OktoberFish
(This review stems from an Oktoberfestbier tasting on Nov 6, 2010, that included 13 examples of the style, of German and US origin. The variations brew to brew fascinated and surprised) First off, I'm told this isn't a true Marzen because it's top-fermented and very much un-lagered. Sure, it's appropriately malty, but, then again, most of Flying Fish's beers are over-compensating in the malt department. I've heard the opinion that this could be considered an altbier, however, at best, I feel the taste falls somewhere in between each style. Getting down to brass tacks, it shows a hazy, coppery tawny color. The head is short, thin, fizzy, boasting on average some noticeably medium-sized bubbles. Any lace with each sip slips swiftly and easily down the glass. Malts ooze thick, sweet, and dank in what's a shallow (lacking depth), muddled aroma. There's something "unripe" about the scent, but the smell is most appealing element here. Sweetness is just about cloying in the taste, the malt also exhibiting sugar cookie qualities. Starting in the middle and finishing through the aftertaste, the most characteristic O-Fest flavors come out. Once again, definite malt presence, but without any toasted aspects and coming across underdeveloped. A tangy, puckering, but not quite sour sense/feel accompanies the entire sip sequence. As you can guess, the body is fairly full and filling, but some generous residual carbonation helps attenuate some of the sticky sugars left behind. I can imagine that, with more time given to the beer's conditioning, the flavors and nuances of what each malt has to offer would be allowed to come to the fore, improving what is more or less a wort bomb.