Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier - Hofbräuhaus München

dgilks

Australia

3.63/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a pale gold with a decent fluffy white head. Decent head retention. The colour here is just far too pale.

Solid sulphur edge to the aroma. Maybe a light malt sweetness also comes through.

Good clean lager with plenty of bitterness. The balance between bitterness and malt seems to be out of kilter with the style with the beer coming across more as a pilsner than an Oktoberfest. There are some reasonable sweet malts in the attack but they really fall back to a supporting role through the mid and back palates. Medium dry finish.

Light to medium, well attenuated body with a lively, crisp carbonation. Nice and refreshing.

A decent lager just not the epitome of the Oktoberfest style. I can see it being quite easy to drink a few of these.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2009 02:52:04 | More by dgilks

Brent

Kentucky

3.28/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured a sparkling gold tinged with bronze. Green bottle and a tad skunky in the aroma. A little of the same in the initial sip, then it faded. Malt was promient, but a little thin. Fruity flavors - apple and grape, were noteworthy. Seemed to be on the lighter side of the style. Not at all bad, but I like Ofests a little more beefy in the malt.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2004 20:52:05 | More by Brent

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.28/5  rDev -2.1%
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

champ103

Texas

3/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Pours a crystal clear yellow color. A small white cap of foam forms with light spotty lace.
S: Clean, sweet malt, and grain. Dry crackers. Nothing else really.
T: Again, sweet malt with cereal and grain. No depth of flavor, but nothing that is really bad.
M/D: A light body with medium carbonation. Not hard to drink, though I don't think I would make a session of this.

Average in every way. Nothing bad, but uninspired. Not the worst think in the world. Though I would seek this out again.

Serving type: on-tap

09-19-2009 00:48:01 | More by champ103

alexgash

Connecticut

2.88/5  rDev -14%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Disappointingly green bottle pours out a tarnished golden body with a small, loose, off-white head that doesn't last long. Skunky hops over honey-covered biscuits and cookie dough. Spicy hop bitterness up front. Cookie dough and apple malts mid-palate. Apple sweetness crescendos into a slightly skunky, spicy hop finish. Moderate body with a slightly sticky feel. Probably better fresh at the hofbrauhaus!

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2007 22:11:54 | More by alexgash

JoeyBeerBelly

New York

3.55/5  rDev +6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

'Mini-Keg' aka on BA as a 'Large Can' served in a glass beer mug.

Clear golden yellow color (lighter than most in this style) with a fluffy white head that left good lacing.
Sweet grainy aroma, again it's different than most other O-fest beers.
A decent tasting brew, sweet malt prevails with a slight bittering tossed in towards and after the finish.
Medium bodied, with a crisp feel.
It goes down easy enough to have a few.

Serving type: can

11-04-2009 22:45:49 | More by JoeyBeerBelly

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.23/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Damn this is the lightest colored Oktoberfest being very light yellow with about a 1/2 inch of head that turns to a light creamy ring.

S - Smells a bit of toffee, mild caramel, and a bit of biscuit malt. Smells a bit dry and aggressive graininess.

T - Very strong with a bitterness that really isn't pleasant. Overly dry with very little sweetness. Maybe a bit of skunkyness from the green bottle. Lackluster.

M - Light to medium very surprising for the ABV.

Overall I guess it leans more toward the traditional style but the bitterness factor and skunk flavors really put me off. Pass.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2011 01:57:41 | More by DrDemento456

merlin48

Kentucky

3.6/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz green bottle pours a clear, pale yellow body with a one inch white head. Retention is fair, and there are some streaks of patchy lace left on the glass. Aroma is hoppy for an O'fest, with spicy and floral notes dominating a subdued caramel malt base. Mouthfeel is light bodied, with considerable carbonation and a slight hops bite. Taste is somewhat like a pils or helles, with a dominant floral bitterness. Caramel maltiness is very understated. Not exactly to style, but very drinkable. No skunky character from the green bottle, thankfully.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2005 12:10:43 | More by merlin48

Vancer

Illinois

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

Pours a golden amber, decent white head. My total impression is that the brew is on the side of a plain jane - aroma is subtle with gentle notes of spices. Quaff is also along those lines, it does have a bit of a hop kick in the finish, but overall well balanced - although kinda weak. Nothing outstanding with this brew, but easy drinking in the cool fall weather.

Serving type: on-tap

10-05-2008 15:53:24 | More by Vancer

Gmann

New York

3.05/5  rDev -9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours an almost straw like golden color with an average white head, rather dissappointing for an Oktoberfest. The smell is of grains and grassy nobel hops. Not much malt detected. The beer has a cracker like malt base, maybe a touch sweeter than their Munchen Helles, and a slightly bitter hop presence. Where are the caramel malts?? The feel is light and fizzy and well balanced. This brew drinks well and is very sessionable but misses the mark for an Oktoberfest. I don't see that much, if any, difference between this and their Helles.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2007 18:28:46 | More by Gmann

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

2.73/5  rDev -18.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

On tap at the hulmeville inn inside a pint glass.

This oktoberfest pours out a light golden color like a pilsner, the lightest october I've ever seen in the style. Smell include pale malt light caramel and nothingness. Taste is about the same, nothing to see here. Feel is light and lightly carbed. I drank it but won't again. If I wanted a malty pilsner I would of bought one.

Serving type: on-tap

09-21-2010 00:23:16 | More by onix1agr

Bierman9

New Hampshire

3.55/5  rDev +6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Quaffed a few litres of this in "The Pit" in the Hofbrau tent at the O-Fest! Medium-copper in color, with a big, white, rocky head. The head lasts nicely, and produces good lace. Has a mild malt nose - definitely needs more "ooomph" here. Not quite medium in the body department, yet ok over the tongue. Has a malty start, a bit bready, yet it finishes on the bitter side. Somewhat better tasting as it warms slightly. Seems to taste even better as you are getting spanked by an Aussie lass...

overall: 3.7
appearance: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | mouthfeel: 3.5 | drinkability: 3.5

337

Serving type: on-tap

10-11-2002 10:08:21 | More by Bierman9

GCBrewingCo

North Carolina

3.73/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The beer poured into the glass crystal clear pale golden straw with a white and frothy head which eventually fell to nothing but coated the glass from top to bottom.

The aroma was malty and slightly vinous with a Munich and Vienna malt character. The aroma also contained a slight DMS.

The flavor was malty with a crispness and a light hop bite. The bittering was enough to keep the other flavors in check and to dry out the beer somewhat.

The finish was dry with a slightly grassy and slightly spicy bittering that lasted into the aftertaste. The body was medium and the carbonation rather low. Not as clean as the tap version, but tasty.

12 ounce bottle.

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2005 00:04:02 | More by GCBrewingCo

Suds

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This beer pours a clear, deep golden color with a thin white head. The color is a little lighter than a typical marzen, but the head does produce considerable lacing. The aroma has an expected, lightly toasted malt aroma, but also has a distinct hop smell. The beer is malty, light, and very smooth...this is extraordinarily easy to drink. Again, there's more hops in the beer than ususal for the style, but they don't hurt the flavor at all. Soft, and very drinkable. Quite tastey.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2004 11:51:09 | More by Suds

brewdlyhooked13

Ohio

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

Can you believe it? Hofbrauhaus Newport's Octoberfest available at TGIF's in Cincinnati! Word is that they own 10% of the HB so they can carry the line in the restaurants. This year's brew is a special recipe being made here and in Munich to honor the opening of the HB Newport. It's time for Monday Night Football at TGIF, so let's give it a try!

Appearance - pours a light gold into a pint glass. Soda-like white head forms up about a finger thick. Leaves a solid ring of lace around the top of the glass, but not much more as the beer disappears. This doesn't look like your typical fall Octoberfest as one look tells you it is evidently void of any Vienna or caramel malts.

Aroma - Has a clean malt smell with some light spiciness.

Taste - well, I know it's not an amber style, but I was still kind of expecting a fuller taste. What I got was a much lighter, but tasty malt start. At first, it's very similar to a German pilsener in flavor. A mild bitterness on the finish provides pretty good balance. I even pick up a hint of honey sweetness for a bit, once I get accustomed to the primary taste. A nicely done Octoberfest, I guess it's only fair that I not deduct for its being as light as it is, after all, the fest-tents in Bavaria are full of similar style beer.

Mouthfeel - crisp, clean, and most bubbly.
Drinkability - I must have salted away about 5 or 6 of these during the game, so that speaks for itself. It goes down easily and almost too quickly. Even after several, the flavor is still right there.

Serving type: on-tap

10-01-2003 14:38:18 | More by brewdlyhooked13

bobsy

Ontario (Canada)

2.3/5  rDev -31.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

In which world this is an oktoberfest I do not know.

Pours a brilliant gold with an eggshell white head, which leaves a few streaks of lace as it settles to a collar. Lazy bubbles rise to the surface before bursting into free air. No dark coloured o-fest here, more of a helles or pils than anything, but moving on.

The aroma is grassy, and one would say, almost skunky. Its hard to tell whether this is intentional or a result of the green bottle, but either way its how the beer arrived to me (green bottles be damned). Beyond the grassiness there is a robust maltiness to be found, but we're still far removed from the nose of your regular oktoberfest.

The clincher is the taste. Serve me this blind and I'd say it was a decent Czech Pils. Give it to me in the context of an Oktoberfest and I'd ask whether your joking. A strong grassiness overlays sweet pale malts. The finish is sweet and mildly bready. The body is medium light with carbonation at about the same level, but at this point the beer has already lost the plot and been derailed by its pure inability to carry the style off.

For some reason I imagined that Hofbrau's Oktoberfest would have been one of the greats for the style, but I'm sadly disappointed. This was crap.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2009 00:01:07 | More by bobsy

kmpitz2

Tennessee

3.48/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This one pours a clear golden yellow color with a finger of head that falls to nothing. The nose is initially skunky like a heineken. The nose clears to be a bit grassy and sweet caramel. The flavor is definately grassy with a caramel tone that comes through late. The feel is just a bit thin. Drinkability is also just okay. probably the worst O-fest I've had his year, but give it a try, you may like it.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2004 01:51:53 | More by kmpitz2

ArrogantB

Colorado

3.35/5  rDev 0%
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

superspak

Michigan

3.05/5  rDev -9%
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

laituegonflable

Australia

3.78/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had on tap at the Hahndorf Inn, South Australia.

Pours a pale golden colour with steady stream of bead. Nice foamy white head with medium bubbles, sinks quite quickly, leaving a thin crown and some nice webs of creamy lace behind. Impressive looking lager.

Very fresh blend of some slightly bready, biscuity malts on the nose with some light grassy hops and a slight lemongrass zing to it. Slightly tangy, mostly sweet. Good marzen smell, very celebratory.

Taste is quite tangy as well, with a nice complex palate profile. Hints of lemon, parsley and raspberry throughout with some figs coming through on the mid. Slight bready character comes through late but not cloying. Finish is a little too sweet, would like a little more hop character. There is a slight rounded tartness at the end but not too much finish, really. Nice but a bit lacking.

Has a good slippery feel. Kind of slick is probably a better word. Thin, but pleasant. Good tingle.

Very drinkable beer. Mild and pleasant lager.

Serving type: on-tap

12-03-2009 03:11:52 | More by laituegonflable

srandycarter

California

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

A - Very clear gold, white stark head, small bubbled disk remains after 5 minutes. Some cling lace and cascading bubbles at the rim.

S - Perfume grain and some bitter hop.

T - Hmm... Sweet, cloying, adjunct flavors fall into hops that try to corral the taste. Very simple and not my favorite.

M - Medium to thin, balance is not what I would expect. Kinda cloying in and a little nasty bitter out.

D - In a pinch, sure. I would not go out of my way to session.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2010 02:32:00 | More by srandycarter

ehammond1

California

3.78/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On Tap

Stone Brew Co.
Escondido, CA

Clear orange and amber with a moderately sized near-white head. Lines and spots of lacing left down the glass. Nearly perfect per the style.

Grassy and earthy hop character combined with a touch of caramel malt. There's a hint of the dishrag/wet sponge aroma I despise, but it's faint.

Fortunately, I'm far more of a fan of this beer's taste than of it's aroma. There's quite a bit of toasted and caramel malt, a bit of sweetness, and some sharp, yet grassy hops. Overall, this seems like a classic, incredibly drinkable Oktoberfest.

Medium mouthfeel, ample carbonation. Wonderfully drinkable. Near perfect per the style.

A simple, classic Oktoberfest. I would happily drink this again.

Serving type: on-tap

09-29-2011 02:36:00 | More by ehammond1

Hojaminbag

Colorado

3.1/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Served in several full liter mugs, on tap at the Hofbrauhaus in Pittsburgh, PA. Imported from the Munich location.

Hofbrau Octoberfest pours a clear golden-brown with a big, creamy, off-white head. Like every other Hofbrau beer that I have tried out of the liter mug, this beer has a pretty good look.

The aroma has subdued, sweet malts and that is about it.

The flavor is pretty similar to the aroma, and pretty disappointing also. The Maibock imported from Munich was excellent, and I was hoping for something of similar quality from the O-fest, but no such luck. A bit of biscuit flavored malt with a touch sweetness is accompanied by the thinnest of hop flavors.

The mouthfeel is fine, the body and carbonation are pretty appropriate for the style.

Drinkability is great, and I would argue that the same is true of any Octoberfest beer, especially if it is served in a liter. Compared to the best examples of the style, however, this one falls a little short.

Serving type: on-tap

09-22-2010 00:22:37 | More by Hojaminbag

Reidrover

Oregon

3.48/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bought in the 12 oz bottle only says Hofbrau Oktoberfest..so I suppose it is the same beer. Nice sweet malt aroma, with a tiouch of honey for some reason. Pretty average in appearance for a Marzen a deep gold with a small white head...nice carbonation and lacing. Flavour is a caramelly sweetness followed by a tangy bitter falavour. Pretty nice and smooth on the palate. Overall a nice Oktoberfest to drink in quantity..but no were near as good as Paulaner

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2004 05:30:35 | More by Reidrover

dsa7783

New Jersey

3.6/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Single, twelve-ounce bottle just copped from New Beer Distributors in Manhattan...
For an Oktoberfest beer, this poured rather light, as opposed to the typical dark-amber hue usually seen in the style...
Smell: Light, malty aroma with hints of caramel...
Taste: Medium-bodied mouthfeel, with nuances of bread, butter, caramel, and vanilla...
All-in-all, a good depiction of the style, but certainly nothing above and beyond...
Easily drinkable, and refreshing...
Not bad...

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2008 23:17:43 | More by dsa7783