Bayern Oktoberfest Lager

From the deepest, darkest depths of that mini-Bavaria known as “Montana”, Bayern Brewing bring forth their autumn seasonal Oktoberfest lager, to help us celebrate the gathering of the harvest and bid farewell to another summer.

Remarkably different to the other Märzen’s I’ve tried recently, this sample of the brewer’s trade provides a deep brown, almost mahogany, pint. Despite a fairly aggressive pour there’s little head to speak of, and it doesn’t come as much of a surprise to find there’s little carbonation either. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s a bit of a let-down here I think.

There’s a pronounced earthy, malten quality to this beer that’s quite intriguing at first. With an odd taste of sweetcorn thrown in for good measure. That intrigue lasts about two-thirds of the way down the glass, and then… I kind of lose interest. Unfortunately, there isn’t really enough going on here to draw me in, not enough of the true Oktoberfest elan to make this stand out as something I want to drink more of now or come back to in the future. Your mileage will of course vary, but for me – a decent enough beer, but not heading for the bright lights just yet. 

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Bayern Oktoberfest

Bayern Killarney Red Lager Beer

The last beer of the Bayern Brewing 4 beer sampler 12 pack from Malt & Vine.  This one brings their average back up after the Dancing Trout I had yesterday.  Bayern Killarney Red Lager Beer is actually a very fine beer, indeed.  Said to be one of the early Irish Red beers in the states, this one has an interesting aftertaste that I have a hard time putting my finger on.  It pours a nice copper color, has a minimal head, but a really clean and refreshing finish.  I tastes like it has been sweetened a bit, but that isn’t a bad thing.  Overall this is a really good beer that drinks very well.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Ah… a quick update on my operations here… I purchased a stationary beer opener online at www.bottleopener.com and installed it as soon as I got it.  Works like a charm.

Bayern Dancing Trout

The third beer from my fine Bayern Brewing sampler pack.  Bayern Dancing Trout is described as a filtered ale that would resemble a filtered version of traditional hefeweizen.  This is interesting since I couldn’t really put my finger on what type of beer this truly was.  Dancing Trout has quite an interesting history that is worth checking out on their site.  I still like the old name of Trout Slayer better, but I see where they are going with the more PETA friendly version they now have.  No, that isn’t an endorsement… I am staying nuetral on the whole PETA thing to avoid any potential shenanigans from either camp, I thank you very much.

I remember thinking to myself as I was drinking this beer that it was super, super mild and easy to drink.  This was then confirmed on their website where they mention it is light and no aftertaste.  I could almost see drinking this instead of water for ther rest of my life, to be honest… it kind of tastes like it with just a little 5.4% ABV kick… I could probably fill a Camelback with it… go hiking… meetings at work… it would be good. 

Anyhow, good beer… pretty standard fair but realy and truly easy to drink with very little bad or good taste.  Very middle of the road.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Bayern Amber Lager

Bottle number 2 from my sampler 12 back happens to be Bayern Amber Lager (bottle 1 here). 

We really don’t taste nearly as many lagers on this blog as ales, so this one and the last Bayern come as a bit of a surprise… Actually, today’s other beer, the Sierra Nevada Summerfest was a lager, too… I am on a roll.  Anyhow, it comes as a bit of a surprise as I had stated a while back that all lagers had started to taste the same.  Not so, though, my friends… not so.  The last 3 brews have reminded me that lagers can have variety in taste and I especially like this one.  The same style as one of Po’s favorites on the blog (Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen), Bayern Amber brings a very interesting mix of hops, lager, ale, and what I personally think is honey… into a wonderfully refreshing, crisp, clean, and easy to drink brew.

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

 

Bayern Brewing Pilsener Lager

According to the Bayern Brewing website, it sounds like this is about as close as you can get to German beer without being in Germany… if you are on the western side of the United States (they are in Missoula, Montana), at least…   I bought a sampler 12 pack of their beer from Malt & Vine about a week ago and this is the first one to go on the blog.  After tonight, I am very much looking forward to tasting the other three varieties.

Bayern Brewing Pilsener Lager is a super solid beer.  I would seriously put it up there with some of the finer German beers that we have posted on this blog.  It has a great color, a good head if poured according to the instructions, and a strong but smooth flavor that provides a perfect aftertaste to remind you of that difference between American lager and German lager.

It was great for a relaxing after dinner beer and at 5% it relaxed me just right.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again