Dominion Octoberfest Maerzen - Old Dominion Brewing Company

hops4me

Virginia

3.95/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured clear orange/amber in color. I poured it rough but no real head formed. What little head formed quickly fell into the beer leaving no lacing. Smells malty. Caramel sweetness in the aroma with a faint toasted smell. Taste the same caramel in the smell right up front in the taste. A bit of hop flavor/bitterness in the middle. Definite toasted flavor in the aftertaste. Bitterness hangs on the mouth as well to balance the sweetness nicely. The mouthfeel is on the light side of medium. This is a nice beer. Not as big as some of the O'fests I have had lately but maybe you don't like a malt bomb for an O'fest. I was pleasantly surprised it was good since the sale of the brewery. Easy drinking and satisfying as well.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2008 00:07:08 | More by hops4me

whtguitarguy

Virginia

3.7/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A good Maerzen. Pours to an amber-brown color with a small head, that rises and goes away quickly. Nose is filled with flowery hoppy aromas with roasted malt and a faint sweet note. The flavor is rather unassuming and not overpowering. A good balance of hops and roasted malts. Good carbonation. Mouthfeel is medium heavy, coats well, no heavy aftertaste.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2009 00:07:39 | More by whtguitarguy

StrangeBrewer76

Massachusetts

4.15/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Having had other beers from this brewery, my hopes were not high and my assumption was relatively accurate. This beer came in a pint glass the color of a bottle with no head to speak of. A disk of faint bubbles in the center of the glass was the only indication that this might be a carbonated beverage. The smell was a pleasant grainy malt and no detectable hops that I could pick up. It tasted like a nice German beer, true to style. Wet and drinkable. There is a nice nod to a heavily toasted or chocolate malt in the first impression which was nice to look forward to in the next sip. I would serve this at an Octoberfest party as the centerpiece.

Serving type: on-tap

10-30-2008 21:39:03 | More by StrangeBrewer76

thartman

Pennsylvania

3.65/5  rDev +2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from 12oz bottle brownish copper color, minimal head and lacing. Caramel and malt on the nose with a smooth malty taste, with some mild hop bitterness mostly on the finsh, decent carbonation. Slick mouthfeel. This is a good rendition of an Octoberfest style, better than I expected. Worth trying if you like a Marzen style brew.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2009 00:20:19 | More by thartman

Nutleybeer

New Jersey

3.85/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

More drinkable than I expected. A smooth malty flavor. Slight sweetness. Low hoppiness. A mild yeasty scent. My first Octoberfest of the season, so maybe I am being more generous in my review because of this. A pleasant drink.
Had to get a six pack while on vacation...Old Dominion is not available in NJ yet.
I was in Rebohoth, saw Dogfish and Evolution on tap everywhere, but not this brand. Wonder why.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2010 23:00:16 | More by Nutleybeer

KFaulkner

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Picked this up while in Winchester, VA. I always like to grab some new Octoberfests as they start rolling out.

Although this isn't my favorite style, I usually enjoy them and this was no exception. It poured copper/gold color with light carbonation; I noticed another reviewer commented negatively on its effervescence, but I did not have this problem. The beer foamed up a little and disappated quickly.

It tastes slightly sweet and slightly sour. Not particulary hoppy, but has a grainy hint to it. It's extremely drinkable and I could easily go through a number of these. I like beers like this as the summer gives way to fall. Overall a decent octoberfest selection.

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2006 03:37:07 | More by KFaulkner

fo5s

District of Columbia

3.1/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

12oz bottle served in a tumbler. Bottled 8/10/11 per easily-found text on the bottle.

A- pours a amberish copper. Healthy 2-3 finger head recedes quickly. No lacing.

S- bready with a certain nuttiness to it.

T- carmel with some very mild hops. An odd hint of citrus (from the hops?). Feels more light a muddled (and light) brown ale than a marzen.

M- somewhat thick and sticky for the style. Not a big fan in this department.

O- not bad. Has some nice qualities, but a bit too muddled and divergent from the basics of the style for my liking. Not planning to revisit anytime soon, but certainly wouldn't hesitate depending on the options.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2011 03:29:21 | More by fo5s

mckenziac

2.83/5  rDev -20.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a Samuel Adams Boston Lager glass.

Appearance: Pours a translucent copper color. Has a small, foamy head that dissipates down to nothing fairly quickly.

Smell: Smells primarily of sweet, caramel malts. Not really much else there.

Taste: Mildly hoppy up front. Finishes sweet with caramel and other malts. Kind of ho-hum in this department.

Mouthfeel: Crisp, with a light to medium body.

Overall: A pretty pedestrian Octoberfest-style beer. Nothing really makes it stand out from the other hundred O-fests put out this time of year. Not bad, but not something really worth seeking out.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2012 01:48:38 | More by mckenziac

skynxnex

Virginia

4.03/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

No bottling date in the bottling date space, but it is the 2005 run. Pours an attractive dark amber. Off white head with good lacing.

Smell is toasty sweet malt with a hint of hops. Smell is slightly weak, but still good. Taste reflects the smell. Good toasty malt. Bread/grainy taste in the back. Rich. Hop bitterness. Good mouthfeel and easy to drink a bunch.

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2005 01:56:23 | More by skynxnex

CpnYates

Virginia

4.28/5  rDev +19.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

This is a really good offering from Dominion this year. Bottled on the 6th of August this beer is only a few weeks old at time of sampling.

Poors a great almond/orange/ autum color.

Smell is malty, with a slight spice back.

The taste/ mouthfeel are exceptional, true to the style.. almost sticky sweet and malty with a nice lingering finish.

A great beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2008 22:36:10 | More by CpnYates

AndIWantYou

Washington

3.4/5  rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Nice head which fades with no lacing after about 2 minutes. A beautiful orange color in the glass. I have never had an Oktoberfest before, but if this brew is typical of the style, I'll have another.

Hoppy, but in a different way than I usually think of hoppiness. Much more tasty and not just bitter like I expected. The aftertaste lingers in the back of my throat and tastes like I think a beer this color and consistency "should".

All in all, another fine example of Dominion quality beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2004 02:51:03 | More by AndIWantYou

zplug123

Georgia

3.58/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a pint glass:

A: Dark amber, copper with minimal carbonation and lacing. No head at all even with a correct pour

S: Malty with a hint of caramel, tiny bit of floral hop aroma

T: Clean malt flavor, grain characteristic is apparent as it starts sweet and ends dry. Bitterness is minimal, but still in play

M: Medium body with little carbonation to add bite. Starts and finishes clean

D: Could have a few more of these in a night, a solid example of an American interpretation

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2009 16:00:37 | More by zplug123

longdivision

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Poured a hazy copper with floating sediment. Head quickly died.
S - Dominating sweetness, bready
T - Sweet bready malts up front. Some vanilla too. There was a very slight hop bitterness at the finish that bites the palette.
M - Medium not difficult to drink
O- A pretty good o-fest beer, but leans on the sweeter side, so it may not be for everyone.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2010 00:22:33 | More by longdivision

jak3676

Virginia

2.68/5  rDev -25.1%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Old Dominion - Octoberfest!

Bottled in Ahsburn, VA I don't think you'll find too wide-spread of a distribution outside of the VA and surrounding area. Which is kinda a shame.

I haven't been a huge fan of many of their other offerings, but I'm kinda liking their märzen. It's a bit darker, and thicker than some I've had, hazy. Some others have described the flavor with hints of toast, slightly nutty with some browned honey. I've never been one for trying to describe what something tastes like - it tastes like a darker than average Oktoberfest beer to me. It's definately a bit rougher that most. But, I think they're accurate in their description.

I like the strength of it, 5.9 ABV which puts in the range of most of its peers and nicely above the average American Lager. The bottling date says 7/10/12 which goes against the tradition, but I'm not sure how many compainies bottles beer and then lets it lager over the summer anymore (at least intentionally).

I wish I liked it more, but overall it seems too rough for me.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2012 20:24:55 | More by jak3676

maltusaurelius

District of Columbia

4.25/5  rDev +18.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This one pours a deep copper color with a big fluffy beige head that dissipates fairly quickly and leaves minimal lacing. Very appealing appearance.

Caramel and cotton candy malts on the nose with a little hop spiciness. The malts are definitely forward as is typical for the style.

Taste follows the nose with lots of caramel malts and hints of cotton candy. Definitely on the sweet side, but not cloyingly so. Oktoberfests are malt forward and this one is typical in that sense, although there is a hops-more-forward bitter finish.

Overall, a very drinkable beer. Somewhat "bigger" than the Oktoberfests I've had from Germany this year - it tastes very much like an American amber. I'm not sure it is spot on for the style (tastes like they've used malts that are not typical of the style) but it is a tasety brew.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2009 00:13:56 | More by maltusaurelius

DuaneSCarr

Maryland

4.38/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Found a bottle in my refrig last week. Opened it. STILL an awesome beer. Nice malts for being almost a year old!
Still very drinkable.
Color was very nice - copper,carmel.
Taste - nice sweet malt - like an O-Fest should taste - in my humble opinion.
Nice smell.
Very nice mouthfeel.
I was expecting a drain pour but it surprised me. Still very tasty and drinkable after a year in the back of my refrig.
Can't wait until the new fresh version is released!

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2010 02:03:48 | More by DuaneSCarr