Serving Type: BottleABV: 6.5 percent
Appearance: Great Lakes Oktoberfest is very unlike your typical Oktoberfest in terms of color. It pours a vivid orange with some darker copper highlights. The head is an off-white, almost an ivory in color that leaves plenty of lacing within the glass. The texture of the beer is evident with the fancy little carbonation bubbles that dance up the glass towards the head of the brew.
Smell: I got a ton of sweeter notes from this beer. When it comes to Oktoberfests I've had I've usually noticed stronger hop aromas with the sweeter characteristics taking a backseat. This one has it the other way around. The caramel and toffee notes are dominant in the aroma. Very pleasant.
Taste: Just like the smell, the caramel and toffee have a magnificently sweet flavor. In my opinion, what makes a great Oktoberfest is good use of both sweetness up front and hop bitterness on the finish. This is an Oktoberfest that certainly takes the cake in that department. The hop bitterness is more of a biscuity taste you get from pilsners rather than a hop bitterness. These two flavors combine nicely.
Overall Rating:
I absolutely enjoyed this beer. I feel that the best Oktoberfest that's reachable in this area is Penn's Oktoberfest. If there was a good one to fall back on, it's this one. Penn's has the hop bitterness more prevalent with the sweeter notes lessened. Great Lakes has it the other way around. Both ways are very delicious. Both go well with bratwurst and pretzels!
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