Scratch Beer 73 - 2012 (Fest Lager) - Tröegs Brewing Company

stephenjmoore

Maryland

4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A- Transparent copper body with a sticky off-white head. Carbonation bubbles can be seen through the body.

S- Caramel malt and lager yeast come through the most. Malty bread aromas along with some sweetness as well.

T- Caramel malts are the main attraction in this one. Bready flavors come through along with a slight earthy hop presence. Pretty standard marzen flavors.

M- Crisp with a slight bite on the tounge, medium carbonation, smooth and drinkable.

O- Solid marzen. Not a style that will blow anyone away, but a drinkable, enjoyable offering.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2012 02:25:47 | More by stephenjmoore

Boone757

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -1.3%

05-03-2013 19:55:57 | More by Boone757

spycow

Illinois

4/5  rDev +5.3%

05-01-2013 06:18:43 | More by spycow

RyFikes

New York

3.75/5  rDev -1.3%

03-21-2013 16:50:42 | More by RyFikes

donkeyrunner

Massachusetts

2.65/5  rDev -30.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

$7 at Meadhall, Cambridge MA.

Octoberfest in February? Yes please.

Cyrstalline clear dark auburn with a staunch, never say die head. Sticky Kanagawa wave lacing clings onto the glass like intentionally festooned decoration. Such an impressive foam show I doubled checked the menu to make sure it was a lager and not some weird amber wheat. Flawless looking marzen.

Smells like crystal malts. Maybe some herbal hop. That's about it.

Way too sweet. Tastes like someone squirted marzen extract into my beer and was too heavy handed. There's an herbal hop in back that gives an antiseptic flavor which I really don't like but it does help cut some of the sweetness off my palette.

Really didn't like this one.

Serving type: on-tap

02-02-2013 13:39:53 | More by donkeyrunner

ejimhof

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +5.3%

12-25-2012 17:19:21 | More by ejimhof

stereosforgeeks

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -1.3%

12-18-2012 01:18:08 | More by stereosforgeeks

MarvinSnyder

West Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +11.8%

12-15-2012 16:58:07 | More by MarvinSnyder

chefhatt

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I poured this one into a pefect pint glass, it has a copper colored body with a 1' finger of white foamy head that hangs out for a while. The aroma of toasted malt and carmel. The taste has a toasted malt and grain taste, with a little hop bit on the finish of it. The mouth feel is really good and overall a really damm good O-fest, one of the best i have had.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2012 04:37:12 | More by chefhatt

tectactoe

Michigan

3.7/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4

Pours a nice shade of orange and copper, slight clarity with a bit of hazy particles in the middle, some small white sediment floating around. Beige-like, small head that sinks down to a thin cover around the edges of the glass quickly. Smell is hard to pick up on, not as powerful as I'd hoped. I am getting some mild spice and sweet, buttery malt, but that's about it. It's definitely getting stronger as it warms up.

After the first taste I was thinking, "Wow, this tastes like an O-fest!" - Then I realized, it is called FEST Lager. Hah, must be the Munich malts. Very malt heavy beer, biscuity and full of caramel and some toffee. Slight sulfur smell in the background, but not too heavy or distracting. A bit of grains and almost some fruity sweetness, although I can't pinpoint one specific fruit. Bitterness is very low and appears only briefly at the end in the form of very, very, VERY faint, floral, musty hops. I also picked up a slight weird, astringent flavor, almost old cork-like. Not a big deal. Aftertaste is like buttered toast and full of grains. Medium body, slightly stick with low-medium carbonation.

This beer was pretty damn good. I wasn't expecting much from it, but it certainly delivered and then some. I'm also not a huge fan of O-fests, but I still enjoyed this one very much. True to the style and full of flavor. Low ABV doesn't hurt, either. Some slight off-flavors here and there which prevented a higher rating, but I would definitely have this one again.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2012 04:41:59 | More by tectactoe

jculler82

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +11.8%

11-27-2012 02:19:43 | More by jculler82

RonfromJersey

New Jersey

4.45/5  rDev +17.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Awesome copper color, outstanding clarity, carbonation streams, topped by four fingers of highly whipped dense snow white foam. Good stretchy lace.

Great deep toast aroma. Toast with caramel poured on it.

Terrific depth to the malt without being overly sweet. Veers off from tradition with a tasty bigger hop bite than expected.

Light to medium mouthfeel with a bit of chew.

An exceptional traditional Octoberfest with an extra hop bite. Find it if you can.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 06:10:21 | More by RonfromJersey

ncworster

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +11.8%

11-22-2012 01:14:12 | More by ncworster

justintcoons

Pennsylvania

3.08/5  rDev -18.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured into a pint glass.

Appearance
Amber with 1 finger white head. Low-moderate carbonation.

Nose
Biscuits and caramel.

Taste
Biscuits, caramel and buttered toast. A touch of cocoa, brown sugar and grapefruit zest. A good dose of earthy, herbal hops on the back end providing a caustic bitterness.

Mouthfeel
Medium bodied, crisp and clean.

Overall
All is well until the hops come into play. The hops are just providing a weird bitterness without much flavor. Very dirty and unpleasant for the Oktoberfest style.

Serving type: on-tap

11-19-2012 17:21:54 | More by justintcoons

yaksurf

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +5.3%

11-19-2012 00:37:06 | More by yaksurf

beermanbrian

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -1.3%

11-18-2012 02:59:58 | More by beermanbrian

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Troegs Brewery
Scratch 73 : Fest Lager

LOOK: This test batch brew pours a rich copper color with a foamy froth providing plenty of lacework.

SMELL: Bready malts, caramel and floral hops. Light toasted notes from the malts come through as well.

TASTE: Moderately bitter with a nice earthy, grassy noble hopping and Munich malts. Satisfying brew with a caramel like malty flavor and a solid dose of hop bitterness. Sugary sweet caramelized malt flavor is quite delicious and the hops keep things interesting. This is a high quality example of an Oktoberfest, with very clean and enjoyable flavors.

FEEL: Medium bodied, well carbonated, fairly smooth and goes down with ease. A great beer to drink for extended periods of time, this deserves the name " fest lager ".

OVERALL: This is an impressive Oktoberfest from a well respected Pennsylvania brewery. Definitely stands up to alot of others on the market, I could make buying a case of this a holiday tradition. Very well done.

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2012 21:27:07 | More by Stinkypuss

CurtFromHershey

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -1.3%

11-13-2012 17:29:40 | More by CurtFromHershey

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.85/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served on-tap at The Brass Rail in Hoboken, NJ

A: Pours a clear deep copper to amber in color with some garnet red highlights and light to moderate amounts of visible carbonation. The beer has a finger tall off-white head that slowly reduces to a thin film covering the entire surface of the beer and a thick ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of toasted/bready and caramel malts with some light sweetness as well as some herbal and grassy hops.

T: Like the smell, the flavor of this beer sticks to the traditional Oktoberfest style flavors of toasted and caramel malts with some light amounts of sweetness followed by moderate amounts of herbal and grassy hops that give it some bitterness.

M: Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Crisp.

O: Enjoyable with the slightly more than normal hops for the style giving it a little more "bite." I could easily put a couple of these down and it was a welcome flavor on this cold early winter evening.

Serving type: on-tap

11-09-2012 03:29:35 | More by dbrauneis

drabmuh

Maryland

4.23/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Another very good Fest beer / Scratch from Troegs. Served in a plastic cup. Beer is amber and clear with a soft white head, lazy, breaks quickly, pulls apart. Some lacing on the glass.

Beer has a mild aroma but expected as much, mildly yeast, midly sweet.

A nice lager for sure, I do enjoy this beer. Easy drinking, malty, medium in body, definitely a repeat. I hope they make this annually.

Serving type: on-tap

11-08-2012 16:18:08 | More by drabmuh

Rojada1988

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -1.3%

11-06-2012 17:34:07 | More by Rojada1988

Ecolello87

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -14.5%

11-06-2012 03:04:47 | More by Ecolello87

mbs11

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +11.8%

11-04-2012 22:43:14 | More by mbs11

TheNightwatchman

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +5.3%

11-04-2012 18:30:28 | More by TheNightwatchman

jagada

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -7.9%

11-04-2012 04:50:03 | More by jagada