Summit Oktoberfest Marzen - Summit Brewing Company

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.38/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours out an auburn, amber and brown color, solid mild beige head that stands tall over 1". Great retention, nice looking lace.

Mild aroma of nutty honey grains. Lightly sweet.

Good toasted malt presence, average sweetness. Earthy and floral. Not bitter. Caramel toast. Pretty clean. In some ways it is fairly pedestrian, and in others, it is very true to style. You can pull some hop notes out of it if you look for them. A slight tinge of dark fruit note in the mouthfeel.

A little stronger in the alcohol department, but it isn't really all that noticeable. This is definitely made in the traditional sense outside of that aspect, lots of Germanic types in the upper midwest, this beer definitely has a following while I was in the area.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2013 16:24:15 | More by Beerandraiderfan

Pegasus

Texas

3.78/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Slightly hazy golden orange with a modest, dense white head, which does not entirely dissipate The lacing is thick and coats the glass walls. The carbonation is moderate and slow-rising.

Aroma: Robust maltiness, with lots of toasted notes and some caramel.

Taste: Opens with a rich, malty flavor that serves as the backbone of the beer throughout the taste. The malty flavors are reminiscent of freshly baked whole grain bread, caramel, and a faint earthy note. The alcohol is utterly disguised, offering no hint of the 6.6% ABV. The hops serve as an accompaniment to the hops and offer a delicate herbal presence. The taste draws to a close with a lingering note of toasted bread crust and a mild herbal hop note.

Mouth feel: Smooth, soft, quite pleasant.

Drinkability/notes: A very nice example of the style, it pairs well with a rich vegetable soup and home-baked bread on a cold winter's afternoon.

Presentation: Packaged in a stubby twelve-ounce brown glass bottle with a twist-off crown, served in a New Belgium Brewing chalice.

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Serving type: bottle

12-27-2012 20:37:21 | More by Pegasus

barczar

Kentucky

3.3/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear caramel copper color with a foamy one and a half inch cream head that dissipates slowly, leaving substantial lacing.

Caramel malt and buttery, nutty toffee dominate the aroma, with a bit of toasted bread leading to a lightly floral hop finish.

Flavor reveals an underlying subtle citrus hop character, which succumbs to the slightly cloying caramel malt. The finish is decidedly sweet.

Body is moderate, with somewhat spritzy carbonation and a hint of astringency. There's significant alcohol warmth.

Overall, lacking in complexity of malt base, fairly 2 note. Also a bit on the sweet side.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2012 07:10:59 | More by barczar

frankiepop

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

An upper Midwest brewery delivers a nice looking copper orange colored harvest time beer that plays nice for celebrating the lost German heritage of the greater region. This is a very nice mellow brew.

A nice malty aroma flows up.

The taste is similar. There's a richness full bodied texture to this beer. Very good. One of the better Marzans in the biz. Nice work. This will become my fall harvest seasonal brew.

Summit Oktoberfest Marzen pairs with Patricia Kass' cd entitled "Piano Bar." Specifically check out the Patricia breathing life into the old tired standard 'Autumn Leaves.'

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 12:55:28 | More by frankiepop

WastingFreetime

Wisconsin

3.4/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Reviewed from notes.

Pours out a coppery amber color with good clarity and two fingers of off-white foamy head that lasts for about three minutes, leaving some light amounts of lacing behind on the glass. Medium-light body and carbonation levels.

Unusually light nose, faint blend of nuts and caramel. The flavor is also relatively restrained (as is the ABV content) with some medium-light caramel sweetness combined with nuttiness and the typical marzen light herbal-earth-spice hopping combo. This is pretty much just a by-the-books marzen that is noteworthy for hiding a slightly higher than typical ABV content, and an unfortunately somewhat muted nose.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2012 17:24:53 | More by WastingFreetime

RoamingGnome

Wisconsin

3.65/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Enjoyed this on tap at the local supper club. The beer arrived at my table in a pint glass, and was served pretty well chilled. Paired with the fish fry.

A) This was a nice looking brushed copper. There was nearly a finger of white foam, which quickly settled to a dusting. No lacing noted...

S) Nice malt presence on the nose, light caramel, and toasted grains. There is also some earthy/grassy hops in the background.

T) Follows the aroma... The malt sweetness mingles nicely with the earthy/grassy hops. This finishes clean, and has a pleasing aftertaste. I would never have guessed the ABV on this one.

M) A lighter medium body with moderate carbonation. Pleasingly crisp and refreshing. Slides down with ease.

O) A solid fall option, and a good representation of the style. I've been trying to throw some different Oktoberfest into the mix this season, and really, this is one of few I'd reach for again. Glad to recommend...

Serving type: on-tap

10-20-2012 03:10:37 | More by RoamingGnome

Tone

Missouri

3.85/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear, copper color. 1/4 inch head of a white color. Decent retention and slight lacing. Smells of sweet malt, slight yeast, slight caramel malt, slight nut, hint of earthy malt, slight hop, and a hint of pale malt. Fits the style of a Marzen / Oktoberfest. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of slight hop, sweet malt, slight nut, hint of yeast, slight caramel malt, and a hint of earthy malt. Overall, weak appearance, but good aroma, feel, body, and blend.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2012 15:18:52 | More by Tone

RickS95

Indiana

3.9/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a beautiful, cloudy copper orange. Slight haze to keep out the light. The head is initially a finger and a half thick, but settles quickly to a finger where it stays. The bubbles are slightly offwhite, in varying sizes, and leave a sticky lace on the glass.

Very biscuity nose. Some malt in the background, along with faint spiciness. As it warms, you start to pick up more of the spices and earthy hoppiness.

It's actually very tasty, but I'd not know it was an Oktoberfest unless I read the bottle. Yeasty taste, crackerlike. Hop presence builds as it warms, at which point it starts taking on a bready taste.

It's got a nice smoothness to it. Lacks the spicy feel I was looking for, though the spices are there, they just aren't aggressive. Hops provide a slight sweetness, similar to a Cascade, only different.

Unlike most other Oktoberfests, but still very good nonetheless. Very easy to drink and my guess is the ABV sneaks up on you. Would go very well with certain foods, giving a nice filling meal. Glad I tried this one.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2012 02:51:45 | More by RickS95

StoutHunter

Michigan

3.28/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I picked up a bottle of Summit's Oktoberfest Marzen yesterday for $1.59 at The Lager Mill. I was looking for some Oktoberfest beers that I haven't tried before and since Summit is a pretty solid brewery I decided to take a chance on this beer, so lets see how it goes. No visible bottling date, but it's got to be pretty fresh. Poured from a shorter brown 12oz bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A- The label is nice, it's pretty simple and clean looking with some nice fall colors on it. It poured a nice lighter amber color that took on a slightly darker amber hue when held to the light with three fingers worth of fluffy slightly off white head that died down to a thick ring that stayed till the end and left lots of nice lacing. This was a good looking Marzen, the color was a little light but it had lots of nice head and lacing.

S- The aroma starts of with a good amount of malts that have a medium amount of sweetness to them and impart some grainy, bread crust, caramel, and biscuit like aromas and towards the end I get a slight bit of earthy hops. The aroma is pretty simple but it's a little too one note for my liking, it's a little bland, I think it's pretty average.

T- The taste seems to be pretty much the same as the aroma, it starts of with loads of malts that have a medium amount of sweetness, the malts impart all those aspects that I got in the aroma with the bready flavors seeming to stick out the most. Towards the end comes a lighter amount of earthy hops which imparts a light amount of bitterness and it had a very grainy and bready aftertaste with a slight nutty flavor. The taste was as bland as the aroma but it lacked the depth that the best Marzens have, I would say it's a little above average.

M- Fairly smooth, clean, crisp, on the lighter side of being medium bodied, with a higher amount of medium carbonation that was a little prickly. The mouthfeel was decent but I could go without the prickly carbonation.

Overall I thought this beer was ok and it was a pretty average example of an American Marzen, it was crisp and clean but it felt a little too bland and it didn't have the balance that the better Marzens have. This beer had ok drinkability, it was pretty smooth, but the flavors didn't really hold my attention, I could probably drink another one, but it wouldn't be my first choice. What I liked most about this beer was the appearance it looked pretty good for it's style with lots of nice head and lacing. What I liked least about this beer was the the bland aroma and the prickly carbonation, if those things were fixed it would be right around above average. I wouldn't buy this beer again, it's not hard to find a much better Marzen, I don't really recommend it. All in All this beer was ok at best, but it just couldn't hold my interest, nice try guys but this one needs a little work, I still think Summits a solid brewery but this beer didn't impress me.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2012 03:43:19 | More by StoutHunter

TCMike

Minnesota

3.98/5  rDev +9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a mug, and it produced a 2 finger, off white head. Left some lacing. Beer color was a translucent copper.
Smell was of malt, bread, and a caramel like sweetness.
The taste was the same, but with a hint of hops. The bread taste lingered long after drink. Medium mouth-feel, and medium carbonation.
This is a good local Oktoberfest beer! Easy drinking...watch out, I may have fever to polka.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 22:22:16 | More by TCMike

vette2006c5r

Wisconsin

4.08/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Oktoberfest Marzen pours a dark golden color, with a decent sized lacy head. A very nice carmalized roasted malty aroma. There is a very nice crisp taste, good malty backbone, strong carmalized flavors, with hints of some spices. Nice crisp taste, full flavor, very drinkable. Overall a very solid marzen style, good full flavors, very well balanced.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2012 03:29:30 | More by vette2006c5r

scratch69

Missouri

4.4/5  rDev +20.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I poured a bottle into a mug.

Appearance- Clear copper color with with two fingers worth of cream colored head. Nice amount of lacing.

Smell- Sweet malt, biscuits, and caramel with a touch of hops.

Taste- Rich caramel malt flavor with notes of toasted bread and toffee. There is just a hint of some spices and hops toward the finish.

Mouthfeel- Medium bodied with a near perfect amount of carbonation. Smooth and creamy.

Overall- A very good beer. Samuel Adam's Oktoberfest used to be my go to Fall seasonal but this could replace it.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2012 13:37:34 | More by scratch69

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - A nice stubby bottle that pours a clear amber colored beer and a 1/2 inch of somewhat sticky head.

S - Kind of acidic and somewhat dry with flower hops, biscuit like malts, and a great caramel malt base.

T - I enjoyed this one the bready note was a touch sour but rounded well with caramel malts. I also dig the hop presence. A nice take on the style.

M - A bit higher ABV which may hinder session ability but went down smooth with a possibility of a couple a sitting.

Overall I got this one for around 2 bucks and was surprised. Pretty stellar Oktoberfest.

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2012 01:59:26 | More by DrDemento456

sonata2008

Minnesota

3.85/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Hardly any head at all. Clear light copper in color. Not much lacing.
Smell: Bread, yeast, and a hint of flowery hops.
Taste: Biscuits, a bit of caramel, and some roasted notes. Nice grain taste with gentle bitterness at the end.
Mouthfeel: Substantial mouthfeel. Gentle fizziness to the carbonation. A slightly bitter finish.
Overall: A delicious blend of flavors. Very drinkable. I wish this beer were available year round.

Serving type: on-tap

09-05-2012 01:51:26 | More by sonata2008

JuicesFlowing

Kansas

3.85/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a standard pint glass. The beer is a nice rich copper color, with a caramel idea about it. A frothy tight head sits on top with huge sheets of sticky lacing on the glass.

The beer smells slightly sweet and slightly acidic. Then a warmer caramel note comes to.

I like the taste. It's got a sharpness about it with smooth creamy caramel and malts evening it all out. There's a sweet peach note that emerges after drinking this for a while. The finish is bright, with a crisp bite about it.

Mouthfeel is dry and a tad carbonated.

Overall, a solid Oktoberfest, one of the better ones so far out of a handful I've had. But it's still early in the season to say it's the best.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2012 12:22:54 | More by JuicesFlowing

jimmah120

Minnesota

3.8/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle with no date into tulip

Look is a dark amber-orange, clear, with a small white head that fades to a ring around the glass. Smell is toasted grain, malt, with a touch of floral, earthy hops. Taste is sweet caramelized malt at first, followed by roasted grain. Burnt toast, pumpkin, spice, light floral/grassy hops. Medium-light feel that is full of malt and feels slightly velvety on the tongue. Decent amount of carbonation that isn't overdone.

As always with summit, this is well done and very drinkable. Would be quite pleasant on a chilly Mid-October night.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2012 02:12:18 | More by jimmah120

Megahertz

Missouri

3.98/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle dated 2-July-12, best before 2-Jan-13.

A - Brilliantly clear deep red with moderate brightly colored head that falls quickly. Carbonation appears brisk. Very good lacing.

S - Medium to high german malts with some herbal character. A slight nutty note in the back of the nose on initial pour.

T - Many layers of malt. Bready, biscuity & toast notes with a very subtle background herbal hoppiness. Finish is dry.

M - Light to medium body with medium high carbonation. Slightly sticky.

O - Excellent example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2012 22:17:02 | More by Megahertz

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

3.85/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle poured into a pilsner glass.
6.6% ABV, Enjoy by 01/02/13 printed on neck.

A - Pouring a crystal clear golden amber with a few bubbles trickling upwards here and there, the beer has a huge well-formed head with rock-solid retention and a thick collar of cream-colored lacing.

S - A light honey sweetness accompanies the toasted malts which are apparent but lack depth, instead, grassy, timidly floral hops are a bit more forward. While the beer smells inviting, it's fairly one-dimensional.

T - Initially sweet on the tongue, Summit's Oktoberfest has a big malt presence that turns toasted pretty quickly; think honey-drizzled bread. Unlike the aroma, the hops mellow in flavor, gently suggesting earthy, floral attributes on the back end.

M - The flavor's sweetness carries through and lingers on the tongue for an unbalanced medium-bodied. Moderate hop dryness helps, but there isn't much bitterness in this beer, making it harder to session, liter-style.

O - About half way through the beer, the sweetness becomes more and more cloying as it seems unnatural in this beer. While it's got the maltiness of an Oktoberfest down to a T, it's lacking a crisp hop profile that balances and rounds out the beer, the one aspect which makes the otherwise fuller-bodied beer drinkable in mass quantities. That's certainly not to say that this beer, standing alone, isn't good. In fact, it would be a wonderful transition beer during the cooler fall nights.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 23:59:17 | More by BeerFMAndy

JamesMN

Minnesota

3.85/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Semi-translucent copper color. Nice white head, poured about two fingers but now down to a thin film covering the top.

Aroma: Some grains in there, a little caramel. A little bit of the typical pilsener smell but more refined.

Taste: Really good grain qualities here. Any harsh flavors have been dulled to a smooth finish. Not a very high abv but still get some alcohol on the edges of the palate. A hint of bitterness but nothing overt.

Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied. A little effervescent. Average drinkability.

Final Thoughts: This is a good brew from a good brewery. It's got a nice malt complexity and would be perfect on a cool autumn afternoon. I'm glad they toned down the abv, it makes this beer more approachable if you are planning on having a longer drinking session.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2012 22:34:08 | More by JamesMN

BuckeyeSlim

Ohio

3.48/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. bottle poured into a pint glass

A - A light orange/copper color that's slightly opaque with golden highlights. One finger head of decently tight, eggshell-white foam that slowly dissipates to a fine cover. Active carbonation continues to feed the surface long after the pour.

S - Lightly toasted malt, sweet caramel almost approaching orange extract, floral and citrus hops in the background. Sugars/esters are what's pronounced and define the nose.

T - Grainy malts fresh from the mill, apricot-candy sugars, very similar to the nose. Hops balance sugars in the finish and cut them off. The ABV appears at the very end, giving it almost a bourbon style.

M - Decent body. A bit above moderate carbonation, and somewhat fizzy. Rather short, crisp finish with remnants of malt alcohol lingering in the sinuses.

O - A rather refreshing, clean Marzen that presents orange-hinted sugars and malt up front with enough hops in the finish for balance and cleansing to prevent them from being cloying. It's surprising to see the ABV above 7%, although there's evidence of it when there's some time between swallows. Close enough to the traditional representatives of the style to qualify, but definitely a crisper, malt-booze take on it. I see future enjoyment of this around a late-nite October bonfire with friends and cigars. Probably won't seek it out, but will buy a sixer when I see it just to have for the right time.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2012 02:00:12 | More by BuckeyeSlim

iabeerbaron

Iowa

3.48/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Enjoyed this while in Minneapolis for an Iowa football game. Can't remember the name of the bar but anyway, a real solid Oktoberfest beer with the perfect amount of malts balanced by a slight amount of hops. Nice copper pour with a white head. Nice smooth malty taste and finish. A nice fall brew.

Serving type: on-tap

03-24-2012 17:04:18 | More by iabeerbaron

gatornation

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A- pours a clear copper color with a nice off-white head good lacing on glass

S- is malts and toffee with fresh baked bread

T- was sweet malts and spice with candy toffe and some citrus hops

M- medium carbonation with with sweet tastes of malts and bread

O- typical good marzen and this one is a great local favorite

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2011 21:55:42 | More by gatornation

Vashtar

Texas

4.15/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

This beer is beautiful. It's a medium brown and it couldn't look any better.

The smell is also quite nice. There's nothing unique about it, but it's really clean.

The taste is nice and drinkable. It reminds me of copper.

The mouthfeel is like a marshmallow in liquid form. Not melted, sticky and thick, but nice. It's very airy, but not in a typical negative way.

It's very drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2011 00:21:36 | More by Vashtar

zander4dawin

Texas

3.05/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A real classic looking marzen oktoberfest beer. A orange amber beer with a thin head. A solid beer with like session drinkability. Nice full body with no overly aggressive feature but with big beer taste. One of the better American craft attempts at a true marzen beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2011 18:02:54 | More by zander4dawin

TheDeuce

New York

4.05/5  rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Summit Oktoberfest….in a bottle

Appearance-amber color, off white head of about two fingers that settles nicely with good lacing.

Smell-the usual Octoberfest notes of sweet malt and spice, very aromatic and smells like fall, in a good way.

Taste/Mouthfeel-malty with a sweet profile, nice balance with the burn of alcohol and light hops on the back, the sweet profile and spice with a chewy medium mouthfeel make this easily drinkable and enjoyable. Warming from the higher alcohol near the end remind you this isn’t your typical fest bier.

Overall-balanced, enjoyable, spot-on. A great version of the style, one that should be had again and again as things turn colder.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2011 02:42:24 | More by TheDeuce