September! Oktoberfest Season! And I've been lucky to receive a nice little sample pack of beers I probably would never want to buy on my own. Thanks to my new Wirtz beverage sales representative. Hooray, Katie!
So, that brings us to Beck's Oktoberfest Lager, Brauerei Beck & Co., originated in Bremen, Germany. Product of USA. Brauwerie Beck & Co, St. Louis, MO. A true sign of the times, the most popular German beer in America, now brewed here. Where do they stand in Deutschland, I wonder. (Excuse me while I go to Google…)
Clear, copper-y, auburn hue. Slim, but staying, creamy white layer of foam.
Aroma: Grainy, fruity, low hops, clean malt bill. nice balance.
Taste: Moderate bitterness tingles the tongue at first arrival, stay on the palate, while the tongue enjoys the sweet malt just below. Tasty malt flavor hangs in there tight. Medium body, decent flavor.
In all, I'm a bit surprised by how much I didn't hate it. I've had this before and been very disappointed. The question I have is: Did it improve somehow, or have I become less critical? I don't think it's the latter, for my dislike of their products has been so strong in the past, it can't have been a mistake.
There's something about this bottle of Beck's Oktoberfest that I just don't dislike. And I don't know why that is.
It's a decent beer, and I can drink it. Won't go back for more, though. Just not quite my style.
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Hey, guess what? Turns out that I've had this already, back in October of 2007, also a sample from the distributor. Here's what I wrote back then:
I can't believe I've never reviewed any Beck's! How'd that happen?
Well, I've got a sample bottle here, haven't tasted one in years...let's do it!
Into a squat Warsteiner glass mug she goes...
Clear, coppery/amber hue, huge head, fluffy, cream-toned foam. Not bad.
Sweet malty nose...I can almost taste wort, weird as it seems, Then, grainy and dry. Grain mash more than anything.
Dry and flat in the mouth. Light bodied, with some grainy mouthfeel, thin and watery. Bright and lightly sweet, turning dull and pedestrian. Does nothing for the tongue. Very dumbed-down delivery of flavors.
Gets flinty and metallic...water wins the day, and the brew leaves the mouth with no impression left behind.
Since knowing better marzens with beefier bodies and more powerful flavors, this one has been passed over year after year...and tasting this bottle, I remember why. Thank goodness it was free.
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