Summit - Oktoberfest

Woohoo!!!  The Oktoberfests are here!  The Oktoberfests are here!!!  Wait... whats that you say?  Its the 1st of August and breweries are already starting to produce this marzen style treat?  Your damn right they are!  Well, not every brewery is starting to release them.  But Summit is!!!  In fact, due to a shortage of their Summer sampler pack Summit Brewing made the decision to release their Autumn sampler early.  And for people like me this was like seeing the bright white light behind the 12 pack in the beer store fridge.  It was simply glorious.

If you cant tell already I have a bit of a thing for the beers that are generally released in the Autumn months.  There is nothing better than a chilly afternoon with a delicious Oktoberfest style beer in your hand.  Aside from warming up on the couch in front of a fire with a nice, bold stout I can think of no better place I'd like to be than outside on a cool Autumn day with a cooler full of Oktoberfests by my side.

On Saturday I posted my review on Summit's Unchained #07 series Honeymoon Saison.  Since I have a delicious Autumn sampler sitting in my fridge I am going to declare this week Summit Brewing Week!  Its almost as awesome as Shark Week but instead of deadly flesh hungry fish you get delicious craft beer!  Its also Summits 25th anniversary this year which gives us all the more reason to give this Minnesota based brewery a week of its own.

Oh baby!

I don't think Dunz has any Summit beer in his fridge at this time so Summit Brewing Week will be contained to my posts only.  That is unless Dunz can run out to the store and find a few Summit brews we haven't reviewed yet!   I hear they have a killer 25th Anniversary IPA that was just released...

Summits Oktoberfest boasts a rich, caramel hue and fluffy off-white foam.  The head quick recedes only to leave a thin lacing in its place.  The aroma is rich, bready malt with touches of caramel and toast.  Maybe some faint earthy hops are mixed in there but its tough to tell.  Creamy, biscuity, malty, bready all come together to form a delicious flavor profile.  The carbonation is moderate to low and levels out with some time. Right away its a bit sharp.  But after a few sips you start to get a nice, smooth malty brew.

Overall - I don't know if its the anticipation of my first marzen brew of the season getting to me here but this Oktoberfest was simply fantastic.  Flavorful aroma and taste throughout.  The finish was clean and ensured that I would be back for another sip in short order.  I'm sad there are only three in my sampler.  I guess that just means Ill need to pick up another!