Review: Half Pints' Oktoberfest (2012)

Judging by the chilling weather, the leaves falling off the trees, the bare fields, and Canada Geese heading south it has to be autumn now. With that, new beers are starting to arrive at the local liquor stores, including Oktoberfest style lagers & ales, including Oktoberfest by Half Pints.

Half Pints' didn't produce an Oktoberfest beer last year as they replaced it with a Smoketoberfest beer, which you can tell by the name alone.. is a smokey beer. So it's good to see Oktoberfest back again as I have many friends who generally get incredibly excited for this time of year JUST for this beer.

The last time I bought this beer, it was only available in single 341mL bottles, but this year they're releasing it in 6-packs of 341mL bottles, so you can drink it all yourself - or share it with some friends! Heck, some friends bought a 11L keg of Oktoberfest directly from the brewery this past weekend.

Appearance: Pours a Transparent reddish honey brown, beaucoup de carbonation as the beer just about foamed over the glassware, but quickly diminished. Beige head

Aroma: Caramel maltiness, a slight peanutiness, a bit of an alcohol stinging aroma, barely any noticeable hops.

Taste: Caramel sweetness from the malts comes off right off the bat, followed by a bit of a raisin in the back of the mouth. Slightly nutty, fairly light, slightly alcoholic tasting, easy drinking.

Overall Thoughts: I'm kind of "meh" about this as honestly.. it reminds me a lot of a Bulldog Amber Ale. This is a nice sweet beer, but I expected sweeter and stronger tasting overall. Nothing special but hey.. tis the season for oktoberfest! Half Pints' Oktoberfest Lager has 6.2% ABV, 22 IBU and is described as a malty, German inspired amber lager.


Review of 2009 Edition