Southern Tier Brewing Co. - Pumking Ale Review

Type: Seasonal/Pumpkin

ABV: 9%

Sight: This brew pours a pretty, transparent orange with some slight bubbling from the bottom. The head comes out slowly, and i needed to be deliberate to create the thin bubbly-white head i got.

Aroma: Let's see...Nutmeg, vanilla, pumpkin and a little cinnamon come through well, while the malt is abbreviated and inconsistant through the inhale. I get a hint of floral near the finish of the second inhale.

Taste: Roasted pumpkin comes through as almost creamed-corn. Tingles of alcohol that warm the throat follow with a combination of pie spice to bring it all together. The end is a basically bland and uneventful, which is welcome, but unfortunate.

Overall: It's ashame, I was soooo looking forward to this brew since I heard of it and was expecting very good things due to past STBC beers I've had and the praise for the beer itself. The mouthfeel was fine, clean light, without any significant aftertaste, but that wasn't the problem with this beer. The "roasting of the pumpking actually turned the flavor of this beer to what reminded me of creamed-corn...Not joking! I was so overwhelmed with the corn taste that is suggest they rename it "Creamed-Cornking" for next year.

Score: 6.5/10

Weihenstephaner - Festbier Review

Type: Oktoberfest/Marzen


ABV: 5.8%

Sight: Clearly bright golden-yellow with a significant amount of carbination bubbling from the bottom. A fluffy pure-white head that hangs well before leaving a very thin film on the surface.

Aroma: Ultra-floral notes hit on minor inhale. On second good breath comes a lemon sweetness, and a very mellow malt.

Taste: The flavors remind me of an american pilsner or light lager more than an Oktoberfest type beer. Easy to go down with a balance that is good, but also not good because of no seperation of flavors. A mild malt begins with a tingle of alcohol and more lightness in hop flavors of lemony-citrus and sourness.

Overall: Not blown away...but it is close to the style in that it is light and refreshing and can be drank in abundance without fear of getting wasted or having a hangover the next day. Mouthfeel is medium, and when finished there is a little sour that pinches the corners of the mouth.

Score: 7/10

Warsteiner - Oktoberfest Review

Type: Oktoberfest

ABV: 5.9%

Sight: It pours a clear golden yellow with a hint of orange. The head fills to about a half-inch in a fluffy white.

Aroma: Sweet malt and hop combo come through nicely with maybe a hint of yeast in there also.


Taste: Nice sweet malt to begin with a hop floral essence from behind. The hops are there but so mildly represented that even the biggest hop-hater would still enjoy this Marzen.


Overall: Mellow and malt dominant. A perfect representation of the style. The mouthfeel is light, with little or no aftertaste to speak of. There is a nice balance between the malt and hops that keep this Oktoberfest at the top of the Marzen heap.


Score: 8.8/10