Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Homebrew: Märzen (Oktoberfest)


Appearance: Medium-brown. One bottle had excessive head, the second had very little. Need to open more to determine if there is a bottling issue or over-carbonation.

Smell: Very little odor - no specific nor notable notes.

Taste: Mild, crisp, true to
a German style Marzen.


Mouthfeel: Uniform, though brief, tongue coverage. Very little lingering aftertaste. Refreshing feeling.

Drinkability:
Having brewed this myself, I know how heavily, though mildly, hopped this is. It is surprising how little hop bitterness there is. The beer is very crisp and refreshing, as I would expect a traditional Marzen to be. This was my first attempt at brewing a lager, which needs to be cold fermented. After lots of experimentation, I wound up adapting my extra beer fridge to hold the 5 gallon fermentation carboy, which seemed to do the trick. The beer turned out excellent, and exactly how I was hoping. The first bottle we opened had lots of head whereas the second had virtually none, so it will be interesting to see how the rest of the batch turned out. I've encountered this with my prior brews, and I think it has to do with my crappy bottle capper, but we shall see. In any event, it would have been smarter to brew this in March, as Marzen beer is tradionally done, since this is an excellent summer and fall brew. But, since I'm just such a rebel, it will have to do in the brutal winter.

Serving type: Bottle

Grade:  A

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