Karbach Brewing Oktoberfest

Big marshmallow nose with chocolate, vanilla, cream, and root-beer notes. Soft, round, creamy body with chocolate, cookies ‘n’ cream, and more marshmallow. Thinning toward the back of the palate; sweet, mouth-coating finish. Quite drinkable given the sweetness.

Lovely clear amber color, excellent foam and lace. Pleasant nose, malt-forward with some lighter caramel, integrating well with a subtle orange-fruit ester and getting a slight push from sweet alcohol—it works, altogether. Nice balance in the flavor, with a light, slightly caramel-like sweetness that that rolls pretty quickly through a soft, smooth, herbal-earthy bitterness into a dry finish. Medium body, good carb. Attractive, nicely balanced, and quite drinkable. Freshly toasted, but not too toasted, bread on the nose. Flavors the same in the mouth, herbal character from hops more apparent. Malt/hops flavor nicely balanced, but hops finish with a bit of a thud. Beautifully light copper-colored pour with a khaki head that just sticks around. An initial whiff of petrol dissipates to allow nutty, heavily caramel-toasted malt to lead the aroma; red apple skin esters contributes a sweetness that doesn't seem completely integrated. On the sip, malts are clearly present in terms of sweetness and brioche crust. A wisp of near-roast alongside this soft sweetness compliments more mid-tone flavors of bread, caramel, etc. Finish dries out to a degree but again could use some more supportive bread effects in the retronasal.

Pleasant grapefruit zest-and-juice aroma. Bright grapefruit throughout pairs well with old-school caramel and pine-citrus hops. Lightly tart, with pithy bitterness balancing sweet heavy fruit, while unassuming malt provides body. Finishes dry and a bit tart, making you want more.