Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen

Looking back into our archives, Ayinger have a had a mixed reception between Dug and I – one awesome, one hideous… and one more to try right here with this bottle of seasonal Bavarian festival beer, a good pint-and-a-bit of Märzen that looks like it’ll fit right into my weekend of Oktoberfest beer tasting.

A smooth and gentle pour unleashes a deep burnt-orange pint of lager, much deeper in tone and colour than your regular pint of lager, of course. Well carbonated and zesty with just a tinge of pine along with the malt and hops in the taste, this Ayinger initially stacked up as a pretty strong contender in the Oktoberfest session.

But there was something weird about it too - something that left me with a definite sense of “disappointing”; a slight soapiness around the edges crept in that didn’t sit well with me at all. And no, it wasn’t my glass. Almost a “Will Buy Again”, but not quite there.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Ayinger October Fest-Märzen

Ayinger Ur-Weisse

I am sure I am going to offend someone with this review as I am sure that this is a beloved brew that has been around for a long time and the fact that I don’t like it is testament to my low IQ or something like that, but this beer was really, really not my cup of tea.  Brent brought it over the other night and we opened it up with super high hopes… I still shudder thinking about the fact that I finished my glass.

Ayinger Ur-Weisse is described as follows:

“The union of wheaty freshness and dark malt often produces a fullness of taste and complexity”, explains the world-famous English beer commentator Michael Jackson.
This also applies to the Ayinger Ur-Weisse, which is a strong amber-colored, yeast cloudy wheat beer. The beer is strong with the first taste and malty in aroma. The top-fermented, yeasty taste sensation is unmistakable. This beer is rich in sparkle and has just a touch of a special bitter quality. The fruity, malty mild aroma will have you won you over immediately!

There is really only one thing I agree with related to this beer… that the yeasty taste sensation is unmistakable… unmistakably bad.  <shudder>

I looks good, smells strong, but not too strong, then comes the taste… I felt like I was supposed to be chewing it instead of drinking it.  Overpowering yeasty taste sensation assaulted me and left me feeling violated.  Sorry Ayinger… this one won’t be touched with a 10 foot pole by this beer drinker.

JBB6 Rating: Not Even for Free