For today’s craft beer review I thought I would continue with the Oktoberfest theme and talk a bit about the Hobrau Munchen Oktoberfest brewed by the Staatliches Hofbrauhaus Brewery located in Munich, Germany. 

Let’s forgo the small talk and jump right into the description from the website, hofbraeu-muenchen.de.

The Munich Beer Festival, or Oktoberfest, is an event of superlatives – it’s the largest popular festival in the world, staging in the beer metropolis of Munich.  Millions of visitors from all over the world flock along every year to enjoy its very special atmosphere.  For this occasion, Hofbrau brews a rich, full-bodied beer which goes down ideally with traditional Bavarian cuisine.  With its deliciously bitter taste and alcoholic content of 6.3% volume, Hobrau Oktoberfest is as special as the Beer Festival itself. 

Now… for the pour.

This brew comes in an 11.2 oz. bottle and has an ABV of 6.3%.

The Hobrau Oktoberfest poured a very clear, yellow to gold color with a bright white, fluffy, rocky head.  The cap was of very good size, the retention was adequate and the lacing looked ok.  It doesn’t have the deep copper hue that most of the American-style Oktoberfest beers have though. 

The nose opened with a very prevalent grain bill that was very clean and fresh smelling.  Further aromas of fresh hay, white bread and some grassy hops seemed to complete this rather tame bouquet.  Overall, the aroma was balanced ok, but it just didn’t seem to fit the fragrance profile of a typical Oktoberfest.  It was very similar to the nose of the Hofrau Original, which, if I’m not mistaken, is a Helles style beer. 

The taste was congruent to the aroma.  A grassy hop bite with a snap of dried crackers.  More of the forthcoming graininess was found, which, again, seemed to not fit the style very well.  Not a lot of bitterness was discovered either.  It was still clean and fresh, however it was also light and subdued. 

The mouthfeel was medium to medium/thin, dry, crisp, smooth, snappy, refreshing and somewhat thirst quenching.  A little bit of flavor was left on the palate, but not much really.

Hmm.  I don’t know that I would even classify this as an Oktoberfest.  It seemed a lot more like a Pilsner or Helles to me.  It was very weak in the aroma and taste, with not much of the caramel sweetness and toasted spices that seem to accompany most Oktoberfest beers.  With that being said, the brew was super easy to drink and I think it would match up perfectly with the Summer heat.  I guess it would be worth a try if you are looking to complete the tastings of traditional German Oktoberfest beers, however I doubt that this one would be at the top of my list if I had to choose.

Has anyone else experienced this with the Hobrau Oktoberfest.  Let me know, so I can determine if my taste buds are broken.

Thanks for reading and commenting everyone.

Cheers.

Score:  3.25 out of 5
Grade:  C+