Festbier - Victory Brewing Company

theotherone87

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I purchased a case of this for my pittsburgh friends..

A-Pours a nice caramel color, with a frothy head with a strong pour.. It is easily seen thru

s- Not a strong hoppy beer, as it is a marzen, smells of some breads maybe ,and maybe some german hops

t- the taste is the best part, it is a nice easily drinkable beer for october and or a nice nite slash tailgating beer.

m-nice light carbonation,

o- I enjoy many of victories beers, and this one does fail.. I bought a case for my friends and I know they will enjoy this victory

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2011 00:24:57 | More by theotherone87

TapTitan

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I was going to grab a keg of Sam's Octoberfest but they were out and this is I was recommended, good choice! Copper color with an amazing head, extremely flavorful October beer that had a wonderful malty finish, bravo to Victory on this amazing October beer which made me come back for multiple rounds!

Serving type: on-tap

10-02-2010 12:47:37 | More by TapTitan

lindenboy

Indiana

3.15/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

German malts do come through to me on this. Pilsener as a major part of the base. Vienna possibly? Munich for sure.

Clean beer, smooth, with slight bitterness. I'm just looking for more in an Octoberfest. I can't pinpoint what "festbier" style IS exactly, but I certainly expected this to be maltier. Period. It's got good flavor and complexity, but all in all it's a bit on the thin side. I'm more the fan for maltier, sweet Oktoberfests style beers. I would keep that simple distinction in mind.

Drinkable for a few pints, sure, but Sessionable? At 5.6% I'm not so sure that is the right description.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2008 04:28:02 | More by lindenboy

BrewMasterG

Rhode Island

4.13/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Crystal clear orange-gold. Nice whiteish cream-colored head from a gentlish pour. Nearly disappears after 3-4 minutes, but leaves the beer covered a bit longer.

Smell: Soft, sweet-bread notes with hints of Nilla Wafer. Just mild enough to know something good is coming.

Taste: Very slight, pleasant toastiness with a nice mild malty presence. Mild sweetness with well-balanced hop bitterness (for the American version). Slightly overhopped from a classic German perspective - but not at all aggressive. No hop flavor or aroma.

Mouthfeel: Moderate carbonation and an excellent balance between dry and sweet. Just about right for the style.

Serving type: 12oz bottle purchased non-refrigerated on 12/7/2009

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2009 22:42:50 | More by BrewMasterG

rdacey

Connecticut

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

Aroma: sweet, toasty malts, slightly vegetal in aroma which fades to a complex malt/medicinal, solvently aroma

Appearance: Amber/red color; thin/off-white head dissipates quickly,

Flavor: complex, but balanced more towards bitterness than malts for the style. Tastes slightly woody/toasty with german noble hop presence

Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium bodied, medium to low carbonation. Although a decotion mash is used, I don't pick up on the rich complex malt character, but finish is slightly sweet

Overall: very smooth and drinkable, but for a decotion mash being used would have liked to see a more assertive malt background and less bitterness

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2012 03:02:44 | More by rdacey

Fredk24

Massachusetts

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

I snagged a forlorn bottle of this beer from my local package store's shelf a week ago, and I'm just getting to it. Sadly there is no production or freshness date on the bottle.

Upon pouring, the beer has a nice copper color to it, with a decent, quickly dissipating head.

The smell is unobtrusive, if anything there is a smell of slightly sour bread.

Decent maltiness, thin-to-medium body. Finishes clean.

I prefer Harpoon Octoberfest to this one because it has a deeper malt flavor. I'll probably give this another try next October.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2009 23:37:04 | More by Fredk24

rushpatrick

Virginia

2.13/5  rDev -42.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

having enjoyed many victory beers in the past and many more oktoberfests, this beer proved to be a great dissapointment. The taste reminds me of a skunky cheap domestic lager. i would recomend not drinking this beer. I wrote the manufacturer an email as i was so offended by the taste and quality of this product.
it contained very to little head in a pour from bottle to tulip glass, color was a slight copper-amber tone. little to no taste but that of skunk. not much aftertaste, allowing for the posibilty to finish a glass; give a six-pack a few days. not recommended.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2008 03:13:43 | More by rushpatrick

Joker2008

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

a: Copper in Color, typical thin Octoberfest head

s: Malts

t: Malty but not too sweet. A Little spice on the back end. mmm!.

m: medium carbonation, very smooth nicee finish

d: very drinkable. Nice balance of flavors and body

Overall:
This one of my favorites in style. A very tasty drinkable beer.

Everything I expect from an Octoberfest

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2008 02:46:22 | More by Joker2008

MrSoto

Puerto Rico

3.58/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The head is a bit off-white it is thin and dissipates very quickly leaving just a tiny layer of bubbles on top. The color was an amber/dark orange color with lighter orange hues. The mouth-feel was medium, you can taste the sweet and bready maltiness. Inside the mouth it feels kind of like a shortbread cookie. The aroma and the taste is quite alike. You can feel a bit of earthy hops, not citrusy of piney.
I haven’t had a lot of Oktoberfest style beers but it’s pretty good. Not really something I would drink a lot of.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2011 00:41:16 | More by MrSoto

Hansford

Pennsylvania

4.51/5  rDev +20.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a bottle into a Guiness glass.

A: Beautiful shade of brownish red/copper. Not very dark, but you know that you are going to get a full taste. Thin head, off-white.

S: Malts, malts, malts. Faint scent of hops, but this thing is all malts on the nose.

T: You get a ton of sweet malts. As Victory always does, the malt is very well-balanced with a touch of hops. Perhaps a little dried fruit as well. Fantastic flavor here.

M: Unlike a lot of "Oktoberfest" beers, this is pretty crisp.

Overall, this is definitely one of my top 3 favorite beers out there, if not my favorite. I found this bottle in the basement, thinking that all of them from the case bought in September's case were gone. What a surprise! But it's always available at the brewery, thank god.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2013 22:33:42 | More by Hansford

imabluehen

Massachusetts

5/5  rDev +34%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

This is by far one of my favorite brews. I am partial to PA microbrews since I grew up in the Philly metro area. However, now that I live in New England I patiently wait until I can make a trip home so I can have Victory Festbier on tap at the brewery.

It's a very malty brew, but has great flavor to it. It pairs well with Victory's signature Bavarian style pretzel, if you are lucky enough to be enjoying it at the brewery.

I stumbled upon a random 6-pack of this beer in April, against my better judgement (knowing it had probably been sitting on the shelf since the fall) I bought it anyway. Good surprise is that it was still good!!

I will stock up on the beer every fall, as Oktoberfests tend to be my favorite style!

Serving type: bottle

06-08-2011 02:56:37 | More by imabluehen

jdlivezey

Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev +18.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

This is a very drinkable Octoberfest. Very smooth, with a clean finish. From a lager perspective, I really like it. I was expecting a different finish, thinking there would be more bite at the end. Nothing like that at all...very smooth. This is a beer that should be available all year long.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2009 12:48:11 | More by jdlivezey