and a bit of spciy acidic hops. It has the traditional Marzen taste that I have come to expect of these beers, but the malt seems weak a little. Overall it is a good clean beer that can be enjoy enmass and would be a solid session beir all session.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2005 14:31:07 | More by Higravity

Mitchster

Michigan

3.88/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Sparkingly clear dense copper, forming a modest off-white head with average retention and sparse lacing. Carbonation is moderate. The aroma is nothing to write home about...rather dull with a few intermittent notes of caramel and cheap Wisconsin, aka A.Schell, amber lager. Though not quite as bad, it's a relatively clean ferment and doesn't offend, yet doesn't stick out either. The flavor is soft and mild with a very nice mild toasty nuttiness and a mild, rounded malt body. Hops are delicately in balance here and tend to be a little on the spicier side towards the finish. The mouthfeel is exceedingly soft throughout the middle and ends with a little roasted grain tannin astringency. Caramel is never appreciated, thank god. Oddly enough, I pick up freshly tilled soil and forest mushroom in the aftertaste.

A very good interpretation of the style. Although the aroma had me second guessing this one, I was pleasantly surprised with the taste and enjoy it as far as Oktoberfest's go (typically not my bag).

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2005 23:15:15 | More by Mitchster

lackenhauser

Maryland

3.65/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Very nice though somewhat on the darker side amber color. Not a lot of head. Big malty and sweet aroma. Malt dominates the flavor with a fair amount of sweetness. Low bitterness. Nice,creamy mouthfeel. Not to sure if this is to style but its very smooth and full. Good drinkability-a damn good lager. A bit heftier then an average fest beer but damn enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2005 01:27:18 | More by lackenhauser

whartontallboy

New York

3.55/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pours out a clear copper color with a on-finger tan head that fades somewhat speedily. Not a lot of carbonation.

Nose is all malt, with a bit of an earthy/nutty tone that blends nicely with a baked-bread/biscuity scent. The label speaks of some hop presence, but I'm not sniffing it.

Flavor is predominantly biscuity malts with a light nuttiness that keeps coming through pretty clearly. On the back end there's a little sweet, almost minty flavor. Kind of dry on the finish.

Big qualm is that the mouthfeel is a bit thin for all the malt in there. It almost comes off a bit watery, and it kind of distracts me.

Overall: Not a great O-fest, definitely not my favorite Victory, but not a bad example to sneak in a mixed sixer of O-fests.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2005 02:39:05 | More by whartontallboy

GnomeKing

Pennsylvania

2.85/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I'm surprised how thick and heavy this is. The moutfeel is surprisingly creamy, and the beer goes down heavy. This is not what I wanted out of a marzen. The taste is grainy, with a little hops and a little maltiness. There's not much to say. It goes down hard, but the taste isn't complex enough or stron enough to explain why it goes down that way. Eh, Oktoberfest only comes once a year.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2005 03:42:35 | More by GnomeKing

NiceGuyMike

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

This beer has a dark amber color with not much head. It tries to lace, but it doesn't last. Smells of floral hops and a bit of cardboard. Has some hoppy bitterness and malts. Finishes very dry with a tad bit of biscut flavor. Medium mouth feel with very light carbonation.

Overall not much of a beer. Seems to be missing something. Maybe some more maltiness.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2005 00:12:40 | More by NiceGuyMike

JackStraw22

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Beer pours a crystal clear amber body, very nice to look at. About an inch of off-white head. Retention wasn't great.

Smell: Nice nutty aroma, malty but not sweet. Slightly spicy.

Taste/feel: Clean malty taste at first. Crisp mouthfeel and a light clean bitterness. There's a big nutty/cheesey aftertaste that gets addictive the more I drink.

Good Oktoberfest beer, certainly worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2005 01:20:09 | More by JackStraw22

cubedbee

Maryland

3.98/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a clear bright copper with a finger of off-white head that quickly fades to a ring. Smell is a slightly roasted malt with a touch of nuttiness and maybe some cinammon. Taste is a big doughy malt extravaganza, laced with caramel and nuts, with a noticeable amount of flowery hops hitting at the end of a sip and lingering into the aftertaste. Medium bodied with a very smooth mouthfeel, this is a pleasure to drink. I've really been looking forward to Oktoberfest beers, and this one really hits the spot. I will be buying again this season.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2005 22:48:00 | More by cubedbee

tgbljb

Pennsylvania

3.65/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

poured a clear deep amber color with creamy white head. Smell is nutty, malty, and bread-like. Taste follows through with a robust maltiness and toatsed nutts. Finishes big and malty with little hops present. A really good drinking session beer that I look forward to each year.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2005 01:18:22 | More by tgbljb

scooter231

New York

3.68/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours an amber/copperish color with a good amount of frothy white head. Bubbles throughout. Smell is sweet, very herbaly- also getting touches of cinnamon every now and then. Malty.

Taste reminds me a lot of lemon iced tea. As I'm not a fan of iced tea, this kind of kills something for me a little bit. However, the hints of cinnamon and the herbalness balances things out for me. Maltyness is nice, too.

Mouthfeel is bubbley, smooth, light. Drinkability is pretty decent on this guy, though maltyness could get to be too much after a few. Still, I'd drink this again.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2005 18:43:33 | More by scooter231

ommegangpbr

New York

3.73/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Malt malt malty malt malt malt.
Drink by 12/31/04 so this wasn't as fresh as could be but didn't strike me as spoiled or skunked.
Did I mention malt?
Very malty. All of Germany would be proud.
Sweet, rich and smooth as I know Oktoberfest braus to be.
The mouthfeel is extra smooth as far as I can tell which was quite a pleasure to experience.
The malty sweetness takes a bit away from taste and drinkability in mine scoring but I could imagine this being in my fridge again.

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2005 01:40:52 | More by ommegangpbr

HappyHourHero

Indiana

3.4/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Biting, almost skunky hop aroma. Small, oatmeal colored head. Slightly sweet malt and biscuity flavors. Spicy hop flavors towards the middle. Transparent, light orange colored beer.Solid body, not too thick, very smooth and easy drinking. Solid flavor and feel, not much to look at and the aroma, while not bad, was not very appealing.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2005 17:20:02 | More by HappyHourHero

JackTheRipper

Pennsylvania

4.7/5  rDev +26%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A: Pours a clear amber color. Head of about 1". Nice looking bubbles rising.

S: Nice toasty malt aroma. No real hop smells.

T: Incredible. Nice sweet malty flavor up front, just enough bitterness to balance things out perfectly. Toasty bread with just a hint of a mild peppery spice. Aftertaste is a wonderfully lingering sweetness.

M: Medium body. CO2 is spot on and the alcohol, while relatively low, gives a nice warmth.

D&N: I'm sitting here in front of my computer trying to finish this review before I finish this beer. Unbelievably drinkable, the tastes are just right, it feels good. The only faults I could spot were a bit of a weaker aroma than I was expecting, probably my fault for waiting so long to drink this. This is probably the best Marzen I've ever had.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2005 16:28:38 | More by JackTheRipper

budsboy

Ohio

3.6/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours clear and orange with a frothy white head that takes off in a hurry.

Smell is fruity and malty, somewhat sweet and thick. I'm a little turned off, but only a little.

Taste comes in like a fruit basket. Hints of banana, apricot, berry mix with carmel malt and a smack of hop bitterness at the finish. Satisfying.

Smooth, creamy mouthfeel, medium bodied and finishing cleanly.

Easy to drink. Enjoyable enough but not among the many Victory brews I put at the top of the heap.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2005 18:59:42 | More by budsboy

donnebaby

North Carolina

3.93/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Rich color, golden orange in hue, still and clear. Thick cream seeps up tightly and falls slowly. Great-looking Octoberfest. Nose is a little spicy and has some toasted cereals, pretty normal for the style.

Taste is full-mouth spiciness, like pine needle spiciness, edged with alcohol and sharp hops. Malts are sweet toasted cereals and corn, very flavorful, showing an aftertaste of toasted grain as well. Ample carbonation manages somehow to not be sharp at all. Refreshing and drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2004 16:33:52 | More by donnebaby

malthead

California

4.33/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

nice amber color, big head... smells very clean - a lot of malt, some nice german hops... tastes very nice. a little nuts, nothing overly complex, but a very solid caramel maltiness with a good hop balance. mouthfeel is light, but that's what i'm looking in an octoberfest... great drinkability.
it's not perfect, but especially fresh, this is an awesome session beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2004 23:28:29 | More by malthead

meathookjones

Virginia

3.95/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This appeared the typical clear deep orange with good-sized white fluffy head on top. Decent lacing and head retention. Aroma was of sweet malt with a bit of caramel and breadiness and a touch of hops. Biscuity malt starts of the flavor with a bit of sweetness as well. Notes of grian and earthy hops were also in the background. Mouthfeel is about average here with nothing really standing out. Drinkability is good, this is a bit more flavorful than most O-fests and goes down easy.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2004 16:01:35 | More by meathookjones

SheepNutz

Kentucky

3.83/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

12oz. bottle poured into a tulip-style glass. It pours a slightly hazy medium orange color with two fingers of head. There is a little bit of lacing. The smell is light and malty, with some caramel and a bit of hops. Nicely balanced, just a touch more on the malty side like it should be for this style. The taste is fairly malty as well. Some toasted malt and caramel. Hints of toffee and hops linger on the finish. The body is just a little bit light. The drinkability is great though. A decent Marzen.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2004 17:01:09 | More by SheepNutz

wailingwench

New Mexico

4.58/5  rDev +22.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Eye Candy: Dark transparent copper, pours with a fizzy white 1 finger head.

Aroma: Toasted malt character. Slight nuttiness. Clean and balanced.

Tongueland: Well balanced beer, toasted malts that finish with a nutty finish. Light to medium m/f.

Bender Factor: Adheres to the O-fest style.Perfect to guidelines. Similar to Otter Creek without the metallic afttertaste.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2004 06:46:40 | More by wailingwench

blitheringidiot

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Label Lore:Two simply drawn dudes stirring a vat. Best by 1/17/05 print. Brief write up about Fest being an Oktoberfest style. 12 oz browner.

Crystal clear filtered coppery orange int me DFH pint with a ½” of tight cake like head cap that ain’t going nowheres. A few scant bubbles make a break for it.

Smooth malty Oktoberfest aroma, allright. Spicy pumpkin pie and cinnamon notes.

First Swigs: Buttery smooth easy malts. Dark cake like fresh griddle pancakes. A twinge metallic. Lingering buttered wheat bread aftertaste. Powdery grains are abundant.

Just a medium body and plenty of soft carbonation.

Last Swigs: Almost a pumpkin ale, yet it’s a Fest lager. Hmmm…Perfect for today, grey and rainy.

Beer is good. Happy beering.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2004 05:21:38 | More by blitheringidiot

Onceeven

New York

3.43/5  rDev -8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Probably my last Oktoberfest for the year, and not a bad one to finish off the batch.
Poured a crystal clear amber followed by a small head of foam, and spotty lacing. This one smells different from the rest, and I'm not sure if thats good or bad. It's a sweet smell that smells like the ripe grapes that used to grow on my neighbor's vine. Never smelled anything like it in a beer before. It's echoed in the taste too, a bit tart.
It's not a bad beer, the maltiness still pulls through, with almost a bit of nuttiness. Maybe Victory was trying something a bit different with this one.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2004 05:09:47 | More by Onceeven

WesWes

New York

3.33/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours a dark gold/amber color with a thin offwhite head that fades to spotty lacing. The aroma is decent. It has a musty and slightly malty scent that is dry and nutty. The taste is decent also. It has a complex, but not very good flavor. It is slightly malty with nutty hints and a dry lager yeast finish. It has a breadlike quality that detracts from the taste. There are hops in the aftertaste, but they are weak. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a medium bodied beer with good carbonation. This is an average Festbier. It tries to be unique and it succeeds. It is uniquely average.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2004 00:49:45 | More by WesWes