Beeritas Session #2: Oktoberfest and Pumpkin

Another week, another beerfest! And the theme for this week’s tasting is a great one, too: Oktoberfest and Pumpkin—a great way to kick off the fall with some seasonal beers.

Just a bit of background before I let loose, though. I’ll start with Oktoberfest, which is a type of beer the Germans invented in 1818 for Munich’s beer festival. The Germans brew the beer in March, let it ferment during summer, and then ironically drink it in September, rather than October. Somehow I’m not all that surprised, though. We’re talking about Germans, after all.

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Regardless, while they may not be great at naming their creations, they really do know their beer. Oktoberfest comes on the slightly dark side, verging on amber, and it packs a marked, upfront sweetness, in addition to a slight nuttiness. Oddly enough, this bold sweetness does serve a very specific purpose, rooted deeply in German culture. From what I’m told, the Germans use Oktoberfest as a party beer. The beer’s sweet note leaves you wanting something to cleanse the palate, forcing you to take another sip of the beer, creating a vicious cycle of nonstop beer-drinking. Whatever the actual reason behind the flavor, it tends to be very popular, and other countries like America have since co-opted the Oktoberfest, producing their own beers in the same style. Still, true Oktoberfest can only come from Germany, which almost always does it better than anyone else.

The other central beer variety for this evening is more a flavor, than a style. Pumpkin-flavored beers are typically produced during the fall, the perfect accompaniment for Halloween and Thanksgiving. While they don’t share a particular style, they do share a method of flavor infusion. In these beers, the pumpkin, along with some spices, is added to the beer just before it’s put into the vats during the brewing process. Typically spices like cinnamon, cardamom, clove, and nutmeg are used, but there isn’t any specific recipe. In fact, some of the beers don’t even use pumpkin. It turns out that butternut squash is a much cheaper alternative and carries with it a much more pronounced sweetness. The big brands, then, like to cut corners by replacing the pumpkin with squash, a very commonplace practice. It’s almost impossible, however, to know which brands “cheat,” since the ingredients are never listed.

Anyway, I’ll finish off this brief intro by again thanking Beeritas, Harvard Law’s premier beer drinking society, for organizing another phenomenal tasting. Really, any night I get to taste some decent beer is good enough, but Beeritas took it to another level last week, picking eight different beers that ran a vast gamut of different flavors, even in this very narrow category of Oktoberfest and Pumpkin.

Oh, and pumpkin pie beer? Greatest idea ever!

What I Tasted

Paulaner Oktoberfest Mizon, 5.80% ABV

Dark, brown-gold color, with white bubbles fizzing to the top for a very long time. Rather clear for a strong beer.

Rather weak aroma, with some barley and a slight bit of honey on the nose.

Nice sweetness upfront, as is typical of Oktoberfest. The hops only kick in afterwards, leaving you with a very slight but lasting bitterness that is refreshing, especially since it counteracts the initial sweetness. The carbonation, too, is delicious, leaving your mouth bubbling slightly as you take the beer in and adding to the balance. As for flavors, I get a bit of honey, apple, and walnut on the uptake, followed by barley and some hops. It’s not the most complex, but it’s extremely smooth for what it is, and the contrast of sweet and bitter works incredibly well.

4.2+/5.0

Spaten Oktoberfest, 5.9% ABV

Almost the same exact look as the last—golden amber-brown, with intense carbonation floating to the top constantly.

The aroma is just a bit stronger than the last, with a bit more of an earthy smell, like soil, apple, and honey.

Again, the sweetness is the first thing you notice, though this one is markedly more bitter on the uptake, with the hops coming through from the very start. The complex mix of sweet and bitter sticks throughout the beer so that the transition is a lot less marked, and the beer ends on a bitter note. The carbonation is a bit lighter, which I find to be a downer, since it adds so much texture and balance. This beer is also even less complex than the last, though I do get a very slight nutty, berry taste. Still, the hops are dominant here, overpowering the combination. Very, very long aftertaste, too.

3.3+/5.0

Victory Festbier, 5.6% ABV

Additional notes from Beeritas: This is an American Oktoberfest. It’s well-balanced and very similar to other two. It’s also received #1 Ranking for American Oktoberfest.

The color is practically full pumpkin. It has just a bit of murkiness and an intensity that’s very nice.

The aroma, too, is very strong, exuding the smell of soil and nuts.

Wow, what a kick this beer has. It starts out very, very smooth, without too many overtones or any bitterness. Once you savor it, though, it picks up a bit of refreshing carbonation, slight hops, and most of all, a smoky, nutty, amaretto taste. The carbonation is just right, going down very smoothly. The best part is by far the end, leaving you with a roasted flavor exuding from the palate. Moreover, the beer is nicely balanced, shockingly so for an American beer. To be fair, though, the Victory Festbier is much less flavorful than its German counterparts, emphasizing elegance at the cost of sweetness.

4.1+/5.0

Shipyard Pumpkinhead, 4.5% ABV

The color’s slightly lighter than the others, lying somewhere between a blond and an Oktoberfest, with a light golden-brown color that’s slightly translucent, though still murky.

The aroma is extreme, especially for a beer. Expect full on pumpkin pie right on the nose, along with cinnamon and sugary pie crust.

The taste delivers on that pumpkin pie aroma, too. It starts out very light, with just a bit of cinnamon and the obvious pumpkin undertone. As you savor it, the spice level goes through the roof, as the palate picks up nutmeg, cardamom, and especially cinnamon. That cinnamon stays with you in the aftertaste, which unfortunately dissipates quickly. As for the pumpkin, it’s surprisingly not all that intense, instead providing a slight richness  and sweetness throughout—one that I find refreshing. The bitterness is light, but the carbonation does help to add some complexity. Still, even with all the spices and the incredible aftertaste, it feels just a bit watery and underflavored overall.

3.9/5.0

Cisco Brewers (Nantucket) Pumple Drumkin Spiced Ale, 6% ABV

Probably the darkest color I’ve seen so far, taking the traditional pumpkin color and darkening it a couple notches with a strong hazelnut brown. The foam is light at the top, only partially covering the beer.

The aroma is again strong, though not so much as the last one. I get some pepper, cinnamon, and of course pumpkin on the nose, as well as a bit of barley.

I can’t say much for the taste, though, as this beer is easily the lightest, most watery, and most flavorless of the bunch so far. Expect very little pumpkin or spice, with the focus instead on a rather marked hoppy flavor that I find to be a horrible companion for the supposed pumpkin flavor. The beer starts out just ever so slightly sweet, but it soon turns bitter, leaving you with a puckering, but also intense, bitterness. The herby cinnamon at the very end is nice. Still, that slight counterbalancing sweet spice kicks in so late, and the bitterness is so strong, that it really doesn’t have much impact. The aftertaste is unfortunately extremely long, overwhelming you with bitterness.

1.3/5.0

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale (Brewed with pumpkin, allspice, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg), 7% ABV.

Additional notes from Beeritas: This is Dogfishhead’s first beer ever made. It was a homebrew beer they entered into a Maryland competition a year before opening the brewery.

The color verges on amber, more so than any of the other beers, and it has a fair bit of light red running throughout. Also, it’s the only beer with almost no foam.

It has a strong aroma, being the most pumpkin-smelling of the bunch. I also get a hint of the nutmeg, but this one smells more like fresh pumpkins than a pumpkin pie.

The Punkin Ale is probably the most complex beer of the bunch, too. It starts out with a slight sweetness, picks up a bit of hoppy bitterness, and then ends with a slightly dry, fruity (esp. raspberries), very spicy, cinnamon finish that I find delightful. It’s also bitter at the very end, but not overwhelmingly so, instead reminding me slightly of bitter dark chocolate. The best part, though, is definitely the dry finish, which makes for a very interesting combo with the sweetness. I know dry and sweet shouldn’t be present at the same time, but this beer does manage to do it somehow, and it leaves you warmed up inside. It’s just a tad too bitter at the end.

4.0/5.0.

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale, 8.0% ABV

Additional notes from Beeritas: Imperial just means 8% alcohol or higher. This beer is a little bit sweeter than the others, and it uses a lot of cardamom and clove.

Weyerbacher’s Pumpkin Ale has the murkiest color of all, verging on amber, nut brown. It also has the most foam.

The aroma is just as strong, more so than most of the rest. Again, this time around the pumpkin is the predominant note, along with intense gingerbread and what smells like a bit of herbs, like parsley.

The beer tastes very smooth and smoky. Although it’ light, it has none of the wateriness that held some of the other beers back. It starts out with a light sweetness and carbonation, both of which never overpower you. As you savor it, you pick up a bit of apple sweetness, some coffee (from the herby taste) and, of course, a ton of cardamom and clove. It ends on an incredibly spicy note, verging on a very sweet, slightly smoky gingerbread. Some people may not like its sweetness, which only picks up more and more rather than turning bitter, but I find that sweetness very nicely balanced by the spices. The beer could, however, be slightly more flavorful.

4.3+/5.0-4.4/5.0

Southern Tier Pumking, 9% ABV

A surprisingly light color, with more overtones of gold than the typical brown ale. Very little foam.

The most interesting aroma I’ve tried so far, with strong overtones of rice and wood, especially pine, along with some pumpkin pie.

It’s extremely strong, not just because of the 9% ABV, but also the incredibly sweet, pumpkin overtone. It’s intensely spiced, too, though that spice is never too much. On the uptake, the beer seems a bit light, with a light spice to it, very reminiscent of herby rice—and for some reason, it’s that rice taste that stuck with me as I tasted this beer, even more than the actual pumpkin. As you savor the beer, though, it picks up a bit of carbonation, giving some nice texture and balancing the sweetness. Best of all, it picks up tons of spice and nuts in the mouth, giving you an intense, pumpkin pie and gingerbread finish—and one which lasts. It’s really that cinnamon finish, which hits you hard and fast, that left me loving this beer. It does have just a bit of bitterness at the end. Still, this might as well just be called pumpkin pie. It’s that good!

4.6/5.0