Left Hand Oktoberfest

Left Hand is based in Longmont, CO and I try to sample new beers from them as they are a very good brewer.  Now is the time of year that the weather starts to change and I get in the mood for a nice Oktoberfest-inspired beer.  Oktoberfest (6.6 ABV and 24 IBU) is a marzen style beer that is a tribute to Oktoberfest.  This beer is available for a limited time and you’ll need to obtain some soon as it will be gone from the shelves all too quickly.

Marzen / Oktoberfest - http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/29 - BeerAdvocate

Appearance - Copper / Amber (think of a shiny new penny)  that is perfectly clear with a small head.
Aroma -Bread and caramel with a little hint of earthy notes and spice.
Taste - Ahh, this is a nice seasonal beer that should be consumed this time of year.  The focus is on the malt and the focus is on bread and caramel and think of this going with the food of Oktoberfest - roasted pork and oxen, sausage and other goodies from the Fatherland.
Overall - B+ - This is a very tasty American version of the Marzen and I really enjoy it.  I say pick up a 6-pack while it is available.  Very easy to drink and it will go great with Oktoberfest fare.

Website description - “This is no festivus for the restuvus - on the contrary - we start brewing in the Spring and it takes a full two months to reach lagered perfection.Biscuity, malty goodness dominates upfront while the noble pedigree hops lend a properly spicy, dry finish. Zicke zacke, zicke zacke, hoi, hoi, hoi. Time to roast your chicken and upend your stein before the air gets crisp, the leaves flame and fall and the skies fade to black. Auf geht's!”

Left Hand Oktoberfest - http://www.lefthandbrewing.com/beers/oktoberfest

German food and German beer

The beer tasting group met last night for good drink, good food, and great conversation at Tibor’s home last night.  At our last tasting, we agreed to taste German beers and Chris, Dennis and I each brought two different types of German beer.  I grabbed some fresh Bratwurst at Tony’s Meats in Littleton along with some sauerkraut.  I had purchased Ayinger’s Celebrator and Aecht Schlenkerla’s Weizen Rauchbier for the evening.  Nicole, Tibor’s wife, also cooked spaetzle with bacon and cheese, prepared a wonderful salad, cooked large warm pretzels, and served some nice Troberlone chocolate with sprinkles of cayenne and cinnamon to taste with the chocolate.

I grilled the Brats and then placed them on top of the sauerkraut in a crock pot with some Paulaner Oktoberfest Marzen.  Tibor had really decked out the table with classic German steins, glassware, and other items he had collected in Germany during his youth and his trips back over the years to visit his father and family.  Tibor and Nicole have both attended Oktoberfest and have a great knowledge of Germany and German culture.  Tibor started with two Oktoberfest – Marzens of Spaten (5.9% ABV) and Paulaner (5.8%).  These went excellent with Brats & Kraut, mustard, spaetzle, and salad.  I preferred the Paulaner over the Spaten and the pairing was very good. 

Next up was Erdinger Dark Hefeweizen (5.6% ABV) and Aecht Schlenkerla Weizen Rauchbier (4.7% ABV).  The Erdinger Dark Hefeweizen is  classed as a dunkelweizen and was the best beer of the evening.  A Rauchbier is a smoked beer and the Aecht Schlenkerla had a deep smoky aroma and taste and we thought it would have paired excellent with smoked salmon.

Spaten Optimator (7.6% ABV) and Ayinger Celebrator (6.7% ABV) are doppelbocks and these were very nice.  I think Nicole served the pretzels at this time and these were very tasty with the pretzels.

   

We ended the evening with Warsteiner Dunkel (4.9% ABV) and Kostritzer Schwarzbier (4.8% ABV) and these were another great pairing with the Trobolone chocolate with cayenne and cinnamon.  It was great do a little trip to Germany with excellent food and drink and it was a great evening.  I really appreciate Tibor and Nicole hosting and the food Nicole made was excellent – I loved the spaetzle.  One thing I picked up from podcasts from Dr. Bill is that if you pair beer with the regional cuisine you usually will not go wrong as the regional beer and food historically go together.  This is excellent advice as the beer and food of Germany paired excellent with each other.  Next time, we will be meeting in May and we are considering focusing on Hefeweizens and Witbiers.