From the brewer: “Oaktoberfest is our riff on the festbier model–we name it a ‘Paso Festbier’ as a nod to our hometown,” stated Brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “Whereas the recipe is conventional, we lager the beer in French oak barrels to provide it an additional easy mouthfeel with a touch of oak character.”
Firestone Walker Brewing – Firestone Oaktoberfest (2022 Classic) – 12 oz. bottle poured right into a 16 ouncesdimpled mug. 5.2% abv.
Craft lagers have discovered a foothold on tasting room chalkboards throughout the USA. The earlier refrains of “an excessive amount of tank time” and “we solely brew lagers for the brewery workers” have gone away. Whereas some have opted to hop up their lagers to ranges solely seen in IPAs, many breweries are assembly or exceeding the degrees of high quality set by their European counterparts. One sunny day, I sat down with a number of bottles of Firestone Walker 2022 Oaktoberfest, and here’s what I discovered.
Look: Stunning orange hue with a crimson undertone. A fluffy off-white head sticks round within the mug by means of the complete session.
Aroma: Toasted entire wheat bread, refined floral hops. Very clear; not getting a lot of the purported oak getting older. Not as malty wealthy as among the European imports.
Taste: Melanoidin toastiness, with hints of caramel and licorice. The hop taste is extra outstanding than the aroma, coming off as black tea and sage. The hop taste has melded with the oak barrel; a singular expertise! The beer has a agency bitterness, which is greater than anticipated for the model. A medium carbonation degree retains the palate refreshed.
General: Festbier model is designed to be drunk in bigger portions. You might be in search of a beer you’d get pleasure from chilly, however nonetheless respect the previous couple of heat sips. Oaktoberfest delivers on the promise of a quaffable lager, with some American twists: further hop bitterness and oak getting older. Each add some chew that the American craft beer shopper enjoys. I all the time sit up for Festbier season, and this can be a 6-pack it’s best to search out.
