Festbier - Victory Brewing Company

kingcrowing

Vermont

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

12oz bottle poured in a 12oz tumbler.

Pours a nice rich dark amber with a small fluffy off white head. Nose is light sweet and malty with a good rich toastiness.

Wow, this is an amazing oktoberfest, one of the best I've ever had. Rich and smooth, nice and sweet and toasty. A nice little bit of hops on the finish for an overall smooth and super drinkable brew.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2009 02:41:29 | More by kingcrowing

tzieser

Arizona

4.55/5  rDev +22%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

along with moonglow weizenbock, i'm surprised i haven't reviewed this yet. festbier and moonglow are two of my favorite autumn brews. poured into a .5l lowenbrau dimple mug.

a: thick, foamy white head over three fingers tall. head settles extremely slowly to a half-finger or so lacing. crystal clear and copporish amber in color.

s: sweet, biscuity, caramel-y malty deliciousy-ness(y). seriosuly though, bready sweet malts dominate the nose.

t: crisp, sweet and malty. this is definitely one of my favorite marzens. sweet caramel malts, with nice bready undertones with an extremely faint touch of hops that create a near perfect balanced marzenbier.

m&d: smooth mouthfeel. excellent drinkability. for me at least.

I think Victory is at the top of their game when they make German beers. Prima Pils, Festbier, Moonglow Weizenbock, are all awesome beers. Don't get me wrong, i like their other stuff too, but there's just something really special about those beers. if you blindfolded me, i'd probably think this was a Paulaner (i actually think its better, but that's the closest comparison i could get). get one.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2010 03:30:51 | More by tzieser

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

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

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

Out of three Oktoberfest's I had last night. This one was the best.

A - Poured a semi dark copper/amber color with a nice foamy white head.

S - Toasted malts, nuts, caramel. and slight bready.

T - Smooth. Started off malty and sweet, then pushed a but with some toasted almond and nut and finished creamy and caramelized. I can dig it.

M - Medium boded and full of flavor

D - I really liked this Festbier. It gave a great representation of the style and I kept the "local brewed" aspect in mind when enjoying it. If victory had this in a variety case I would not be disappointed.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2010 19:08:11 | More by DrDemento456

MiScusi

California

4.63/5  rDev +24.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Great burnt orange color, very good clarity, looks pretty lively in the glass. Foamy white head builds up and drops to a thin froth. Smell is lagerish, some subdued sweetness in there, a bit of sharp malt. Taste has a good amount of toasted malt, a nice full flavor to it. Semi-sweet ending... I could drink a lot of this beer. I think they nailed the flavor that is acceptable for Marzen's. Good mouthfeel, not too watery, not too big. One of the better Marzen's out there. Might have to take this head to head with Hacker-Pschorr's Oktoberfest.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2008 00:19:10 | More by MiScusi

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

dertyd

California

4.7/5  rDev +26%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

12 oz bottle to a pint glass

A-rusty copper with lots of bubbles little head and no laceing

S-sweet malts,figs,dried fruit

T-sweet malts,figs,grassy citruss verry well ballanced

M-nice and crisp

Overall
A verry good beer from victory they haven't done me rong yet I will drink this one again

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2013 08:30:27 | More by dertyd

BeerLover48Fan

New Jersey

4.72/5  rDev +26.5%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This one poured a very nice light orange amber with a good looking two inch plus head on the top. Ample carbonation was kept alive throughout which really gave it great retention and helped to keep the lively look of it going. A nice bit of side glass lace was apparent, but the real story here was the complete and total clarity of the color and the great hue to it overall. A very nice, classic looking lager here. I have only tried two Victory beers, Prima Pils was my first but I like Festbier a whole lot more. A great seasonal that should be a year round beer

Serving type: bottle

09-18-2007 10:40:29 | More by BeerLover48Fan

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

4.73/5  rDev +26.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

12 oz bottle poured into a Sierra Nevada imperial pint.
5.6% ABV, Enjoy by Dec 31 2012 etched lightly into shoulder.

A - Festbier pours a fire-y clear amber that parallels the trees' changing leaves; a stunning color. Dense ivory foam settles to a thin skim pretty quickly but leaves some spotty lacing left on the glass.

S - Right off the bat, Victory's Festbier is very reminiscent of the classic German lager but it is much toastier than any I've experienced. Deep and dense bready aromas stem from the Vienna malts which impart biscuit and toasted wheat bread. Munich malts add a drizzle of honey-like sweetness which nicely blankets the "bread" but this beer isn't all malt. Plenty of German noble hops finish with a follow-up of light spice and herbal notes, completing the ensemble very nicely!

T - Hefty malt really ups the ante in the flavor as it loads on the bread characteristics. Imagine for a moment, a warm loaf broken, gooey on the inside but complete with a crispy shell; that's Festbier for ya'. Chunky dense biscuit, Munich sweetness with just a touch of earthy nuttiness, and the perfect balance of hops on the finish which not only keep the beer's sweetness in check, they add a lingering herbal note which compliments while delicately contrasting the beer.

M - Full-bodied while remaining extremely drinkable, Victory's Festbier has a lush, smooth malt feel but a nice carbonation presence that livens it up. Finishing dry from toasted malt and hops alike, this perfectly balanced beer goes down incredibly well.

O - Victory Festbier might just be the ultimate Oktoberfest. Crisp and clean, it adheres to it's strict lager standards and showcases deep malt complexity while adding a simplistic but oh-so-important kiss of hops, all while remaining exceptionally drinkable, especially for it's robust body! A moment of pause to consider the skill required to brew such a balanced and immaculate beer is rewarding but equally as rewarding is losing one's self in the festivities and enjoying pint after pint of such a beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2012 22:49:01 | More by BeerFMAndy

Kallessin

Massachusetts

4.8/5  rDev +28.7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a deep amber/copper color, clear with a moderate amount of bubbles rising to the top. It has a sizzling cream colored head that settles to thin ring around the top in a couple minutes.

Has a very sweet malty aroma, lots of caramel.

Huge malt flavor - lots of caramel and toffee. Very sweet and rich. The flavor has a lot of depth to it. Almost no hop bitterness to speak of. Really a fantastic tasting beer.

Full bodied and very smooth with low carbonation. Very rich and satisfying.

This is a great beer. Easy to drink, great flavor and aroma with an amazing feel to it.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2010 21:50:02 | More by Kallessin

happy4hoppybeer

Pennsylvania

4.9/5  rDev +31.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Having had nothing but pumpkin ales for the last two weeks, I tired of that and decided to get back to the fall classic: Oktoberfest-Marzen. For good lager-type brew, can't do better. Saw this in the store and picked it up, as I love Victory Brewing and surprisingly haven't had it yet.

Freshness date is: enjoy by Jan 29 '12

Here goes:

Pours a beautiful shiny orange/copper-amber with a solid thick and bubbly white head. Nice retention. Thin lacing that sticks for a reasonable while.

Aromatic notes of sweetness, caramel-like barley, bread and dryness.

Toasted barley, and sweetness all around wave on the tongue,followed by a slight hint of faint hop twang, and finishes nice and dry. Medium body, with very minimal carbonation,allowing the barley sweetness and other characteristics to come through easily.

I really like this one. As good as any authentic made-in-Germany Marzen. And a lot better than some.

Victory scores another home-run with this one, but then again, when do they not?

Four Stars(out of four)

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2011 19:59:38 | More by happy4hoppybeer

beerking1

Virginia

4.97/5  rDev +33.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Beautiful garnet-amber color, crystal clear, pure white, small head. The aroma is a great combination of Munich Malt and subtle hops. That, however, is only the beginning. The real pleasure comes with the first sip, and last until the last drop. This is a great example of the style, exhibiting the unique flavors of a true decoction mash, with the wonderful malliard flavor components this brings. Seek this beer out!

Serving type: on-tap

09-26-2007 01:33:44 | More by beerking1

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