Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier - Hofbräuhaus München

Teleweizen2

New Jersey

2.78/5  rDev -17.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

A - pours a crystal clear pale golden color. Thick 3 fingers worth of pearly white foam dissipates slowly to a ring around the rim leaving behind spotty lacing.

S - skunky and herbal European hops dominate the nose. Probably in part to this being packaged in a green glass. Beyond the pungent dead skunk there are notes of pleasant leafy greens and crispy bread crust.

T - grainy and doughy flavors mingle on the tip of the tongue. Skunk in the middle. Leafy green hop notes on the backend.

M - crisp texture. Medium bodied. High carbonation.

O - an average mass produced lager. Didnt cost me anything so thats a plus. But the skunk flavor/aroma is just way to pervasive to be a pleasurable beverage.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2013 03:15:43 | More by Teleweizen2

merc7186

New York

3.4/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle into pint glass.

A: Clear Golden Straw Hue, Passes All Light, White Head, Some Lacing

S: Corn, Apple, Grassy

T: Corn, German Malts, Barley

M: Average Carbonation, Light to Medium Bodied, Mildly Grainy

Overall, this beer is one of least favorite offerings from HB Munich unfortunately.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2012 18:55:35 | More by merc7186

superspak

Michigan

3.05/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

330 ml bottle into pint glass, bottled 5/25/2012. Pours lightly cloudy golden amber color with a nice 1-2 finger dense white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Good spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass. Aromas of apple, pear, caramel, biscuit, toasted grain, light nuttiness, pepper, grass, floral, herbal, and light skunkiness. Ok aromas with good strength and decent balance. Taste of apple, pear, caramel, toasted grain, bread, grass, floral, pepper, herbal, earthy spiciness, and light skunkiness. Lingering notes of caramel, light fruits, toasted grain, bread, pepper, herbal, floral, and earthy spiciness on the finish for a bit. Ok flavor balance and complexity; with a good balance of malt and peppery spiciness from the hops; a fair amount of cloying astringency is present on the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a lightly creamy and crisp mouthfeel that is decent. Alcohol is very well hidden with nearly zero warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a mediocre Oktoberfest. Skunked flavors and aromas; with flavor astringency on the finish make this much less enjoyable. Quite easy to drink, though.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2012 05:04:17 | More by superspak

MaximalC

Illinois

3.3/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a perfectly lucid straw color with a moderate amount of white froth. Carbonation bubbles are readily visible as they make their continuous migration toward the surface. The aroma has an appreciable skunkiness that masks earthy hops and trace amounts of malt sweetness. The exceedingly thin and light appearance would lead one to believe the flavor would match, but that is not the case at all. The flavor is surprisingly robust, with some caramel, brown sugar, and a distinctive nuttiness that I would never have suspected. Just enough hops are present to balance the malt sweetness, and the carbonation is spot-on, lending a creamy mouthfeel that complements the flavor profile well. I think I'm detecting trace amounts of apple peel near the back end as well. The sticky malt residue lingers on the lips, denoting a body belied by the thin visage. As far as criticisms are concerned, the hops overstay their welcome a bit in the finish, and the sweetness comes off a tad artificial, but there's no denying this is highly sessionable brew with more robustness than I'd expect to find in an oktoberfest. One of the more intriguing festbiers I've tried.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2012 01:51:10 | More by MaximalC

barczar

Kentucky

3.35/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear light golden color with a solid 1 inch dense ivory head that lingers, slowly dissipating and leaving touches of lacing.

Skunky aroma when first opened, with grainy malt and caramelly melanoidins accompanying lightly floral hops.

Flavor is fairly sweet, dominated by caramelization, bready malt, and a slightly bitter, dry finish. There's a bit of graininess, as well as some herbal hop notes. Cracker-like character is a but reminiscent of oxidation.

Body is moderate, with moderate carbonation. There's some astringency and a touch of alcohol warmth present.

Overall, a bit too sweet to be sessionable. Good caramelization, but the skunky aroma also detracts from the experience. BROWN bottles! Nothing to write home about.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2012 05:34:58 | More by barczar

thehyperduck

Ontario (Canada)

3.33/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500 mL bottle from the LCBO; best before June 20 2013. Not something I was expecting to find on the shelf, but I've been intending to seek out more marzens recently and I'd be surprised if I see any more available locally this year. Unlike all the others I've tried, this one is actually from Germany, so it has that going for it. Which is nice.

Pours a transparent golden yellow colour, topped with about one finger of sparkling, foamy, fairly resilient white head. It recedes gradually over a period of a few minutes, leaving a smeared coat of lacing behind on the sides of the glass. The aroma is clean but meek, dominated by bready malts, citrus, grass and an underlying honey sweetness. Not necessarily unappealing, but too subdued.

The flavour is dominated at first by the barley malt, giving it a bready, almost doughy flavour that is eventually overtaken by a sweeter citrus and brown sugar sweetness. Some grassy hay notes provide a bit of dryness toward the finish, but the aftertaste is mostly sweet. On the light side of medium-bodied, with a bit of stickiness that lingers briefly with the sweetness on the palate. The alcohol never really rears its head, making this a highly drinkable, if unimaginative marzen.

Final Grade: 3.33, a somewhat acceptable B-. Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier is tasty stuff, though it's certainly not interesting or unique stuff. It's still a refreshing, reliable brew in its own right - unfortunately, it's one that this Euro Lager fan merely likes, rather than loves. One thing I will say is that this is a perfect pairing for the first week of genuinely cold weather we've had all year here - it's light enough to be session-worthy, but hot enough to warm you a little as the night goes on. Worth a try if you have the chance to, but not a particularly memorable marzen by any metric.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2012 00:16:13 | More by thehyperduck

Kremlock

Ontario (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Gold, light straw colour, head retention is poor, no lacing.

S: White bread, hints of biscuit flavours, slight citrus.

T: bread, sweet, malty, The bitterness then comes with with a bit of a floral taste to it.

M: Med-full body beer, carbonation is on target and the bitterness does try to stay but does compete with the overly sweet flavours

O: A good beer. I think it could be much better if it was not as sweet.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2012 00:14:51 | More by Kremlock

ArrogantB

Colorado

3.35/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle poured into a pint glass. Bright orange, soapy head, lacing on the side. Slight aroma of honey, grain, malts. Flavor is malty with a honey grain flavor like honey wheat bread. Overall, goes down easy and a sixer would have been a better choice than the single I picked up.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2012 01:42:29 | More by ArrogantB

JustinAniello

Connecticut

3.08/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - Pours straw yellow with a one finger head that quickly dissipates to a minimal cap and sticky lacing.

S - Bread and light citrus, not a lot of depth.

T - Sweet caramel at first, becoming more bready on the swallow. A mild fruitiness mixed in as well. Almost indiscernible bitterness in the aftertaste.

M - Medium body and carbonation, crisp as well.

O - A pretty disappointing Marzen overall, light on aroma and flavor. Needs some bolder toasted malt and nuttiness added to really give it that Oktoberfest charm. There are better beers of the style out there that make this one not even worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2012 00:37:52 | More by JustinAniello

deadonhisfeet

Kentucky

2.98/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a bottle into a stein (snifter? hey - it's an Oktoberfest). Pour is crystal clear light amber (very light) with a nice thick head. The nose is slightly skunky (darn green glass) with a little bit of clean malt and spice on it.

After smelling this beer, I was all set for a huge disappointment, but it doesn't taste all that bad. The feel is quite firm and the flavor has nice, clean malt notes. Very easy to drink, but not very complex. There's a lemony note on the finish I don't quite care for.

Overall, an average representation of the style. The nose kind of spoils it for me. I expected more.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2012 22:49:37 | More by deadonhisfeet

Maxwell

Massachusetts

3/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

The beer pours very clean and clear with light carbonation bubbles racing everywhere. In truth, this beer looks like dehydrated piss or apple juice, the only difference being that it has a nice, sticky, eggshell white head that sits at a fingers width for quite some time. The lacing is also sticky with thin sheets and long lines of moving up my mugs walls.

The beer smells skunky and reminiscent of Heineken, which isn’t a very promising thing for a beer to smell like. Notes of light caramel mix with a large bouquet of hay and grass with light biscuit touches on the edges of the smell. The beer tastes light and highly drinkable. Heavy notes of creamy caramel mingle with notes of hay and earthy hops. The sip begins as light sweet caramel bordering on sweet apples, but then opens into heavy hay-like flavoring that reminds me of a traditional saison a hell of a lot more than an Oktoberfest. From there it slides into more spicy and earthy hop notes, and then lingers in the mouth as a mix of pilsner-like hops and hay. Mouthfeel is thin and highly drinkable, which is wonderful for the style. Carbonation is light, and the beer practically slides off the tongue lightly and leaves the mouth slightly dry with some saliva on the edges. Overall this is a mediocre almost-session ale, but it does not taste like a Oktoberfest by my measure. The heavy hay-funk notes make me think that this beer might have an infection or something, but I actually like them and found them refreshingly palatable. An enjoyable chugger, but nothing like what you would expect from the style.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2012 17:36:42 | More by Maxwell

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.28/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

definitely not my favorite of the german oktoberfests. it pours a very light and very clear pee yellow color with a half inch of rapidly fading white head. it smells like pale german malts and just a hint of that classic oktober sweetness. the flavor is pretty bland in this one, not the robust malty offereings i am used to this time of year. it almost tastes old in that way, and the aftertaste is a little off. the mouthfeel is fine enough, a little too light for the style i think though in terms of body. the carbonation is good though, and its easy to put down. even though this is authentic and all, i will not be coming back to it this year.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2012 00:35:24 | More by StonedTrippin

WastingFreetime

Wisconsin

2.88/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours out a light and transparent pale straw color with a flash head and no lacing. Light body and medium-light carbonation levels.

It does smell slightly of skunkiness but mostly has a medium-level soft bread dough and floral hopping aroma. The flavor follows suit, but has a garnish twist of apple esters at the back end with some light amount of boozy heat. It's not a bold or amazing beer by any stretch of the imagination, but it suffers badly from style mismatch to the expected marzen standard. (Where are the toasted nutty qualities?) And the green glass bottle certainly doesn't help in terms of skunkiness. I can't really recommend this one, sadly. It might have been better than average when it began it's journey across the Atlantic, but it certainly didn't stay that way.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2012 19:18:36 | More by WastingFreetime

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle from the LCBO, 500ml into a tulip. Best before June 20, 2013.

Orange body, white head with moderate retention and some webbed lacing. Nose has various cereals, toasty grains, light veggie and some drying malt and mineral character. Taste has sweet malts, light caramel, more toasty cereals and some veg. Good bit of hop bitterness, but too much for my liking. Medium feel, higher med carbonation. Probably won't revisit this.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2012 23:32:00 | More by liamt07

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle into a mug.

Pours a crystal clear pale gold, with several billowy fingers of bright-white head. This retains with nearly 2 rich fingers of froth, which rings the sides of the glass with sticky lacing. The aroma is fresh in the nose with notes of must, spice and a touch of crisp citrus. A light sweet graininess just hangs on the edges.

The taste is crisp up front with spice and citrus, which gives way to flush of sweetness along the middle portion of the profile. Thankfully more hops swoop in before this gets overly cloying finishing things this dry and lightly spicy and bitter on the backend. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with some sharpness up front, more of a bubbly creaminess in the middle and then more crispness on the tongue before it goes down. You do feel that 6% just a bit, with a touch of lingering warmth on the end of each swallow.

The alcohol and sweetness in the middle of the flavor profile were the main distractions here but there was enough Noble hop character to mostly keep this crisp and drinkable. This was decent but I think there are some better imported examples of the style out there.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2012 19:21:06 | More by Kegatron

MattyG85

Minnesota

3.63/5  rDev +8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from 11.2 oz. green bottle into a Sam Adams "Perfect Pint" glass.

Appearance: Pours a bright and clear pale golden orange with lots of rising bubbles. Big four finger white head with good retention. Leaves a lot of creamy lacing around the glass.

Smell: Pretty grainy. Bready and moderately toasted malts with hints of caramel, toffee, biscuit, cereal grains, hay, grass, and crackers. Decent amount of noble hops add a little spice. Has a moderate skunked scent from the green bottle. Decent smell overall.

Taste: Has that bready, caramel driven taste typical of Marzens. Toasted malts with notes of caramel, toffee, biscuit, and crackers. Notes of grass, hay, and husk. Decent earthy hop presence with some spicy noble hops. A little bit of skunk lingers throughout.

Mouthfeel: Body on the lighter side of medium. Carbonation is moderate. Crisp and pretty smooth.

Overall: A decent tasting Marzen, but its held back by the skunking from the green bottle. I would be interested to see how this tastes from the tap.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2012 06:17:20 | More by MattyG85

damndirtyape

Ohio

3.68/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

11.2oz green bottle served in a pilsner glass. Batch/date stamp L165L 09:56

Appearance: Clear golden yellow. 1/8" persistent white head. Some lacing hear and there, mostly small islands.

Smell: Malt, German noble hops.

Taste: Simple malt, a hint of honey and apple, nice solid hop bitter finish which is crisp at the end. Spicy noble hop flavors.

Mouthfeel: Good and lively carbonation, nice thickness underneath.

Overall / Drinkability: A simple beer, but very solidly put together such that all the simplicity equals one very drinkable beer. I had this at the Dayton German Fest earlier this year and again now, and in both cases I could easily knock back another, and I would not mind doing so. Not a rich in flavor Marzen, nor is it my favorite as I think the malt is a bit on the weak side - but - it works as a good beer. If I cannot get some of my other favorites, I think I'll look to this one as my backup for large amounts with pork and other typical German Oktoberfest favorites.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2012 22:55:43 | More by damndirtyape

thierrynantes

France

3.53/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Beer bottle (50 cl.) purchased from V&B and tasted in 2012.

Appearance : clear yellow color, with white foamy head.
Smell : grass and malty araomas.
Taste & mouthfeel : grassy and light toasted malt flavors, and hoppy finish.
Drinkabililty : an average beer in the German style Oktoberfest.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2012 17:41:36 | More by thierrynantes

jak3676

Virginia

2.9/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Hofbräu - Oktoberfest

Brewed and bottled in Munich, Germany. This is another one I've dranken by the barrel over the years. But unlike the Weihenstephaner, I'm dissapointed in this one - at least the first 6-pack I picked up this year. I'm still trying to figure out if it's intentional, or if my beer went skunk - either way, it was suprisingly bitter. It had the very hoppy bitterness that I always dislike in an IPA. My Dad was over last weekend and he commented that this one had the "typical Hofbräu Hause bitter hops taste too. Maybe it's more of an aquired taste? I've been to the actual Hofbräu Hause in Munich probably a dozen times and I've always loved the beer, so I'm not sure what's up here. I will say that poping a few more later in the evening seemed to get much better. Maybe I was letting them breathe more, or maybe the 6.3% ABV was starting to kick in. Maybe it's intentionally bitter to hide the high ABV and I just never noticed before?

This was another crystal clear, blondish-yellow beer. I'm going to try to have to dig up some more of my old pics from Germany, because I remember these being much darker in color too. There are some numbers stamped on the label, but nothing I can discern as a date. In any case I think I'll be passing on this one until I can find my way back to Germany again.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2012 20:05:21 | More by jak3676

Hopswagger

Oklahoma

3.33/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

P:  Crystal clear golden body with steaming effervescence and a small thin layer of fading white head. 

S:  As expected the nose is full of skunky aroma but does still have faint notes of toasted caramel, canned dog food, subtle spicy hops. 

T/M:  Prickly medium body that follows the nose but the flavors are more toasted malts and powdery yeast rather than the overpowering skunk funk in the nose.  Sour apples, and citrus bitterness to compliment the sweet caramel and malt base. Finish is semi dry and clean that lingers apple peels and citrus bitterness.  Subtle lactic acid tartness shows up once warmed. 

O:  The smell was pretty awful and I was expecting to hate this buy it turned out the taste was much better than the nose. The flavors worked well together and the mouthfeel was pretty good. 

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2012 21:33:17 | More by Hopswagger

tophers

Michigan

2.15/5  rDev -36%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Green bottle...can't wait. Hoping it wasn't sunked, but alas no such luck. Moderate amount of skunkiness in the aroma with some malt background. The skunkiness came over in the flavor too. Would like to try this from the tap in Germany as I think it would be a really great beer if it was packaged better.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2012 22:30:55 | More by tophers

Darkmagus82

Montana

2.95/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured from bottle into pint glass

Appearance – The beer pours a clear medium golden color with a huge thick white head. The head has fantastic retention, eventually fading to give a moderate level of lacing.

Smell – While it looked fantastic, it was not the best smelling. A strong skunky aroma was mixed with some malt, lemon and slightly sweet smell.

Taste – The taste begins of some caramel sweetness with a strong malty backbone. These flavors last the entire of the taste and mix with some lighter citrus flavors as well as a light hop bitterness that comes to the tongue more toward the end of the taste.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is average in terms of its thickness/creaminess with a slightly higher than average carbonation level. The carbonation is actually quite good for the style and makes for one very refreshing feel.

Overall – Nothing too special here. They should ditch the green bottle to get rid of some of the skunky nose. While rather easy drinking, there are definitely better ones out there.

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2012 01:20:05 | More by Darkmagus82

BierStein711

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330 mL bottle poured into Weizen

Two finger fast reducing off-white head, dark gold in color, just a little cloudy and pale than what I was expecting.

Smells: Wet grain, slight skunk, and malt

Taste: Grassy, malt, bread, and boozy finish

Mouthfeel: A little watery, but not too watery.

I am liking these oktoberfest beers. I cannot wait to try more.
My fiancee and I loved it!

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2012 13:40:13 | More by BierStein711

eriktoyra

3.35/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is golden colored with a pale white head at about one finger's height. The head is creamy and leaves some nice lacings after it dissolves.

S: It smells of white bread, toasted malts, some spicy hops and some grassy tones.

T: The taste has typical German hops in it. The toasted malt is dominant at the end. I also noticed the alcohol.

O: Somewhat oily in texture. Medium body with medium to strong carbonation.

O: A nice Oktoberfest beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2012 07:40:50 | More by eriktoyra

thecheapies

Pennsylvania

3.4/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

11.2oz bottle poured into a pint glass.

Pretty pale in color. Bright gold beer with a sliver of white head that quickly dissipated. Pretty much looks like a light lager.

Pilsner malts with a light toast. Not as amped-up in the malt department as it should be. Slight earthy skunk. Grassy hops aren't particularly overwhelmed, which is a nice change of pace.

Musty grains, simple dose of bitterness, tart apple skin, grassy hops, and light metallic note. Perhaps, slightly skunked. Tasty in a 'dry and brisk and very slightly fruity and very slightly toasty' kind of way. Still, it's not fully-realized.

Thin, but not watery. Spicy effect of carbonation, especially around the gums. A so-so mouthfeel, overall.

I still like it for what it is; a paler and hoppier Oktoberfest without that generous toast character to the grain. Not a top-notch German example, however. Still passable, and very drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2012 02:09:51 | More by thecheapies