Moat Octoberfest / Märzen - Moat Mountain Smoke House & Brewing Co.

LostHighway

Maine

3.5/5  rDev -10.5%

10-09-2012 22:47:57 | More by LostHighway

viverlee

Ohio

4.04/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

It smells like breakfast, just not like any you’ve ever had. Wheaties in shallow pool of subdued grape juice, finished Tyler Florence style with a drizzle of hazelnut oil.

Yes, it is unusual to be drinking this style so early in the year. So yes, it is a holdover from the Fall. And yes, there is a good reason. A reason so good it deserves more time than I have at the moment, so no, I won’t be explaining it just yet.

But let’s do talk about the beer. I opine regularly (some would say too regularly and others would say “opine, more like whine you fucking baby”) about balance, and my perceived perception that some beer or another doesn’t have it. That’s not an issue here. It’s delicate, just sweet, lightly spiced and almost chewy. What’s most prominent is the breadiness, generic on its own but for the Disaronno like touch.

I like all these things as much as the next man. The dilemma of course is that I want to sip, yet feel compelled to gulp. And that’s not really how I want to enjoy my beer. A bit more heft – weight balance rather than flavor balance – would make this something really special.

Beeradvocate Rating: 86*

ratebeer Rating: Not yet available

Hayward Abbey Rating: 88

*Based on 25 ratings.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2013 02:19:42 | More by viverlee

vonnegut21

New York

4/5  rDev +2.3%

02-23-2013 02:15:25 | More by vonnegut21

Teleweizen2

New Jersey

3.85/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - pours an incredibly clear yet deep brownish orange reminiscent of toasted and brightly lacquered wood. Two fingers worth of off-white foam on top. Dissipates slowly leaving just a few spots if lacing.

S - aroma is subtle yet sweet. Toasty and slightly grainy dark bread. Melted caramel. Hints of cookie crumbles.

T - big flavors. Fairly high yet well integrated sweetness with toasty and almost smokey overtones. Lots of caramel flavors. Hints of light roast coffee and hazelnuts. Almost like drinking a twix bar. Long toasty finish.

M - medium bodied. fairly smooth. Medium high carbonation.

O - a very nice US interpretation of a marzen lager. Flavors are bigger but still has a decent balance. This went great with some sesame chicken take out. something I would like to have again.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2012 03:30:52 | More by Teleweizen2

jski

New Hampshire

5/5  rDev +27.9%

10-10-2012 21:04:45 | More by jski

Cavanaghty

Maine

3.03/5  rDev -22.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

On tap in a sample glass.

Appearance: dark amber color with a white head.

Smell: I actually could not smell a lot with this beer, light hints of malts and hops, very light.

Mouthfeel/Taste: Medium bodied and smooth. Raosted malts is really all I could taste.

Overall: Typical Oktoberfest beer, nothing really special about this one. Mostly because I could not smell anything on this one.

Serving type: on-tap

10-08-2012 22:26:31 | More by Cavanaghty

sdaly3

New Hampshire

3.75/5  rDev -4.1%

10-08-2012 17:39:11 | More by sdaly3

puboflyons

New Hampshire

3.55/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

From the 22 fl.oz. bottle. 2012 edition. Sampled on October 6, 2012.

The pour is amber copper in color with ;pretty clean to look at with a small head that settles down after a moment or two.

The aroma smells like it should with a solid malty character up front and some breadiness too. The hop character is nearly invisible.

The body is around medium but on the smoother side

The taste starts out malty sweet with some bitterness sneaking up on the back end but ot overwhelmingly.

All in all Moat Mountain has succeeded in brewing a typical Oktoberfest Marzen but that's about it. It is likable and drinkable but it is not anything that stands out.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2012 23:38:14 | More by puboflyons

jdhilt

New Hampshire

3.1/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a two finger off-white head that fades quickly leaving some lace. Crystal clear amber color. Light carbonation and light-medium bodied. Nutmeg and bready nose and flavor is light malty sweetness, bready. Aftertaste has some bitterness. $8.99 for a 22oz bottle from Glen Beverage Glen, NH.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2012 22:34:21 | More by jdhilt

Jason

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22oz bomber purchased at the brewery on Sep 23rd 2012.

LOOK: Reddish sunset amber, perfectly clear, thin wisp of lacing after a fingers height of head

SMELL: Toasted bread, mild sweetness, dried grass, herbal, faintly spicy, very clean

TASTE: Smooth, light crispness, medium bodied, very malty, hay, toasty, bready, nutty, herbal hop, balanced bitterness, some hop spice, clean, semi-dry finish

Top notch, one of the best Oktoberfest to meet my tastebuds this year. Made the vacationing to North Conway that much sweeter. Great on tap and in the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2012 01:53:38 | More by Jason

Didier

Maine

3.25/5  rDev -16.9%

09-23-2012 00:30:41 | More by Didier

pveilleux

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +2.3%

06-10-2012 02:26:50 | More by pveilleux

ElGallo

New Hampshire

5/5  rDev +27.9%

11-15-2011 18:58:35 | More by ElGallo

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured on-tap at La Festa in Dover, NH, and served in a pint glass. The beer pours a light orange-brown coloring, and hazy. A nice, creamy, foamy, dense white head sits atop the brew. Thick and lacing while you drink. Caramel and nut sweet nose, with a light background spicing. The beer's flavor is toastier than most Marzens, with caramel and nut sweet shining through. Spices of nutmeg and all-spice tage the end of the palate. Dark, syrupy sweet aftertaste, with a rich, almost cloying finish. Spice helps to cut the sweetness, but still a rich brew. Very tasty.

Serving type: on-tap

09-29-2011 02:57:18 | More by GarthDanielson

Minkybut

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I poured this beer into my tumbler at 45 degrees. The beer was orange colored and pored a fair head. Not the best for sure. The beer was bready smelling and had a nice caramel taste to it though not too heavy. Slightly sweet beginning and slightly bitter finish. I will buy again.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2009 22:18:40 | More by Minkybut

ppoitras

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Screw-top growler received as a gift from my friend Scott's dad. Thanks for the opportunity, Mr. Nims!

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1/4" tan head over the clear burnished copper brew. Head recedes at a reasonable pace, with slow-falling lace. Aroma is sweet and nutty. Taste follows the nose, with a bit of fruitiness in the middle, and a moderately hoppy close. Mouthfeel is very smooth, and drinkability is quite good as well. Flavor could come together a bit better, but still a nice representative of the style.

Serving type: growler

10-12-2009 20:57:43 | More by ppoitras

donkeyrunner

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Moat Mountain actually brews this year round which I think is awesome. Lively orange with a small white head. Retention is pretty weak though not necessarily shameful for the style.

Smells of bready malt with a tinge of marmalade sweetness. Taste is similiar bready malt with orange marmalade sweet but highlight of this beer is in the spicey, hop hinted swallow. Carbonation is right on.

Serving type: on-tap

10-11-2009 23:28:45 | More by donkeyrunner

GarthTaargus

New Hampshire

4.18/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This beer is one I have been wanting to review for a while now. Of all of Moat Mountain's solid beers, this is the one I most look forward to. Each Fall I find an excuse to drive up to North Conway and fill my growler with this delicious lager.

Opa's (Grandpa's?, I think) Oktoberfest has a beautiful amber color, like John Hammond's cane, in Jurassic Park, as well as an off-white head like so many raptor skulls. Poured into a dimpled SA O-Fest stein, it exhibited a Tyrannosaurus two-finger head, as fluffy as the aforementioned Scot's beard.

The smell is great as well with hints of cherry as well as the expected bready malt.

Taste follows suit. It has a nice mild sweetness in the middle, followed by a pleasing mild bitterness on the finish. Tons of malt throughout. Finishes clean and snappy.

Mouthfeel is really spot on here. It reminds me of the way a cold Coca-cola felt in the mouth on a hot summer day from childhood. Refreshing, yet substantial. Perfect amount of carbonation; enough to entice the tongue but not so much that it feigns dryness. The mouthfeel adds very much to--

--The drinkability, which is substantial. A perfect balance of sweet and bitter, and substance and fluidity. Drinkability is paramount with this style, and drinkable this is.

Good stuff... my favorite Oktoberfest from NH and beyond. If you visit Moat Mountain, the malty beers are where these guys really shine, IMO... their Square-Tail Stout is a fine Irish dry Stout as well.

Serving type: growler

09-21-2009 22:00:49 | More by GarthTaargus

mshallah

New Hampshire

3.88/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this on tap at Fabyan's restaurant in Bretton Woods,NH. Looked darker than most mass produced o-fests just the way I like 'em. The malt flavor that dances on the tongue is superb. Just enough toasted malt flavor with ample sweetness provided by the darker malts and bittering hops to battle against them drawing to a bittersweet and yummy finish begging the next sip. The best Marzens for me this year have been local and very big beers for the style.

Serving type: on-tap

10-12-2008 02:52:02 | More by mshallah

sethmeister

New Hampshire

3.8/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap at Moat Mountain.

Appearance was a clear dark amber with a thin white film of a head.

Scent was mildly toasty, grassy and herbal.

Taste was toasty, bready, malty, nutty. Well balanced, not to sweet. Slight herbal hop note and bitterness. Somewhat bitter finish.

Mouth was a clean and crisp medium.

Very drinkable.

Nice solid marzen.

Serving type: on-tap

10-06-2008 00:06:00 | More by sethmeister

jsouza

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I got this brew while on vacation in the N. Conway, NH area. Nice little brewpub. Great color (dark copper) and taste. Not much of a head. Slight alcohol aftertase on the finish. Still, an excellent beer and one that helps cheer you up after all of the recent NH rains! Can't wait to go back and get some of their other offerings!

Serving type: growler

08-19-2008 13:35:30 | More by jsouza

plaid75

New York

3.9/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a light copper hue with a one finger foamy white head. There was good retention and lacing.

The smell featured a light caramel malt and an herbal hop.

The taste was likewise upfront malty with some caramel and smoke notes. A spicy hop rounded out the flavor.

The mouthfeel was of average fullness for the style.

Overall a tasty and brewery fresh marzen.

Serving type: growler

08-12-2008 19:04:24 | More by plaid75

albern

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I recently had this Marzan at the American Craft Brew fest in Boston. The ABV is listed as 7%. This was the best Octoberfest/marzan style that I tasted at the festival and very much worth seeking out. There is a large mouthfeel, a nice carmelized taste, and most impressively it lacks that cloying sweet flat almost cola syrupy taste of most other marzans and octoberfests. According to the brewer, the beer goes through decoctation, so what is left is a very nice caramel slightly honeyed taste. It is decently carbonated, the appearance and aroma are all about right. There is plenty of head on the beer as well. I will re-review this beer once I find it in bottles.

Serving type: on-tap

06-22-2008 16:41:47 | More by albern

lordofthewiens

Maine

3.88/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Listed as Opa's Octoberfest; maybe they thought Marzen was too hard to pronounce. On the other hand, if they're using the term Opa, they should probably spell Octoberfest with a k, not a c. This was a pretty good beer. It was a dark amber with a small head in my 20oz glass. A nice malty aroma, with a hint of spice. Taste was a crisp malt, with some late hops. I thought I could also taste a little cinnamon. Very nice body, good to drink.

Serving type: on-tap

10-18-2006 19:44:30 | More by lordofthewiens

brewandbbq

New Hampshire

4.03/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Listed as Opa's Ocktoberfest.
Auburn body with a bone, thick head. Slight chill haze.
Roasted malts, fresh dark breads in the nose accented with cocoa bits and roasted nuts. Very fresh and clean.
Crisp pallet, with layered malts and chocolate dough.
Alcohol well hidden by rich, Munich malts and roast.
Finishes with a well balanced bitterness, drying out the juicy malt character.
A very fresh, hearty, example of the style.

Serving type: on-tap

07-05-2005 02:19:29 | More by brewandbbq