Oktoberfest season starts now

Seen yesterday, 25 June 2025:

Just in time for the summer solstice. Uff da! We're still 3 months out from Oktoberfest and horny deer running out in the middle of the road.

On the bright side, I tried this which I thought it was great.

A very fine blend of roasty and coffee flavors along with a little dark chocolate too. Nice green-spicy hops for balance. Light body - very reminiscent of a Schwarzbier. Highly recommended.

The Corona Diaries Vol. 112: My timing was off

(late September 2023)

(Watch the prelude.)

With plans for an autumn trip to London once again put on hold due to my Frau's medical issues, I turned to my old standby and devised a trek up north for some hiking. While I would return to my beloved Chippewa Moraine Nature State Recreation Area and its majestic kettle lakes, I began the trip with a visit to Beaver Creek Reserve up by Eau Claire.

Beaver Creek Reserve is a camp that provides environmental education for area youth along with hiking trails for those of us that have graduated to adulthood. It’s a bit like the Aldo Leopold Nature Center here in the Madison area but set out in the countryside of west central Wisconsin, some 15 miles east of Eau Claire.

I had timed my trip in the hope that the trees would be well along in their annual change in color but I was a bit early. On trips up north in the earlier part of September it seemed that the fall colors had only begun to appear. And then a visit in the latter half of October proved to have been very much on the downswing of the change. I figured a trek right in the middle would have been perfect but Mother Nature (and perhaps global climate change) had other plans.

And so, while the trees remained mostly green, it was only just. There was still a fair amount of autumnal hues to be had, thankfully.

I had randomly pulled into the northern part of the reserve and found a school bus from Osseo and a bunch of gaggle of kids who looked to be 5th or 6th graders. I did my level best to avoid them. Finding the nearest trailhead, I happily set my course away from the screaming schoolchildren. They seemed to be having fun so more power to them. For my part, though, I simply wanted some quiet, in addition to the great scenery.

I eventually found myself walking along a creek that I think is Deinhammer Creek. Presumably Beaver Creek was to be found elsewhere on the property.

It was overcast but mild and so I didn’t complain too much when forced to walk through the creek in order to get to a set of stairs set on the hillside.

The lovely scenery continued.

After a while I came to a sign indicating that I was leaving Beaver Creek Reserve and was headed towards Big Falls, an Eau Claire County park. Before long I caught sight of the Eau Claire River.

It was just a few minutes before I heard a faint rumble in front of me. With every step the roar of what I presumed to be Big Falls grew louder until I was standing next to it.

Not the biggest of falls, I agree, but it was pretty and those rapids would surely capsize any canoe I was in.

The rather large outcrops of stone that I walked on were littered with smaller rocks.

I have tried to lookup what type of rock this is but have failed. One site said that the rocks at Big Falls are “Precambrian amphibolite gneisses and schists” but, when I look up “gneisses” and “schists”, I see pictures that don’t resemble mine. On the other hand, Precambrian means old. And I’m not talking Joe Biden old. These rocks were formed many millions of years ago, if not billions. Brazil and Nigeria may still have been part of the same land mass. Strange plants were providing shade for the first animals ever on Earth – our (extremely) distant cousins.

It boggles the mind to contemplate something that ancient.

After taking in Big Falls for a while, I headed back the way I came.

Back at the trailhead, I walked around Hobbs Observatory.

Someday, or some night, rather, I will have to return and check out the observatory. It houses 2 telescopes: a 24-inch Newtonian reflector telescope and a Meade LX200 14-inch Schmidt Cassegrain. With much less light pollution than down here in Madison, there must be some fine star gazing there, telescope or not.

I am reminded of the final night I spent at my dad’s house before moving down to Madison to start college. A friend came over and he and I spent the night with my father throwing back a few adult beverages on the patio and shooting the bull. The sky was marvelous. Being out in the country meant exponentially more stars were visible to us than in a city. Plus there was a full moon, or nearly so. To top things off, the Milky Way was out as well. It was as if the night sky was bidding me a fond farewell as I prepared to plunge headlong into adulthood. Or at least into life as a college student which, I suppose, is not exactly adulthood.

After wandering around the observatory, I drove across the road to the southern part of the reserve and found myself before the Wise Nature Center. Stepping inside, I was confronted by a life-sized diorama of a tree and its various animal friends.

The nature center proved to be really neat with the learning area having various exhibits dedicated to both flora and fauna.

Eau Claire means “clear water” in French and the area was home to many a French fur trader back in the day. And so it is only fitting to have a display of various animal pelts.

We generally think of skunks as being nasty, stinky critters and raccoons to be annoyances that try to rifle through our garbage. But, take it from me, they have some very soft fur.

And being the Badger State, there had to be one of them on display.

This one’s open mouth could be interpreted as a friendly grin but that would belie what vicious little bastards they are. Those claws are more representative of the badger’s demeanor. I have only ever run into our state animal once and I hope to never again. We got hissed at, were given threatening looks, and otherwise was told our presence was not wanted.

There were a few live animals to be found including this turtle who looked like he could use a bigger home.

If memory serves, there was a sign saying that new digs were in the works.

Another exhibit taught visitors how to identify the signs left behind by animals on their excursions – by both prints and poop!

For instance, here’s how to ID the signs raccoons leave (from their) behind(s). Get it?

This one for beavers gave me visions of a Caddyshack-like experience the next time I find myself in a creek or river.

Sadly, not all environmental education involves fun as you learn about various critters and plants, as this display on endangered species showed.

It was disheartening to see one so close to home in Dane County.

With my hike being done, it was back to Osseo for a shower and some muscle relaxant at the Northwoods Brewpub. Always one to drink seasonally, I ordered an Oktoberfest.

It wasn’t great, let’s say that. The body was a bit thin and there were some stray phenols that gave it a hefeweizen taste. The follow-up, a brown ale, was much better.

I got back to my hotel room only to receive word that my youngest stepson’s father had been diagnosed with some form of blood cancer. A lousy way to end an otherwise wonderful day. I felt terribly for them both. Earlier in the month the kid's girlfriend had broken up with him and he'd been unceremoniously kicked out of their apartment in Eau Claire. On my way home I was to stop by there and grab as much of his stuff as my car could fit. I texted him saying that I was sorry to hear the news and that I loved him.

Wanting to change my now sullen mood, I picked up the book that I had been reading, Death in Fine Condition by Andrew Cartmel. I adored his Vinyl Detective series which chronicles the adventures of the titular hero, a vinyl record afficionado. For The Vinyl Detective, Cartmel took Dashiell Hammett's Continental Op, de-hard-boiled him, and then threw him into Agatha Christie-like ensemble situations. We never learn his name.

In each book, he and his ladyfriend, Nevada, are tasked with finding an extremely rare record and all sorts of intrigue and mayhem ensue. Here, the heroine is Cordelia, an impecunious lover and collector of paperbacks. She is usually late on paying her rent but strangely timely when it comes to procuring marijuana. One day at her dealer's home, Cordelia notices a photo on the wall of a couple people posing next to a bookcase filled with what appears to be a complete set of Sleuth Hound paperbacks.

She seeks out the books and purloins them only to discover that their owner is a fellow named Colin Cutterham who happens to be the leader of the local chapter of organized crime. Peril ensues.

While Cordelia is entertaining and certainly a very capable stoner, there's just something missing, something to really endear her to me that just isn't here. I think that a big part of this is that, while The Vinyl Detective would have fun conversations with a cast of goofy people, Cordelia's chats are more serious. Or, if not serious, just more banal. And Cartmel overcompensates for this by making a fair amount of Cordelia's internal monologues overwrought with metaphor and clever allusions.

Death in Fine Condition is still a fun read, but it lacks the magic of The Vinyl Detective novels for me.

********

Bonus photo. Here’s Grabby at her first vet visit after we adopted her.

 

 

(Now listen to the postlude.)

However you say it, this beer is OK by me: O-Katz by Urban Chestnut Brewing

I may be a bit late with this review but, if breweries are going to release their Oktoberfest beers during those days when Sirius follows the sun, then I can review one in the bowels of winter.

And I do mean bowels. Jebus, it's cold out! Considering all the bitching about Madison Metro's new bus network and all of the problems riders are encountering, I am thankful that everything went smoothly yesterday. It was about -10°F in the morning when I trekked out to the bus stop. My C bus was on-time and the driver greeted me with his usual warm demeanor and welcoming bonhomie. I look forward to the temperature being above 0° the next time I am waiting for the bus.

For once I did not go to Chicago (or St. Louis, for that matter) to enjoy some Urban Chestnut beer. Instead a friend of mine got a hold of a cache via a friend of his who had apparently ventured south and I ended up being the beneficiary of this kindly stranger's travels and refined taste in beer. My friend gifted me a 4-pack of UC's O-Katz Oktoberfest just before Jesus' birthday (observed).

O-Katz is short for Oachkatzlschwoaf which means "tail of a squirrel". I do not understand this cultural reference but UC's Bavarian-born brewmaster, Florian Kuplent, does and that's what counts. It wasn't that long ago that I was enjoying some of his Dunkel in more temperate weather. The stuff was quite tasty and I expected no less here with his Oktoberfest.

I will note here that, since I took this slightly out of focus photograph, I have gotten a new phone whose auto focus seems to be a bit better on these close-up snaps. Methinks the auto white balance it still lacking but that's a gripe for another time.

My O-Katz poured a hazy gold. I assumed it was a protein haze or whatever you call it because I have a hard time thinking that a Bavarian brewmaster wouldn't centrifuge or filter an Oktoberfest to perfect burnished aureal clarity. A palpable sense of relief washed over me after seeing the beer's color. I felt bad because I know I shouldn't have; I knew the brewmaster is Deutsch. But I've been exposed to American Oktoberfests for so long that I am just accustomed to them looking and tasting like someone melted a bunch of Werther's candy and added booze.

Of course a Bavarian would take the more "authentic" route and go pale.

My pour had a lovely off-white head that lasted an average amount of time and I spied a fair number of bubbles inside.

I knew I was in for a real treat when I took a whiff and smelled bread and grass. The kids can keep their aromatic melanges of tropical fruits most of them have never eaten or even seen in their lives and I'll take the Brot und Gras. Smelling that heavenly combo sets my Teutonic blood flowing with extra vigor.

My tongue was greeted by the golden elixir like it was a conquering hero as wave after wave of Maillard triumph washed over it. That bready taste was simply marvelous! There was some honeyed sweetness, but just a bit. Spicy hops lurked underneath all of the malty goodness and kept things balanced.

On the swallow, the bready taste gently fades as peppery/grassy hops come in to cleanse the palate with a medium dose of bitterness which led to a satisfyingly dry finish.

As Milhouse Van Houten is wont to say, that's good squishy!

O-Katz is on a very short list of American Oktoberfests that obviate the need to buy Paulaner Wiesn in September. Alas, it is not available here in Wisconsin. Too bad because this beer is just great. Plenty of bready goodness wrapped in a perfect mix of spicy and grassy hops inside a luscious light-medium bodied brew with just the right amount of fizz.

Junk food pairing: For the full Gateway to the West experience, pair your Oachkatzlschwoaf with a bag of Old Vienna (of St. Louis) Southern Style Sweet & Spicy BBQ potato chips.

A Taste of Autumn, 7 October

I had a nice dinner last night that included some spoils from my trek up north last month. I opened one of my favorite beers, Whispering Embers, from Valkyrie Brewing and set to work.

Whispering Embers is a smoked Oktoberfest and is just delicious. Full of smoky goodness and a firm, though not heavy, dose of malt. Truly autumn in a bottle.

I made a wild rice blend from Rice River Farms up in Spooner to go with some lemon butter chicken.

 The chicken was good but definitely needed more lemon.

I Said Yes

Yesterday I just said yes to Oktoberfest with The Polkaholics and my first Märzen of the season - smoky goodness from Schlenkerla.

Take the Summer Off: Festbier by Sprecher Brewing Co.

Back in the summer Sprecher Brewery released Festbier, a…um…festbier, I guess. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time Milwaukee’s oldest microbrewery has brewed this type of beer. So what exactly is a festbier?

Bueller? Bueller?

“Oktoberfestbier” seems to be a trademarked appellation, not unlike Kölsch, Champagne, and Bubbler, for the brews made by the 6 Munich breweries that have the right to serve their beers at the festival. Or are Oktoberfestbiers the only beers allowed to be served in a certain part of the festival grounds? It’s not clear to me. Festbier, on the other hand, appears to have a more nebulous meaning.

Here’s what I have been able to piece together after years¹ of research:

If you take a little trip back to Bavaria in the mid-16th century, you will find that the brewers there decreed that one could brew only between 29 September and 23 April. Or it was Duke Albrecht V that issued this edict? Why would whoever it was do such a thing? Well, the main reason cited by all the sources I found was because brewing beer involved boiling and boiling means fire and fire means Danger, Will Robinson! - as in your whole town with its fine wooden buildings could burn down.

While I can understand the summer months being of particular concern for fire hazards, the German love of beer runs deep. The Roman historian Tacitus noted this proclivity back in the first century C.E. so those Bavarian public awareness campaigns must have been hardcore and/or ubiquitous. I am picturing Smokey Bär dressed in Lederhosen – “Nur Sie can prevent the whole town from burning down!”

Presumably this fire hazard existed long before this brewing decree so why did they wait so long? The mills of Bavarian bureaucracy ground slowly but exceedingly fine, apparently.

The new brewing restrictions gave way to a new beer. If you brewed a whole lot of bier in, say, Märzen (March) and let it age the requisite 8 weeks or so, you will have liquid refreshment available just as the season of no brewing kicks in and the biergartens open. And if you made it a bit stronger, the stuff could last until the autumn where it would be quaffed by revelers at autumnal festivals. Hopefully you’d have enough to last until fresh batches could be made. I bet every brewery started brewing at exactly midnight on 29 September with whole towns aglow from the boilers firing up.

These Märzen beers became the standard at Oktoberfest at some point because, well, they were available...? I guess they started out with very dark due to the kilning technology of the age but eventually became the amber and the new standard. In 1953, Augustiner, one of the 6 official Oktoberfest breweries, introduced a pale Oktoberfestbier which has gone on to replace the amber colored one. According to Ron Pattinson, it’s the beer’s strength that makes a Märzen a Märzen. So today you’d be served a Helles Märzen at Oktoberfest whereas prior to 195X you’d have gotten a Bernstein (amber) Märzen.

I haven’t found anything explaining why Augustiner decided to go with a Helles Märzen after decades of the Bernstein stuff. Was it cheaper to make? Maybe they just wanted to shake things up after 100 years.
 
It seems that here in the United States, we think of the Märzen/Oktoberfest as being a strong amber lager and a style unto itself with the festbier being Märzen-like with a strong malt flavor but more of a golden color and in its own stylistic category.

Festbier – Sprecher’s brew, that is – was a welcome surprise. After I learned of the brewery’s sale back in early 2020, I was filled with trepidation. One article had some quotes that sounded like they came from a venture capital Krampus ready to beat the poor brewmaster until every mash tun and brite tank was filled with IPA. It was all money man talk of growing the brand with the goal of making a lot more product within a few years or some such thing. Then Refresh Button IPA came out and it seemed like my worst fears were coming true. "Soon there’ll be exploding cans of fruited sours and ad copy that used the word 'crushable'," I lamented.

Thusly seeing Festbier in the cooler was a delightful surprise. Sadly, it seems that Festbier has replaced the excellent Summer Pils as their summer seasonal. You can’t have everything.

Festbier is a lovely deep gold color and clear as day. My pour had a smallish disc of loose, white foam on top. A larger head would have been nice but the paucity of foam was probably due to bad pouring skillz on my part. On the plus side, the foam lasted quite a while. I spied a goodly number of bubbles inside. The aroma was largely honey-like and sweet but the hops were present too adding a little grass here and something floral there.

For a summer brew, it was heavier than I expected. Not the liquid bread of a doppelbock but medium-heavy. While there were definitely honey and caramel flavors here, the beer wasn't overly sweet. A faint roastiness stayed in the background along with some spicy, Saaz hoppiness. Perhaps those hops were meant for a summer pils and just had to be used up when plans were changed. The fizz was firm and gave a noticeable astringent bite.

All of that malty sweetness slowly faded for the finish allowing the spicy hop flavors to come to the fore. They offered a solid dose of bitterness and sturdy dryness.

My experience with Helles Märzen is limited to Paulaner's Oktoberfest Wiesn which is now called Oktoberfest Bier, at least here in the States. Think of it as a bigger Helles - in malt, hops, and alcohol. Sprecher's Festbier is 5.3% A.B.V. so it's between a Helles and Helles Märzen on that front. I think. It also tastes less bready than Paulaner's brew. Still, Sprecher has made a very tasty beer here. A bit too heavy on the mouthfeel for my summer drinking taste when it's 90 degrees out, but it has the virtue of not being too sweet. And the malty flavors are well complemented by those spicy Saaz hops. A fine late summer treat.

Junk food pairing: Sprecher's Festbier pairs well with pretzels and I found gustatory nirvana by snacking on some Snyder's Snyderfest Beer Cheese Pretzel Pieces.
 

¹ i.e. - minutes

The Last Gasps of Oktoberfest

Unless something goes horribly wrong, this will be my final Festbier review of the year, the omega of Märzen analyses, if you will. Yes, Oktoberfest inspections are on the way out.

Because this year's crop of Wisconsin Oktoberfests was, for the most part, cringeworthy – the ones I tasted, anyway – I am hoping to end on a high note. And so I look to foreign brewers to get the job done right.



To begin I am going to heed Horace Greeley's imperative and taste Märzen by Denver's Prost Brewing.

Considering that Prost brews German bier styles exclusively, one would think that their Oktoberfest would be preternaturally tasty. So far, I've found their biers to range from mediocre to very good. So, while perhaps not a shoo-in, I certainly expected this to be a really good bier.

Things began well enough as I discovered its golden hue, tinged – but only just – with amber. Certainly this would not be laced with caramel/crystal malt sweetness. Clear as day, I could see surfeit of bubbles inside. Alas, they made their way upwards to an imaginary head. D'oh!

The aroma was light toffee, bread, and some apricot. It was sweeter than I expected, yet it was not cloying with the bready scent more than holding its own.

If I had any worries about the aroma being a portent of things to come in the taste, I needn't have had them. Märzen came replete with Maillardy goodness, full of toasty bread taste. Just wonderful. It also had that nutty taste I first encountered with Victory Festbier, though less strong. Other less toasty bread flavors were joined by some great hops that were grassy tasting at first but took on a really nice flavor upon closer inspection. I did, however, find it a bit over-carbonated. Witness all those bubbles I saw.

Those hops took on some spiciness at the finish and added moderate doses of bitterness and dryness to drive away the last of the malty residue. Of Schaumhaftvermoegen there was none.

While it suffered from a touch too much carbonation and was thusly was a little acidic, this was a very good brew. It was nice'n'Maillardy and had very little sweetness. I really enjoyed the hops, especially the floral taste.



We now leave the Rocky Mountains and head to the bayous of Louisiana and Abita Brewing. Well, I am not sure that Covington is even near a boyou, truth be told. Still, the brewery likes to trade on bayou imagery, especially gators. Perhaps only gators. I don't recall ever seeing an airboat on one of their bottles.

One thing I don't associate with the creole culture in Louisiana is a German influence. I think of Native American, French, African, and Spanish but not German. But there was apparently a "German Coast" in the state's early days on the east bank of the Mississippi River. That Wikipedia article also notes, "During World War I, in a reaction against Germany as the enemy, the Louisiana state legislature passed Act 114: it prohibited all expressions of German culture and heritage, especially the printed or spoken use of the German language, in the state." Yikes!

So let's taste Abita's expression of German culture and heritage.

I begin by noting the bier's medium gold color. A good beginning as this bodes well for minimal sweetness. Clear? Check. For a change of pace I managed to pour a big head. The foam was white and loose and lasted 30 seconds or so. This was an effervescent bier with lots of bubbles inside.

Rather than caramel sweetness, my nose first caught the scent of some fresh grassy hops. Unexpected though not unwelcome. That caramel was there but tucked away in the back while a more bready smell was at the fore.

The same held with the taste. A rich bread/biscuit flavor held sway and relegated a touch of malt sweetness to a supporting role. The hops were firm but not overpowering and they had a tasty combination of grass and spiciness. While the Prost had a bit too much carbonation, here it was just right.

Those hops were let loose on the finish after the malt faded or was, perhaps, pushed out. They were pretty spicy – nearing minty territory – and made for a rather dry denouement, though not especially bitter. The Schaumhaftvermoegen was great with webbing everywhere inside my glass.

As someone who hadn't had many Abita beers prior to this one and with the ones I did have being all fruited beers, I wasn't really sure what to expect from them doing a traditional lager. I am happy to say that this was a really good Oktoberfest. It had a nice bread flavor, though not of the Maillard toasty variety, but tasty nonetheless. And the sweetness was minimized. Those spicy hops on the finish were a pleasant surprise too. I find that spicy hops clash with sweeter malts in an unpleasant way but here, with bready flavors, they were a wonderful complement.

Junk food pairing: Pair Abita Oktoberfest with a bag of Snyder's Peanut Butter filled Pretzel Pieces.



Watching Hell or High Water I noticed that Jeff Bridges character drank Shiner Bock in almost, if not every, scene in which he drinks a beer. Now I don't know if this was because the Shiner folks paid the filmmakers or if the filmmakers simply like the beer. Or perhaps a preference for craft beer is supposed to be a commentary on the otherwise gruff old-timer with a penchant for racial humor of a decidedly non-politically correct type. I suppose I was expecting to see cans of Lone Star.

I don't think I've ever reviewed a Shiner beer. Shiner is a brand brewed in the town of the same name in Texas between San Antonio and Houston. And it is brewed by the Spoetzl Brewery, named after Kosmos Spoetzl, a German immigrant and the brewery's first brewmaster and owner.

A fair number of German immigrants settled in Texas although I tend to associate the state with things like oil, steak, chili, and Tejano music. Then again, Lone Star was founded by at least one German immigrant. We're talking lagers here, a technique surely brought to Texas by Germans. And so while surely a minority culture, that of German immigrants left its mark.

Ooh. Shiner Oktoberfest pours an amber hue. We could be headed for caramel sweetness. The bier's clarity revealed a generous amount of bubbles floating upwards to a sizable loose, white head. Sweet or not, it sure looked pretty.

Yep. Sweet caramel(ine) was out front on the nose trailed by some bread and a nice herbal hoppiness. Things aren't going too well here.

While I could certainly taste caramel, I was relieved to also taste bread and roasted grains to keep the sweetness from dominating. There was a nice fizziness to it as well as some very tasty hops that were grassy and spicy.

A little of the sweetness lingered towards the end as the hops became stronger and took on some black pepper taste. The finale was quite dry and bitter, eventually washing away all trace of malt. Schaumhaftvermoegen was limited to a smattering of foamy spots with a few small patches.

All things considered, I quite liked Shiner's Oktoberfest. It ended up not being quite as sweet as the color would have you believe. Plus the bread and grain flavors were quite tasty even if they weren't toasty in a Maillard kind of way. The bier finished more like a Bohemian pilsener than a Märzen but the sprightly hop taste made for a nice, bracing libatious experience.

Junk food pairing: Shiner Oktoberfest pairs well with sharp cheddar cheese food products like Velveeta and Easy Cheese so dip a soft pretzel in some melted Velveeta dip or pointed your aerosol can in its direction.

Oktoberfest Is the Cruelest Style: Oktoberfest by Pecatonica Beer Company

I guess my previous post won't quite be my last review of a Wisconsin Oktoberfest.

The Pecatonica Beer Company is apparently domiciled in Gratiot, Wisconsin in the southwest part of the state. The company's tied house, the Pecatonica Beer Company Tap House, however, resides south of Gratiot on Highway 78 and across the Cheddar Curtain in Warren, Illinois which is within spitting distance of the Wisconsin-Illinois border. I would have included this bier in a Wisconsin Oktoberfest round-up but I was under the impression that the company itself was headquartered in Illinois with the suds being brewed in Wisconsin. Ooops.

Pecatonica's beer is brewed in Monroevia (as my Croatian-American friend who lives there calls it) at the Minhas Craft Brewery. Minhas does not exactly enjoy a good reputation as a microbrewery yet it was #9 (#9, #9, #9) in a 2015 ranking of largest craft breweries by volume. The Wisconsin State Journal's Beer Baron confessed that he finds "a lot of the beer produced by Minhas has a Corn Pops-type flavor". I personally haven't noticed this but did find that every beer in their Lazy Mutt sampler pack tasted A) thin & watery and B) barely distinguishable from one another. I will admit that those bombers of Rhinelander stout are plenty fine, especially for the price.

As for Pecatonica, I have had their Nightfall Lager. The dark lager is one of my favorite styles and so I upbeat at the prospect of another one appearing on store shelves. Unfortunately, the few times I've had it – on tap – it has been a syrupy, ill-attenuated mess. Did a perfectly delectable barrel leave Minhas only to become sullied somewhere along the way each time? It is certainly possible. Wherever the blame lies, I have avoided Pecatonica since. Well, until recently.

Pecatonica Oktoberfest pours a lovely light amber color. Atop the clear amber liquid sat about half an inch of loose, off-white foam. Sadly it did not hang around very long. Inside there was a fair amount of bubbles. All in all, a very pretty brew. (All that glitters…?)

There was a lot more caramel to be smelled than the bier's color let on. Usually big sweetness is accompanied by a darker hue. Sneaky. Some nice grassy hops and a nebulous, berry-like fruit scent rounded things out for my nose.

I was thoroughly unsurprised to find that the taste was dominated by caramel sweetness. I can only imagine what it would have been like if there wasn't nice, firm carbonation and a tasty bit of black pepper as well to put down the sweetness rebellion. Shades of bread and banana rounded out the taste.

Grassy/spicy hops bid the malt auf wiedersehen leaving things in a pretty dry and bitter state. There was also an astringent chemical taste that I couldn't identify. Of Schaumhaftvermoegen there was not a trace.

Talk about going out with a whimper. Octoberfest has been the cruelest style for Wisconsin brewers this year. I am tempted to find another local Festbier just to end this year's batch on a high note instead of this. Knowing next to nothing about the actual details of how Pecatonica's beers are made nor what trials and tribulations my bottle may have undergone prior to being in my clutches, I don't know on whose shoulders this mess belongs. On the one hand, the paucity of bready tastes as opposed to sweet, toffee ones is not a sin belonging to Pecatonica alone. On the other hand, the banana and chemical tastes are as is the lack of a nice lagery crispness. The tastes just don't harmonize here; instead it is as if they are at loggerheads all the time.

Junk food pairing: Go for the cheesy overload and pair your Pecatonica Oktoberfest with some Snyder's Cheddar Cheese Pretzel Sandwiches dipped in a fine cheese food product dip.

A Final Wisconsin Oktoberfest With Addendum

Today will be my terminal tasting of Oktoberfests from Wisconsin breweries. By and large this year's crop has been disappointing. Words like "full" and "rich" were sadly inapplicable to most of these biers. At least one was laden with diacetyl – a big disappointment. But most were simply one dimensional, thin and watery with a touch of caramel sweetness and perhaps some hops.

There were, of course, many more homegrown Oktoberfests that I haven't tried than those that have crossed my lips. Amongst bottled brews are New Glarus, Ale Asylum, and Sprecher. Add to that those from brewpubs and I'm sure you've got quite a total.

I'm no statistician so I am not sure if 12-14 samples is representative enough of Wisconsin Okto-output to render a valid verdict for 2016. But as far as my tongue is concerned this year was simply disheartening. I'd like to be able to just put this episode behind me and wait for Wisconsin to shine with its Weihnachtsbiers but we don't really brew many of those. What is my state's preferred winter seasonal?



First up is the venerable Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company. I wrote about the special place in my heart for Leine's not too long ago. Having said this, their output is uneven. They brew some fine beers but they also brew liquids that are almost, but not quite, entirely unlike the style listed on the bottle. It's like they're starter beers. They get you into the ballpark of what the style is about without ever going all in.

Will the same fate befall Oktoberfest?

It poured a deep gold which was something of a relief as I figured it wouldn't be overly sweet. Clear as day, I could see a fair number of bubbles rushing upwards to a big, frothy, white head that decided to stick around for a while.

As expected, my nose caught a bready smell first. It was joined by some tasty grassy hops. Sure, there was some caramel sweetness but, as the color foretold, it was rather mild. And really, overall, the aroma was pretty tame. Not bad, but certainly not an olfactory fanfare.

The taste was mostly more of the same. A restrained bread/biscuit maltiness bolstered by a touch of caramel sweetness. While the hops were grassy on my nose, they pulled a Jekyll and Hyde routine and took on a sharp herbal/spiciness on my tongue. Add in just the right amount of carbonation and you've got a nice little bit of zing going.

The malt fades at the end leaving that zesty hop flavor to come forward for a rather dry and bitter finish. My glass was left with some scattered patches of Schaumhaftvermoegen.

Leine's Oktoberfest was just about what I expected it to be – a Virginia Slims beer. It's got all of the Oktoberfest components but not enough of most of them. More malt flavor was needed in place of the hints of bread and biscuit here. I will admit, however, that I really like the hoppiness. Grassy to the nose but spicier on the tongue with a little bite. Really nice.

Junk food pairing: Pair Leine's Oktoberfest with something simple like potato chips and a bacon & horseradish dip.



This is really more of an addendum as the Old Style brand is, to the best of my knowledge, still owned by Pabst which is, in turn, owned by a "beer entrepreneur named Eugene Kashper and a private equity firm based in San Francisco. According to Wikipedia, anyway. And so, while Old Style is not a Wisconsin company, it is being brewed in La Crosse again at City Brewery, the former of of G. Heileman.

Old Style was very popular in Chicago when I was growing up there and when my friends and I would steal beer from our fathers' stashes, it was usually Old Style. (And sometimes Special Export or Hamms.) I don't have an affinity for the beer or the brand because of this but Old Style has a long history in Wisconsin and I think it fits the theme here, if only tangentially. Having said this, I see that the Old Style website plays up its (former?) popularity in Chicago heavily. "Chicago's beer" is everywhere. Oh well. Alia iacta est.

I haven't found any indication that Old Style used to brew an Oktoberfest while it was still brewed in La Crosse back in the day although G. Heileman may have under a different label.

As with the Leine's Oktoberfest, I didn't go into this with great expectations.

Old Style's Oktoberfest was amber in color which augured a sweeter bier. It was clear and, against all odds, I managed to pour a bier with a nice head. This was was firm and off-white and, happily, it lasted a while. There was a modicum of bubbles inside.

As was forewarned by the color, Oktoberfest had a not insignificant caramel sweetness to it that managed to somehow not lapse into being cloying. There was a little biscuit flavor as well as a healthy dose of peppery hops. The carbonation fell into the optimal range. And there was also this nebulous earthy/spicy flavor. The best way I can describe it is that it was as if they were going for that peppery flavor you find in some amber lagers such as Eliot Ness but couldn't quite get there. It wasn't unpleasant, really, it just malformed or perhaps undercooked.

For the finish the malt bid farewell leaving some peppery hops to do their thing. Here that meant a fairly firm dryness and attendant bitterness. Along the lines of a German pils, I'd say. Schaumhaftvermoegen was everywhere with streaks all around my glass.

With a medium body Old Style's Oktoberfest had a bit more heft than Leine's but this is purely because of the additional sweetness. What both biers had in common was a real lack of maltiness – especially the kind that doesn't taste like caramel. They were both thin and in need of more of a grainy foundation. The peppery hops in the Old Style were a pleasant surprise but they required more malt to play against.

Sadly, these Oktoberfests by larger, maybe less crafty, brewers are very much in line with those brewed by smaller, craftier ones.

Junk food pairing: Pair your Old Style Oktoberfest with some Doritos dipped in a vat of warm, gooey Velveeta cheese food product.

Brewing and Nothingness: Festbier by Victory Brewing Company

I am taking a break from native Oktoberfests because it was getting to be dolorous and drinking beer shouldn't be that way. Quaffing a Märzen should be a mirthful experience, one that highlights the brief periods of joy that punctuate our time on this earth before we return to the soil. And so I look to suburban Philadelphia wherein lies Victory Brewing to address my existential ennui.

My previous encounters with Victory beers were all positive and mostly very fine indeed. But I've been afflicted with a case of microbrew angst this past month or so as various other breweries with good reputations offered Oktoberfests of a less than tasteful nature. Perhaps now that our state Department of Natural Resources is run like a business, there truly is something in the air or in the water which afflicts our brewmasters, rendering them maladroit and consigning them to produce Oktoberfests which would have made Gabriel Sedlmayr cry.

It is my hope that by looking to the east, to the city where John Wagner brewed the first lager on these shores (well, a suburb of that city) that I may find some hope that all is not lost.

Victory Festbier pours a lovely amber and was suitably clear. While I only managed to produce only a meager head of light tan foam which went away quite quickly, the bier was rather effervescent with a fair number of bubbles inside.

The aroma smelled strongly of bread, which as a good sign. But there was also a little caramel and some roasted malt scent too. It was surprised at how restrained the sweetness was here considering the bier's color. So far, so good.

Things got even better upon tasting the brew. A shiver went down my spine as luscious Maillard reacted malt taste swirled and eddied on my tongue. It was a wonderful toasty flavor that had a deep vein of nuttiness as well. The malt also tasted of fresh bread along with just a hint of toffee sweetness. Peppery hops hovered in the background and paired with a healthy dose of carbonation to add crispness.

For the final act, the malt faded allowing the hops to step into the limelight. They became spicier – almost minty – and gave a nice cleansing bitterness. Dry but not overly so. Schaumhaftvermoegen was limited to a few shorts streaks and the odd speck of foam.

Eureka! Victory proved, well, victorious. While it may not provide a definitive answer, Festbier certainly comes down on the affirmative side when it comes to decoction mashing. Those toasty Maillard flavors run deep and full here and I just love the nutty taste to it. They are given pride of place but complemented by other malty flavors while some really tasty hops offer contrast and balance. The malt is rich instead of being watery. Sweetness bows before savory. Everything in its place. There is yet hope for Oktoberfests.

Junk food pairing: Pair your Victory Festbier with some Mature Cheddar and Chive crisps, er, potato chips. They have a rich heartiness that other cheddar chips don't and thusly go very well with savory malt taste of the bier.

I Saw the Best Märzens of My Generation Destroyed by Maltiness

I am getting to the point where I cannot drink anymore Oktoberfests. It has nothing to do with them being seasonal biers because they are tasty in a variety of situations throughout the year. They're not particularly big biers nor are they optimized for warmer weather with light bodies. Nor are they brewed with nutmeg, allspice, clove, and cinnamon and thusly given a narrow window of quaffing potential. The style is not tied to a harvest or a holiday and there's nothing really seasonal about them any longer since virtually no one brews them in March and pulls them from the lagering caves in September.

No, I have made the mistake of investing in the Oktoberfests of my fair state and being disappointed most of the time. I have no explanation and the reason why they've been so untasty is probably reasons – they are plural. Poor shipping and storage practices may certainly be an issue. I won't deny that but nor can I prove it. But my cynic soon return and feels that most Wisconsin breweries have abandoned the state's German brewing heritage to varying degrees and so the Oktoberfest is simply a perfunctory exercise in obeisance. When you brew IPAs, sours, and potent barrel-aged potables all year, you're not getting practice at brewing lagers.

Contrariwise, some Wisconsin breweries with a fine lagery track record have produced some most unremarkable, if not awful, Oktoberfest biers this year. So there goes my lagerphobic hypothesis.

Whatever the case may be, I still have lots of Oktoberfest reviews piling up which calls for another omnibus.



From the wilds of La Crosse comes Pearl Street's Lederhosen Lager. Pearl Street brews various and sundry German styles and has an annual pils. This is definitely not a lagerphobic brewery that genuflects to tradition once a year.

So why is Lederhosen Lager so thoroughly mediocre? It was just a little over-carbonated – not a hanging offense - and under malted – a cardinal sin. It leaned to the caramel side but wasn't cloyingly sweet and let some more bready flavors come through. But all the malt tastes were subdued. I liked the spicy hops, though, and it left some of the best Schaumhaftvermoegen of the season.



Lakefront knows lagers. Hell, even their pumpkin beer is a lager and it is actually brewed with pumpkins. They have a great brewery tour to boot.

Sadly their Oktoberfest is par for the course as far as Wisconsin iterations go. Caramel sweetness was the dominant flavor – which I can handle - with very little bready taste – which doesn't cut the senf. I somehow managed to catch a dash of root beer in there too. And it was overly carbonated. I did like the herbal hops, though.

If I may quote T.S. Eliot's typist, well now that's done and I'm glad it's over.



Capital and I go way back. Their maibock was not only my first taste of a helles bock but I also lost my seasonal beer virginity with it. It was the spring of 1991 and I was blissfully unaware that beers were seasonal like Shamrock Shakes and McRibs. Later that year their Oktoberfest became the first Märzen to cross my lips. Capital is also likely responsible for introducing me to the concept of drinking local and was a cornerstone of my microbrew education.

Having said all of this, I was not impressed by their Oktoberfest this year. It has always been a caramel-forward bier and that hasn't changed this year. But, like most of the Wisconsin Oktos I've had this year, this one lacks a bready base upon which to build a house of sweetness. It wasn't over-carbonated and I really liked the hops which were grassy and herbal but those biscuit and bread tastes were just too faint, lost like distant stars in the city streetlights.



I will close with the completion of the trifecta of Oktoberfests from Green Bay featuring Stillmank. Neither Titletown nor Hinterland was able to pull through this year.

Stillmank, however, did.

And I believe it was the first time I'd had one of their beers so I was quite impressed. While there was some malty sweetness to be had, it was kept in check by a nice bready flavor. Stillmank got the proportion of malt tastes just right to my taste with bread/biscuit at the fore with sweeter malt given a supporting role. A good Oktoberfest is about getting the various malt flavors in the right spots for a grainy gestalt. Now I grant you that Stillmank didn't endow their Oktoberfest with much of that toasty/Maillard reacted goodness that I crave, but it was still a fine maltiness. And the hops. They were simply wonderful with a sprightly, fresh grassy flavor that is hard to beat.

Going into this little venture last month I wouldn't have dreamt that Stillmank would not only make a great Oktoberfest but that it would probably be the best domestic (i.e. - from Wisconsin) one of the season. Truth be told, I have a couple more from Wisconsin in my cellar and I'll likely have others on tap so the title is provisional, but this will certainly go down near, if not at, the top.

What Have the Germans Ever Done For Us?: Oktoberfest by Potosi Brewery

Good ol' Potosi. Whenever I hear the name, I think of how a friend of mine still holds it against me that I unwittingly drank his last Potosi Czech Style Pilsner one day in the dim and distant past. He still speaks of the incident in tones of thinly veiled anger. He's like liberals who still piss and moan about Ralph Nader forgetting all the while that it was the Supreme Court who crowned Dubya president. In addition to a very tasty Czech pils – there was a reason I chose it amongst the others on offer - they have a fine brewery and museum out there on the Mighty Mississip.

With the vast majority of Wisconsin Oktoberfests that I've had this season ranging from almost medicore to awful, I had a goodly amount of confidence that Potosi could be different. Their Oktoberfest could be like the Battle of Guadalcanal or the Battle of Stalingrad. Just as those campaigns proved to be turning points in World War II, so too could Potosi's bier be the critical juncture in the search for a good Oktoberfest brewed in the Land of Cheese.

I mean today's Wisconsin microbrewers are ostensibly the successors to generations of German immigrants who settled in our fair state - and their descendants too. The earliest waves of Forty-Eighters brought socialist ideas which most famously shaped Milwaukee along with other things like kindergarten. And immigrants regardless of political orientation gave us their love of sausages, strudel, and of course bier. Germans had a very large impact not only on culture here in Wisconsin but also the United States at large.

Ergo it's been frustrating as a Wisconsonian of some German extraction to witness breweries of my state flounder attempting to brew on Oktoberfest that tastes as good as one that has made the trip all the way from Munich. Hell, we've even let California eat our lunch.

Potosi's Oktoberfest poured a gorgeous clear copper hue. My initial pour managed only a small head that was off-white and left me wishing is Auf wiedersehen all too soon. This was my inability to pour correctly, however, as my second and more vigorous pour gave a much larger and much prettier crown of foam. There wasn't much effervescence on display.

Moderately sweet caramel was first to hit my nose followed by a smidgen of roasted grain while some faint grassy hops lingered in the background. I wasn't surprised by the bouquet since the bier's color lacked the pale complexion of Oktoberfests: The Next Generation.

Considering the lack of bubbles, Oktoberfest was well-carbonated by which I mean it had just the right amount of carbonation. Not particularly acidic, but just enough push back against the malt. And that malt was mostly caramel tasting with attendant sweetness. Not cloying though. It was joined by a little roasted grain and some hops which had taken on a spicy tint. Overall it had a nice medium body and a clean lager taste that was fairly crisp.

The malt faded on the finish allowing the spicy hop taste to really come through. While rather bitter and a fair bit dryer than I'm used to for the style, it was still rather pleasant. My first pour of the small head produced no Schaumhaftvermoegen but my second let loose some really nice, thick streaks of foam.

This was not a bad Oktoberfest but nor was it great. I liked the level of caramel sweetness here but felt it needed more roasted grain flavor to bolster the larger malt taste. This has been a common refrain here this Oktoberfest season. Most of the one's that I've had have had a very one dimensional malt taste – caramel and little else. Potosi, to its credit, adds more non-caramel malt flavor than your average bear but this bier just didn't find that Golden Malty Mean.

Junk food pairing: I paired my Potosi Oktoberfest with Snyder's Zesty Ranch Pretzel Pieces to good effect.

A Surfeit of Festbiers

From Green Bay we now head southwest to Lake Louie Brewing.

Hypothesis: Tom Porter and the gang out in Arena brew a tasty Dortmunder Export and fine, if boozy, helles bock. And so, while they mostly brew ales, they have a proven track record with lagers. Odds were good that the brewery's first Festbier would be a winner.

Experiment: Lake Louie's Oktoberfest went the pale Märzen route with its gold color. The bier was clear revealing a goodly number of bubbles making their way up to a nice bed of white foam. All of that effervescence gave my tongue a firm, yet gentle, carbonic bite. Bread, a mild honeyed sweetness, and a touch of spicy hops came in the initial salvo while a bit of roasted grain and even a tad of toasty, Maillard reacted malt were noticeable upon repeated quaffs.

The lovely malt flavors quietly faded as the spicy hops grew louder as they took on some grassy tones leaving my tongue high'n'dry.

Conclusion: Really good. Easily the best Oktoberfest I've had this year from a Wisconsin brewery. Cheesehead brewers have basically shit the bed this Oktoberfest season sending countless German settlers a-spinning in their graves. Lake Louie's Festbier has a nice bready flavor, which, if it had been fuller, I wouldn't have complained. Plus the hops gave a nice bite on the finish. As a bonus, the Schaumhaftvermoegen was generous and pretty.

Lake Louie's Oktoberfest went well with Late July Bacon & Habenero tortilla chips which have what is likely the best bacon flavor on any chip anywhere, anytime.



Back up north to the Wisconsin interior and Central Waters.

The cicerone cries
Amidst the gadarene rush
To slumgullion



About 90 miles west of Amherst lies Black River Falls and the Sand Creek Brewing Company. They've got a nice little place up there.

Another Wisconsin brewery that specializes in ales. Methinks their Oktoberfest is their only lager. I give them credit for putting a brunette in a dirndl on the label, though, instead of a blonde. Thinking outside the box.

I have to wonder if Sand Creek exists but for the grace of contract brewing. This is not meant as a sleight – simply an observation. Or perhaps Wild Ride Eyepah sells like gangbusters and I am blissfully unaware. It's just that I don't see hordes of Chicagoans crossing the border in search of their beer. Hell, I don't see them around Madison much outside of liquor stores. Oscar's Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, a darn fine beer, used to be seen (by my eyes, anyway) more frequently in taverns and restaurants but is a relative rarity today. I guess not making grapefruit beer has taken its toll.

Onto the Oktoberfest…

Sand Creek apparently took a more traditional route with its Festbier as it was amber. Nice and clear, it was a lovely bier to be sure. The head was a light tan and I got about an inch of the stuff. Inside there were bubbles. Lots and lots of bubbles. It looked like it has having an embolism.

The aroma was, overall, on the mild side. What there was was led by caramel which didn't surprise me given the bier's hue. Just a little roasted grain peeked out from behind some grassy hops.

The taste too was, to put it kindly, mild. Again, a bit of caramel sweetness was most evident but that's not to say the bier was sweet. This was joined by some apricot-like fruitiness as well as grassy-peppery hops. If this bier was a palimpsest, then that would be the bit that got erased yet faintly bled through. On top of all this was a harsh, dry acidic bite from all of that carbonation. It was like Oktoberfest champagne. Zoinks!

As what little malt there was faded, my tongue was hit with a one-two combination of carbonic bite and very peppery hops which made things quite dry and equally as bitter. On the plus side, there was some nice Schaumhaftvermoegen in my glass with a few streaks of foam for decoration.

I get that Festbiers are not supposed to be as malty as doppelbocks. And while I'm not a big fan of Bohemian pilsener levels of hops in them but, if that's your thing, go for it. But for Pete's sake, have a good, firm bready, malty base. Sand Creek joins several other Wisconsin brewers who are putting out Oktoberfests that lack a solid grainy foundation. I had a Paulaner Oktoberfest a few weeks ago at a chain restaurant in the middle of mall Hades and it was great. It was shipped from Bavaria in who knows what kind of container an indeterminate amount of time ago yet it was superior to the Oktoberfests from just down the road a piece.

I am getting paranoid that my tongue is simply giving out. Is my brain malfunctioning? That Paulaner was a symphony of malt tastes in harmony. Bread, Maillard toastiness, a little doughy sweetness, and some roasted grains all played in time and accompanied by a chorus of hops. But it's like the brewers of my state are mired down in fourth grade strings class trying to play some twelve-tone Schoenberg while being led by a conductor doing the St. Vitus dance.

Junk food pairing: spray some Easy Cheese on Smoked Gouda Triscuits to accompany your Oktoberfest.

I Watched Steinkrugs Glitter in the Dark Near the Siegestor Gate: Bent Tuba by Titletown Brewing Company

OK, Green Bay. You may not draw the attention that various breweries here in the southern part of the state do as I hypothesized previously, but that certainly doesn't mean you don't warrant more love. So strut your stuff this Oktoberfest season. I am rooting for you. Hinterland was unable to pull through due to diacetyl so now it's time for Titletown to step up. John Brockington is counting on you. Don't let him down.

Titletown turned 20 this year. While that makes the brewery something of an elder statesman, they didn't begin distributing down here in Madison until relatively recently. Good thing they finally did because Titletown brews an absolutely fantastic pils and a stellar schwarzbier as well.

With a proven ability to brew up wonderful lagers, I just knew Titletown would make a great Oktoberfest.

Bent Tuba poured a simply beautiful deep gold with a tint of amber. It was perfectly clear. Titletown went the newer route with a paler brew. The small white head didn't hang around long while just a few bubbles could be seen inside.

Unlike the Oktoberfest brewed across the street which smelled like a movie theater concession stand from 20 paces, Bent Tuba had very little aroma. For a second I pondered the possibility of a conspiracy, that I was in fact drinking a test brew from Wisconsin Brewing Company. But no, I wasn't. There was a faint bit of caramel and an even fainter scent of bread. The grassy hops were muted. While the aroma was disappointing, or rather the lack thereof, I'd had beers with precious little smell that tasted fine.

As is now my wont, I concentrated on the carbonation on my first sip and did not find it wanting. It added a pleasant little bite. Some tame notes of roasted grain mingled with a light caramel taste that had just a touch of sweetness. Overall, it had a nice, clean lager taste. The hops were not exactly ostentatious here merely whispering their soft grassy pleas to be tasted.

For the finale, the malt flavors faded – this did not take much – allowing the hops' spicy side to be revealed. In concert with the carbonation, they gave dryness but not much lingering bitterness. Schaumhaftvermoegen was nowhere to be found.

OK, so I had a bit of an epistemological crisis here. All of the requisite flavors were present but the grainy ones were lost like tears in rain. What should have been full and rich was instead thin and watery. On the plus side, the sweetness was restrained. And I really liked the hops at the end where they became a little spicy. But the dryness was without its malty counterpoint.

Junk food pairing: If you don't happen to have any soft pretzels und Obatzda on hand, then grab a bag of Snyder's Cheddar Cheese Pretzel Sandwiches.