Festbier - Victory Brewing Company

BeerLover99

New Jersey

3.45/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: orange/copper body, finger beige head,
light lacing

S: caramel, bread, malt, grain

T: caramel, nutty, big malt/sweet bread, mild
bitter/earthy finish

M: med body, solid carbonation/smooth mouth

O: Very flavorful American Marzen brew, Love
the style and brewery. Would get again + recommend.

QUITE NICE, WORTH TRYING!

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2012 16:54:54 | More by BeerLover99

Hopdaemon39

Massachusetts

4.13/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a 12 oz mug- pours a clear dark orange with one finger of light beige head, decent retention, minimal lacing.

Smell is pretty grainy- munich barley, a hint of caramel. Good, but a little faint.

Taste is very nice and certainly a rousing oktoberfest. Lots of good solid barley flavor, some caramel, a little toffee, BARELY noticeable hops that just sort of tend the edges of the malt sweetness.

Mouthfeel is good as well- medium bodied, light carbonation on the tip of the tongue. Very drinkable. I love this style but haven't had the opportunity to try too many- this one is good but perhaps in a month I might say differently.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2012 23:29:19 | More by Hopdaemon39

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.5/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Review from 11/2010 notes. Poured into a Nostradamus flute glass. Pours a medium orange amber. Slight head dissipated slowly leaving light lacing. Grainy, light malt aroma. Caramel, malt, slightly sweet. A pleasant light malty ale. A straightforward, but unremarkable Marzen.

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2012 03:36:39 | More by LiquidAmber

MrKennedy

Australia

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

12oz bottle from Warners at the bay, poured into a Mikkeller tulip.

Light amber appearance with an off white foam that laces sporadically.

Smell is of sweet malt, not honey sweet, but just sweet malt in general with some small herbal note there as well early on.

Tastes clean, decisive and as you are led to expect with sweet malt the cornerstone. Some toffee as well.

Good medium body, nice oilyness to start with and then smooth out with a slight herbal bitterness at the end stops it becoming cloying.

Really nice, well executed. Not an overload of the senses, but what is there serves a good purpose. Hard to fault what Victory do, one of the more consistent breweries across styles.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2012 10:48:41 | More by MrKennedy

Offa

California

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

Copper amber, medium pale tan head soon thins to thin ring.

Aroma is toasty, caramelized barley, peppery resiny hop, hint of brown whole wheat bread dough, wood stain – a nice, full, but not complex Vienna style.

Taste is nice caramelly barley, toasty bread crust, woody-peppery hint, light bitterness. It’s very slightly on the sweet side. It is very good, enjoyable, solid, but simple and 2-dimensional .

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2012 05:03:03 | More by Offa

danieelol

Australia

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

Pours a golden amber with OK head and lacing.

Nose is quite enjoyable. Yeast, earthy hops and sweet malt. Gritty, earthy toffee.

Taste is yeast dominated with a bit of the amber malt sweetness coming through, and gritty earthy toffee. Fruity, hoppy qualitites.

Mouthfeel is thin but appropriate for the style.

Overall quite a good beer, interesting somewhat Americanised take on an Oktoberfest.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2012 12:52:00 | More by danieelol

Fcip78

Pennsylvania

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

Victory's Festbeer is one of the better Marzen style beer available. Nice amount of malt, mouthfeel is pretty good. Marzens can be a little too light or way too much malt, but Festbeer is a perfect balance. Nice hop bitterness to cut some of maltyness.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2012 20:06:03 | More by Fcip78

WastingFreetime

Wisconsin

3.28/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Reviewed from session notes.

A. Another orange-tinted amber beer, with a minutes worth of sand-colored foam head and mediocre lacing.

S. Very light on the nose, just a faint caramel malt with a dash of floral and citric peel hopping. Could benefit from about 20% strength amplification.

T. Kind of generic compared to other marzens. Malty sweetness and a kiss of noble hopping, nothing particularly memorable stands out as special or unique in the flavor here.

M. Pleasant enough medium body but somewhat undercarbonated in texture again...

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2012 00:51:09 | More by WastingFreetime

jeffjeff1

California

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

I picked this up the other day at Travis AFB.

Appearance- amber color, thin head that goes away quickly

Smell- malt

Taste- big malt flavor up front

Mouthfeel- medium bodied

Drinkability- A pretty good beer, kinda average, nothing spectacular about it.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2012 00:46:41 | More by jeffjeff1

thekevlarkid

Maryland

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

Out of a bottle this beer was a clear amber color with some nice tangerine highlights. The tan head displayed decent lacing and moderate lacing as well. The aroma was of caramel, bread, butter and a bit of toasted malt. The flavors were an interesting balance of very sweet caramel malt and dry but floral hops. The bready malt and dry yeast also came through in the middle and I also got some toast and pine nuts as it warmed up. The sweetness seemed a little too much for a Marzen to me and I wasn’t exactly ‘wowed’ but I suppose this could just be my impression of the Victory interpretation. The mouthfeel was good, the body medium and the carbonation moderate.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2012 22:10:00 | More by thekevlarkid

chefhatt

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The beer when i poured it into a pint glass, it has a nice amber color body with not a lot of head that thins down to a thin lace. The smell is of carmel and malty. The malt hits you up front, first thing i taste. Then some earthy hops comes along, but not strong. The mouth feel is nice and crisp. Overall this is a average marzen.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2012 21:14:13 | More by chefhatt

dexterk1

Illinois

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

appearance is a nice copper and head is small and light.
Odor is light. Doesn't really have much. A little malty, but still pretty light.
Mouth feel is pretty good. It is a nice beer that is in the middle ground(not too heavy, not too light).
Taste is good. It is the best thing about this beer. It is very malty and low on hops. Taste is pretty balanced and has a hint of sweet or nutty. Finish is a little plain.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2011 23:54:30 | More by dexterk1

curasowa

New York

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

Appearance: Copper color with one finger of head that fades quickly to a ring with little lacing.

Aroma: Pretty clean; mostly toasted malt with a little tobacco in the background.

Taste: Big malt flavor upfront, then some mildly earthy hop bitterness starts to creep in and build towards the end. The finish is lingering and somewhat metallic and with a touch of tobacco.

The Rest: A decent, medium bodied Marzen, nothing spectacular, though.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2011 02:43:45 | More by curasowa

rebelthrower

Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours light orange/copper, a hint of brown and a slightly hazy. Head is a almost white. About a half thumb thick and a little bit of lacing.

S - Sweet and citrus, and bready, Malty and a bit of caramel.

T - Malts and a lot of sweetness. Lights hops and a bit bready.

M - Medium bodied, good carbonation, well balanced. A slight watery taste at end. Hint of caramel.

D - Very drinkable and smooth.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2011 04:11:03 | More by rebelthrower

aubuc1

Florida

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

12 oz bottle

Pours a clear, light brownish orange with an almost white head that is not quite as steady as i like

Smell is bready sweet with a hint of citrus

Taste is a very good, wheat bread that isn't too much.

Mouthfeel is a little thin, but makes it very drinkable. Slightly dry finish that leaves me wanting more.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2011 22:18:53 | More by aubuc1

seesnow3

Connecticut

2.6/5  rDev -30.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5

Heavy Seas pint glass, no freshness date, $1.90/bottle in NH

Pour-Pours a small head that quickly fades to a washy film with a thin ring of bubbles. Deep copper with a little less of an orange color. A faint stream of large effervescence bubbles here and there. Essentially no lacing that sticks.

Nose-Caramel malt for sure with just a hint of skunky musty aroma. There seems to be just a touch of dark fruit. The spice aroma is a little bit subdued.

Palate-Sweet right away followed by a hint of sour and some noticeable bitterness. The taste is predominantly rich caramel malts. The lingering qualities are fairly short. The sweetness is a little bit fruity and off. Alcohol, despite the low percentage is slightly warming and noticeable.

Body-Medium to heavy, very little effervescence renders this one a tad closer to syrupy in texture. It is sort of creamy but has a slightly drying finish.

Final-I’m not really sure what to make of this. Out of all of the Marzen’s I’ve tried this probably has the least amount of bubbles in it. I’m not sure I personally like it, due to the odd sweetness, but there is nothing in there to severely offend anyone. It’s fairly balanced though a little bit off kilter on the sweetness, but overall worth a go for the price if you don’t mind a fairly “flat” Marzen. Maybe this bottle wasn’t any good, because I know it wasn’t old and my review seems quite contrary to the others.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2011 00:53:45 | More by seesnow3

fo5s

District of Columbia

3.13/5  rDev -16.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

12oz bottle served in a sam adams oktoberfest mug. Bottle best by Jan-12.

A- pours a vibrant amber with a nice 2-finger foamy head. Minimal lacing.

S- very full nose. Good dose of caramel, but a noticeable hop presence as well. Malty

T- Burn caramel dominates, but leaves the beer oddly one-dimensional. Finish is dull with a residual bitterness that's unimpressive...almost acidic in a way.

M- lively on the palate. Body is in-line with the style.

O- a lot of nice aspects to this one, but I really didn't dig the flavor. Not a bad version of the style, and appropriately priced for those who are fans of this.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2011 04:12:41 | More by fo5s

mvanaskie13

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a standard pint glass: amber to copper color with light tan head that sits very dense, clings well and hangs around.

Smell is muted caramel malt with a hint of roast and mild clean, hop earthiness.

Taste is very clean, crisp at first with solid malt, caramel mostly, sweetness in the middle followed by some hints at roast and a good clean bitter finish.

Mouthfeel is slightly more on the tongue from the sweetness, but solid bitterness to finish.

Overall, solid marzen.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2011 22:01:46 | More by mvanaskie13

fields336

North Carolina

3.8/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle poured into SN snifter
Enjoy by Jan 18 2012 printed on label

A: clear, orange amber liquid, with 1 finger bubbly french vanilla colored head. Dissipates quickly leaving slight lacing on sides of the glass that also dissipates.

S: roasty, caramel, bready malts, with a slight herbal/grassy/earthy hop presence in there

T: nice bready, chocolatey, malty character with a nice toasty finish. There is a slight bitterness which is nice. Not as cloyingly sweet as some other commercial marzens. Stays more earthy, and bitter than others. I much enjoyed this one, very sessionable, cool, balanced, crisp, and nice.

M: nice carbonation, crisp, drinkable as any marzen should be. I love fall and this style, it's a big hit for me.

O: If you're picking out an American interpretation of a Marzen, this is the one in my opinion, I bought multiple 6ers of this, it's a great beer

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2011 04:21:41 | More by fields336

Chico1985

Massachusetts

3.3/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Finally getting around to finishing the 6-pack.

Pours a nice pumpkin/copper orange with a slight haze, off-white head starts at about a finger, turning to a thick ring quickly.

Weak scent overall, takes a while to get a hint of anything. Nutty and caramel malt with some warmth.

Taste delivers some nutty, toasty, caramel malts. Herbal and some spicy hops there too. Slight grainy notes. Decent mouthfeel, carbonation is a bit high.

Decent, but pretty unremarkable, lacks complexity.. Drinks more like a red lager with some fall vibes rather than a true oktoberfest.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2011 22:42:57 | More by Chico1985

magine

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a nonic.

Pours a hazy deep copper/amber. Head is off white and fluffy, nice tight bubbles. Head settles to a patchy island. Good clinging lace. Good looking brew.

Brew smells very malty; caramel, sweet bready malts as well. Some floral hops. Good nose.

Brew tastes sweet and smooth initially; creamy roasted nuttiness in the middle. Almost has a smoked flavor in the end as it warms. Nice chewy full bodied brew here. Nice dry nutty flavors in the end as well. A nice floral hop in there as well. Good flavors and balance. A great drinking, great tasting marzen. Very good.

This is a top tier oktoberfest/marzen for me. Up there with Great Lakes take on the style. I would love to sample both to see which one I prefer, but this is a damn good brew. Case worthy indeed.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2011 00:38:55 | More by magine

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

chinchill

South Carolina

3.53/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz Undated bottle served in Peroni glass.

Clear copper with a creamy tan head. The head has decent retention but leaves little lacing.

Good malty aroma with a matching flavor! Although I thought the flavor was better than the nose. Sweet malt flavor with enough hops to produce a balance sweet and bitter.

Mouthfeel is OK, but more carbonation seemed desirable,

A marten that is a bit above average.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2011 01:38:46 | More by chinchill

JednoPivoProsim

Maryland

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

Poured from a 12 fl oz bottle. Enjoy by Dec 21 2011.

Appearance: Pours a visibly thick dark orange with a thin head.

Smell: Very sweet malty molasses.

Taste: Probably one of the maltiest beers you will ever taste. Sweet sugary molasses.

Mouthfeel: This is one thick beer. Not a ton of carbonation.

Overall: Good, not great, Oktoberfest. Not a lot of balance.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2011 20:02:29 | More by JednoPivoProsim

CheezyBlaster

Massachusetts

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

Solid brownish-reddish heart with a 2 inch head.

Smell is toasty and dare I say floral?

Teeny tiny hops, malt is clearly the meaty backbone, not super sweet at all though. Toasted almonds, toast, caramel. Reminds me a bit of oatcakes -oatcakes are like a hearty kind of shortbready cookie with notes of honey. Might be the tinge of honey giving me that impression.

For me, this is a rock solid Marzen offering for the season. I started luke-warm on the offering, but am on my 3rd 6er. I really enjoy Southern Tier's Autumn Ale, but until someone gives me a better Oktoberfest spirited lager, this is the go to this season.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2011 00:49:19 | More by CheezyBlaster