Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest - Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company

lampkins

Wisconsin

3.38/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This beer is an ideal entry level Oktoberfest to introduce someone to. It is no too over powering and is an ok session beer. Beer pours a copper color with very little head, actually when poured into a pint glass there is very little head, but for some reason the opposite is true when your drinking it straight out of the bottle, it get foamin up. Suspect it has something to do with the general overcarbonation of Leinies' beers in my opinion. I do not get a strong smell of anything in particular. Beer is rather sweet, perhaps the sweetest Oktoberfest I have had this year, can really taste the malt, but cannot detect hops or alcohol. Beer tastes better cold than warm.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2004 00:30:00 | More by lampkins

brewQ

Missouri

3.13/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Copper color, a thin off white head and a wisp of malt.
Not much to go on here.

If it's Oktoberfest, this is the safest version. Aimed not to upset anybody.

The finish is underwhelming but it is quite drinkable.

Believe it or not, I know that SAB/Miller/Leinie can do better than this timid "seasonal".

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2004 02:43:09 | More by brewQ

mynie

Indiana

2.6/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Very average amber color with a nice, retentive head. A light smell, grain with a hints of citrus.

A light taste. Too light. Grainy malts that aren't very sweet and just a little tiny hint of hop bitterness at the end, along with an almost metallic taste. Thin body, even for a Ofest, light carbonation though and so it's easy to drink.

This is the kind of beer that's made to pound, straight from the bottle. I almost feel the urge to add something to it to make it taste like something, anything. This is not a good beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2004 00:34:47 | More by mynie

alexgash

Connecticut

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

Came in a sampler of WI O-fests I recently received. Pours a light copper-straw with a thin off-white head. Smells of singed sweet bread malt with a mild Scotch tape hop smell. I'm not a huge 3M adhesive-smell fan, but it's not too off-putting. Taste comes at you with a bready and bland malt attack up front. Okay, maybe more of a "coast it on in in neutral" than an attack. Anyway, this gives way to a cereal malt wash midway and finally to some indistinct, yet mildly bitter, hops. Finish is a little astringent. Mouthfeel is average to thin (for an Ofest). Overall, slightly more malt and character than a Leinie's lager or Northwoods, but a rather watered-down Oktoberfest.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2004 02:31:36 | More by alexgash

redmosquito

Michigan

3.4/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Crystal clear amber color with a thin white head, with some lacing. Nice malt and yeast balancing in the nose, toasted bread malt aroma, and the yeast smells somewhat spicey. Clean flavor dominated by malt, finishs dry with a little grainy astringency. Overall a very good Oktoberfest style.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2004 18:59:25 | More by redmosquito

hero27

Iowa

3.08/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a somewhat dark (yet basically clear) amber color. Fairly thin head even with a vigorous pour, and dies down quickly to basically nothing, however leaves a nice white lacing on the glass.

Smell: Light and grainy...nothing too overwhelming but not offensive.

Taste: A very bready sweetness followed by a somewhat bitter taste of hops. Pretty average.

Mouthfeel: Certainly won't blow you away. A light to moderate body, but it didn't do much for me.

Drinkability: I guess I have to give this a fairly high drinkability score. You could pour a few of these down the hatch fairly effortlessly...however I'm not so sure you'd want to.

Not too much to complain about, but certainly no overwhelmingly good traits. Leinenkugel's has much better styles, but go ahead and try this one for something different.

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2004 21:48:25 | More by hero27

elmocoso

Nebraska

3.25/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A nice copper with not much of a head, say 1/8 inch that soon dissipates into a thin veil of lacing and a meek collar.

The smell is bottle and CO2 with slight malt.

The taste is malt and carb that hits the middle back of the tongue. Not the best. Over carbonated, I think and a seeming puckery blankness in the taste.

The beer warmed up and I warmed up to it. The carb toned down and the maltyness came out to greet me. Still not a great beer, the taste and drinkability got bumped up

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2004 01:16:31 | More by elmocoso

jimdkc

Missouri

2.65/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Looks pretty good: Clear dark amber with a decent-sized off-white head. Head dissipates quickly and leaves a few random patches on the glass. Smell is mildly malty. Taste is sweet and malty, but weak. Really, not much going on here! Are there hops in this? Slightly sour aftertaste. Watery mouthfeel. Not bad... but not very good, either.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2004 07:22:15 | More by jimdkc

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

2.65/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Burnished amber-orange topped by an bone white head that has a slight yellowish orange tint. The beer received a fairly aggressive pour and produced a decent sized foamy head as a result. Passable lace, no more than that.

The nose is pretty weak. I have to get my nose fairly deep into the glass to appreciate much. It isn't half bad... grainy malt with a minimum of offensiveness.

The flavor profile is disappointing. A quasi-sweet maltiness starts it off, but doesn't really lead to much. There's also a little earthiness, but the whole thing quickly loses its way and just kind of lays there and gives up. A little hop bitterness trys to poke through, but it too loses interest. A body/mouthfeel that is thin and fleeting definitely doesn't help.

I find myself without a strong opinion on this beer. It isn't bad, but there's really nothing to recommend it either. I find it to be middle-of-the-road as far as Leinie's goes: better than Berry Weiss and Honey Weiss, but not as good as Creamy Dark and Red. Before drinking what is my first every Oktoberfest, I wondered what an Oktoberfest was supposed to taste like. After drinking it, I'm still not sure that I know.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2004 20:58:38 | More by BuckeyeNation

chilidog

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a clear autumn amber with a slight egg-shell colored head that forms a nice inch & a half but fades to a thin film rather quick. The carbonation is up abit ti almost fizz-like. The smell is slightly sweet. Hop in the taste is slight as well but just enough to balance to a dry mouth finish. The body is light, alittle watery but drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2003 20:52:15 | More by chilidog

brakspear

Wisconsin

2.68/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

I was surprised by the decent head formation and subsequent lacing down glass. The body has an extremely clear, amber color, with high carbonation. Aroma is subdued for the style, although there are some toasted malt notes deep in the background.

The taste is sweet rather than caramel or roasted malts and in fact the hops are more dominate than malt, which should not happen with this style.

All and all just a maltier version of the regular Leinie's beers.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2003 15:44:28 | More by brakspear

jtw5877

Ohio

3.2/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pours an amber hue with a white head. Malty sweetness, medium bitterness, average for an O'fest beer. I still have a few left, and its not bad but not great. Better than budweiser. Since you won't run into these guys until next year, I will say that it is better than a macro lager. But not my favorite of this style.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2003 16:59:52 | More by jtw5877

budgood1

Minnesota

2.88/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

dark golden color, cheap foamy head and no lace. nice toasted malt aroma is cut down to size by the adjunct used (corn). taste mimics smell...your interest is piqued by a biscuity goodness that is soon drowned in adjunct badness. pretty light and fairly smooth mouthfeel. thin hop profile adds nothing. o-fest light. easy to drink with hints of caramel malt flavors. fairly lame and tame.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2002 17:13:48 | More by budgood1

Gusler

Arizona

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

Deep amber in color, the head is beige, the lace is adequate. The nose is caramel, sweet, malt and quite pleasing. Front sweet, the top is light to moderate, the finish is lightly dry, middlingly acidic, basally hopped, drinkable, but nothing to get excitied about as with most of "Lennies" beers. Does not rank on my current 1000 beer master list.

Serving type: on-tap

10-06-2002 13:41:06 | More by Gusler

ryanocerus

Iowa

3.18/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A slightly above average beer in general, but a weak Oktoberfest. The color was light amber and there was very little aroma. The taste was sweet and malty but very light. Might be a good entry Oktoberfest for someone trying the style for the first time after only drinking macros, but I like more flavor.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2002 08:42:05 | More by ryanocerus

proc

Michigan

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

A very light version of an Octoberfest. Slightly sweet, but in a good way. More like an amber than a marzen. Someone mentioned a mix of an octoberfest and a Killian's Red. I'd say that was right on. Drinkable and good, but not the best offering of the style.

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2002 18:33:30 | More by proc

marc77

California

2.75/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Copper in hue w/ trace haze, covered by a very dense persistent head that leaves Belgian lace. The aroma is dominated by sweetness derived from both caramel malt and unfortunately, corn. Toasty Munich malt and a lemony hop nose are secondary and very light. Bready sweetness upfront is followed by mildly buttery malt and notes of grain husk. Sweetness then mimics the aroma mid palate, becoming a combination of caramel malt and cooked corn. Hop bitterness is paltry, but since overall sweetness is fairly light for style, decent balance is acheived. Moderate in body, w/ a surprisingly dextrinous mouthfeel considering the apparent use of adjuncts. Finishes with notes of sweet biscuit and grits. An odd, and not particularly good oktoberfest. Think Paulaner's Oktoberfest mixed 50/50 w/ Killian's Red.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2002 17:50:11 | More by marc77

bditty187

Nebraska

2.8/5  rDev -10%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

This is a mainstream made Oktoberfest and the fact Leine’s made it, probably didn’t help. Granted, it looks fine in a glass, light reddish-orange with a white head, albeit short-lived. The sweetness of the nose and taste is either corn or really unappealing malt (or both?). Which ever is the case, this is a poor interpretation of an Oktoberfest beer.

I don’t think this is up to BA standards of what an Oktoberfest beer should deliver. I’ll skip this one next year.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2002 19:30:49 | More by bditty187

Bighuge

Minnesota

3.48/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Clear copper color. A big pillowy white head sits on top. Pretty decent aroma dominated by a luscious sweet malt presence. Taste has an interesting hop presence. Nice little hebalness, which add nicely to the underlying toasted malt taste. Medium to full in body and goes down the hatch fairly effortlessly. A little better than average for an Ofest.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2002 16:14:41 | More by Bighuge

ZAP

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A pretty average Octoberfest that works nicely as a thrist quenching amber style beer....The nose is unremarkable...some maltiness, but some corn or adjunct smell as well...body is thin for this style but I don't mind it so much...I bought this figuring it would have some decent malt tones and be rather thin/easy drinking...I was dying of thirst after work tonight and this went down nicely....The taste is on the malty side but not real heavy...it does finish with a little dry note...not an all-time great, but one that can be enjoyed in the right spot...

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2002 22:06:07 | More by ZAP

cokes

Wisconsin

3.05/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Shimmering golden amber body with a big fluffy white head that stays a while and laces nicely.
A decent nose of toasted malt is belittled by some large adjuncty corn notes.
Decently malt on the taste buds, but without any real depth. Faintly toasted, but mostly grainy. Near sugary malt sweetness seems forced. Strays in corn land later on. Peppery hops help to recover. Pretty average overall. But by Leinies standards, this is great.
Body is void of any real flaws, but lacks any real stellar traits either. Easy drinking, no-brainer stuff.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2002 20:46:32 | More by cokes

ADR

Pennsylvania

2.98/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Clear amber orange color, head thin and quickly down to a 1/8 inch. Very little in the aroma department. Decent malt flavor, mostly in a brown sugar range with peppery hops showing earlier than some Fests. Both malt and hop could be stronger -- in a point/counterpoint manner. Thin mouthfeel...Pretty average, but drinkable. May be one of "Leinie's" better efforts.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2002 07:58:41 | More by ADR

garymuchow

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Rather light in aroma, more of a pale malt than lightly roasted. Reddish, orangish and gold in color. Bright and clear. Big and solid head. A nice looking beer. A Maerzen made more for the masses than lovers of this style. Flavor lacks the boldness I'd expect, but is of a stronger malt than just pale malt with some richness in middle to finish, leaving some dryness on the tongue. Medium body that seems appropriate with adequate carbonation. For me not an altogether poor start to the Oktoberfest season.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2002 19:17:12 | More by garymuchow