[blatz]

it is phenomenal - and I had the pleasure of having it fresh on draft at the brewery and taking a growler home with me. 

my favorite oktoberfest this year.

[hopfenundmalz]

Im on vacation so ill be looking for it. My guess was that it might be a bit too hoppy. Sounds interesting though.

I'm curious, Jim...why would you expect that?

Unfair I suppose, but ive just come to expect a heavy hand with hops in west coast breweries. Im headed to town today, with any luck I'll score some and I'll give it a fair chance

It was brewed in collaboration with Bavarian brewery Riegele.  IMO, it's an excellent example of the Maerzen style (as opposed to the more modern Festbier/Wiesn).  Really enjoyed it at our sneak preview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2hiccZk-fY

Was that picture at Mills River?

[klickitat jim]

Now that I've had some around for a few days, I have a little different opinion. If I remove my biases as best I can, pretend someone just handed me a glass and said "what do you think?" I think it's a tasty, drinkable pale ale that used spicy/floral hops instead of citrus/pines hops, and was either fermented with lager or hybrid yeast, or cal ale at low temps to keep the fruitiness low.

[brewinhard]

For me, it is missing that richer malt depth that a good classic oktoberfest has.  The lighter malt presence and color scream "festbier" to me and a fairly good one at that.  I do too agree that the bitterness (and maybe hop flavor additions) could be brought down a notch. 

[toby]

Was that picture at Mills River?

Yep.  Beautiful facility.  The video I posted was filmed there also.  This was down by the river itself.

[hopfenundmalz]

Was that picture at Mills River?

Yep.  Beautiful facility.  The video I posted was filmed there also.  This was down by the river itself.

They have a lot of river front and property. Most beautiful brewery I have ever seen.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

For me, it is missing that richer malt depth that a good classic oktoberfest has.  The lighter malt presence and color scream "festbier" to me and a fairly good one at that.  I do too agree that the bitterness (and maybe hop flavor additions) could be brought down a notch.

+1 pretty  much where i'm at on it.

[blatz]

funny to me I get a lot of well balanced, toasty type malt character that is blended with hop bitterness to lend a crisp finish that begs the next sip.  I'd agree that the hop aroma is a bit on the higher end of the range but not intrusive. 

Sierra's is pretty close to a good, fresh Ayinger.

in my opinion, several of the American craft interpretations of the style are borderline bocks with lots of rich dark fruity type maltiness and full mouthfeels, leaning decidedly towards malt without the counterbalancing hop bitterness in the finish. Lefthand, Samuel Adams, Highland Clawhammer, Harpoon all come to mind as examples this year.  If that is what fits your idealization of the style, you are definitely going to be disappointed.

One final note - I did find the malt to be a bit richer in later batches - the 6/30/15 packaged batch was a bit more bitter and less balanced than the more recent one that I've had.

[denny]

Just picked up a 6 to try.  I'll check the date.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

funny to me I get a lot of well balanced, toasty type malt character that is blended with hop bitterness to lend a crisp finish that begs the next sip.  I'd agree that the hop aroma is a bit on the higher end of the range but not intrusive. 

Sierra's is pretty close to a good, fresh Ayinger.

in my opinion, several of the American craft interpretations of the style are borderline bocks with lots of rich dark fruity type maltiness and full mouthfeels, leaning decidedly towards malt without the counterbalancing hop bitterness in the finish. Lefthand, Samuel Adams, Highland Clawhammer, Harpoon all come to mind as examples this year.  If that is what fits your idealization of the style, you are definitely going to be disappointed.

One final note - I did find the malt to be a bit richer in later batches - the 6/30/15 packaged batch was a bit more bitter and less balanced than the more recent one that I've had.

ok so thats interesting. mine is the 6/30 batch and just like you described.

[Iliff Ave]

funny to me I get a lot of well balanced, toasty type malt character that is blended with hop bitterness to lend a crisp finish that begs the next sip.  I'd agree that the hop aroma is a bit on the higher end of the range but not intrusive. 

Sierra's is pretty close to a good, fresh Ayinger.

in my opinion, several of the American craft interpretations of the style are borderline bocks with lots of rich dark fruity type maltiness and full mouthfeels, leaning decidedly towards malt without the counterbalancing hop bitterness in the finish. Lefthand, Samuel Adams, Highland Clawhammer, Harpoon all come to mind as examples this year.  If that is what fits your idealization of the style, you are definitely going to be disappointed.

One final note - I did find the malt to be a bit richer in later batches - the 6/30/15 packaged batch was a bit more bitter and less balanced than the more recent one that I've had.

Was the color darker on the later batch? In the video review I saw, the color was very light; like 6 SRM. He commented on how bitter and out of balance it was.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

funny to me I get a lot of well balanced, toasty type malt character that is blended with hop bitterness to lend a crisp finish that begs the next sip.  I'd agree that the hop aroma is a bit on the higher end of the range but not intrusive. 

Sierra's is pretty close to a good, fresh Ayinger.

in my opinion, several of the American craft interpretations of the style are borderline bocks with lots of rich dark fruity type maltiness and full mouthfeels, leaning decidedly towards malt without the counterbalancing hop bitterness in the finish. Lefthand, Samuel Adams, Highland Clawhammer, Harpoon all come to mind as examples this year.  If that is what fits your idealization of the style, you are definitely going to be disappointed.

One final note - I did find the malt to be a bit richer in later batches - the 6/30/15 packaged batch was a bit more bitter and less balanced than the more recent one that I've had.

Was the color darker on the later batch? In the video review I saw, the color was very light; like 6 SRM. He commented on how bitter and out of balance it was.

you can see in my photo posted how light it is. its definitely out of balance favoring bitterness.

[blatz]

Was the color darker on the later batch? In the video review I saw, the color was very light; like 6 SRM. He commented on how bitter and out of balance it was.

couldn't tell you at the moment - i had all of the later batch at the brewery and from a growler when i was on vacation, but have had all the 6/30 at home.  i'll check the stores soon and look for a newer batch to grab and compare (i have a few bottles left) - assuming that Celebration doesn't make its way here beforehand.   

I'd say more like 7-8 SRM nonetheless.  Ayinger is about the same, FWIW, so are most of the imports;  Spaten is one of the darker ones IIRC, and even that is not nearly as dark as Sam, Victory, Lefthand, etc.

[jeffy]

I am having one right now dated 8-11-15.  I like this beer and I usually find U.S. O'Fest beers a little too malty, kind of the same malt flavor as an Irish Red if you know what I mean.  This is more bread crust and considerably lighter in body than most.
I'd say the color is light, maybe 6.  Dark gold would be a close descriptor.

[HoosierBrew]

I like this beer and I usually find U.S. O'Fest beers a little too malty, kind of the same malt flavor as an Irish Red if you know what I mean. 

Yep, exactly. Bad examples have too much Caramunich/Caravienne sweet character IMO - I like the ones with little or none like this one.