We tried:
Ayinger Oktoberfest
Ayinger Brau Weisse
Aventinus
Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest
Anchor Porter
Weihenstephaner Korbinian
And the odd-balls...
Trader Joe's vienna lager (Marzen)
Budweiser American Ale
Michelob Porter
Black label (yes, I know...)
(I'm not linking the Black Label. It's for your own good)
That last one was bought as a joke for one of the guys that constantly reminisces about his college days and black label. I tend to associate BL with piss, so that should sum it up.
We started with the German examples.
First came the Ayinger Marzen. It was pretty well balanced and it was a crowd favorite. It lacked that "malty" character that I like on the Paulaner Oktoberfest, but Overall, nose and flavor profile was very good.
Second was the Hacker-Pschorr. For some reason, this is not a mark that I enjoy. I have tried their Hefe-weissen, and I find it "lacking". This Marzen fell under the same general category: "Needs something". I would not get this again. There are better examples for a better price, IMO.
Next, the Ayinger Brau Weisse. This was a late addition (along with the Aventinus and the Black Label), and it was a very good one. It had a very good nose, and a great fruit and spice flavor reminiscent of the exotic combos usually found on Belgian whites (like Hooegarten). I could have easily stayed drinking this one, but alas, only two bottles for 6 people :(
The Anchor Porter followed. I was pleasantly surprised. Great roasted malt flavor, and enough body to define it as a porter without weighing it down. A new favorite of mine (still, Sammy Smith's Taddy Porter is my hands-down favorite). Probably the best American Porter I have tasted. I hear the Brooklyn Porter is good, but I have not checked it out yet.
I have this "thing" with modern American brews and their liberal use of finish hops. Sometimes, it is obvious that the finished product would be superior if they have skipped the damn step, but such is life. You know that bitter finish you taste at a micro-brew place that reminds you it's not Bud? That's what I'm talking about. It has its place, and it is on the IPA brewing style. That's it! Everywhere else it's just a deterrent from the actual flavor of the beer. You heard of Pete's wicked poo? they put that flavor in everything, and that's reason #7462 why I will not spend a dime on Pete's anything.
Next, we tried the Aventinus and the Korbinian. I like the Aventinus because it reminds me of those tasty Belgians like Chimay that I like so much. The fact that it is a German brew (with their strict laws) makes it very interesting, and definitely a winner. It is a bit scary at over 8% ABV. You must respect it. The rest of the guys were kind of knocked back by the heavy clove taste from the bottle fermentation. It's not for everybody :)
The Korbinian was much more in line with the traditional doppel bock style (see Celebrator), and it was definitely good. Very good balance of yeast, malt and hops with a slight bite in the finish. Very good, but I still like Celebrator better. The rest of the guys except one liked this beer also. The one guy that didn't loves the Celebrator as well.
After a pretzel-eating break and a nature call, we checked out the other stuff. Remember that Black label? I poured it in a cup and gave it to the aforementioned buddy. He proclaimed it wasn't bad, and everyone that was in on the joke immediately laughed. I think we caught him off guard because he maintained that it wasn't as bad. I took a sip of it, and I'm still regretting it! Compared with all the other stuff we've had until this point, the black label was absolute garbage! It has a nose that reminds you of pissed-on bar floors, and a taste of warm miller(or bud) mixed with honey or some other sweet thing. Definitely disgusting. Worth the money for the joke, though :)
The Bud American Ale was a beer that I almost wanted to like. I've been waiting for them to actually make a good beer, and the fact that they're willing to try to compete with the likes of Sam Adams gives validity to the changing palate of the American consumer. The beer has a very nice color, a nice head, and a good hoppy nose. The flavor, however, seems muted, and the finish almost IPA hoppy. The moment you drink it, you think "Okay, where's the rest of it?" It lacks something, and the finish is that micro-brew finish hops thing I already bitched about. It almost overpowers the flavor of the beer, as if to make you forget what you just drank. I still give them a B+ for effort. I think it is a good first pass, but it needs work. Everyone agreed that, compared to Sam Adams, it wasn't as good.
If you suffered through that last paragraph about the Bud, then you know what I'm going to say about the Michelob Porter. Good first attempt, but it needs work. This was definitely a Porter designed for the Bud crowd. Too subdued, almost tasting like a dark lager. The malt was too light, and again, the finish hop flavr came back on this one. Same rant here: I had such high hopes for this line... Maybe the others are better?
The Trader Joe's marzen also suffered from the same "toned down example" syndrome of the two above. Everyone else agreed as well. It was almost like a nice alternative lager rather than a good marzen. It is a low-priced beer supposedly made by a decent micro brew company. Maybe the price constraints don't match the labor of the process? I suspect either the target palate doesn't really like a marzen, or the cost of making a true marzen is too high. Who knows?
At the end, the rankings were almost unanimous:
- Ayinger Heffe-Weisse
- Ayinger Oktoberfest Marzen
- Anchor Porter
- Korbinian
- Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest
- Aventinus
- Trader Joe's Vienna Lager
- Michelob Porter
- Budweiser American Ale
- Black Label
Some people liked the Korbinian more than the Anchor, but I think it is mostly about style preference rather than quality. Porter is not everyone's favorite.
I can't wait to do this again!
Later,
