Stoudt's Oktoberfest

Appearance: Goldy copper, quite white head
Smell: Just malt... smells that we normally find in lager... bready malt

Taste: Bready... in a good way. Malty, but not sweet. A little breadier than average. This has a nice bittering hop flavor. It's not a bitter beer per se, but it taste a bit more bitter than most Oktoberfests that we've tried

Why we like it:
1. A little hoppier than usual
2. Super easy to drink
3. We can't think of anyone who wouldn't like it

Flying Dog Dogtoberfest

Appearance: Darker than Stoudt's... More amber. The head is darker too.
Smell: Clean and sweeter than Stoudt's. Less bready. 

Taste: Sweeter... way less bitter. Very very smooth and even... good finish. Only sweet up front, but not in the finish. The flavor builds nicely as you drink and really make you want to have another.

 Why we like it:
1. So smooth!
2. Very traditional (and sometimes that's nice)
3. AWESOME label by Ralph Steadman.

Buzzards Bay Oktoberfest

Appearance: Rich copper color, off white,
Smell: Rich bready tones

Taste: Holy crap this tastes good. It's richer tasting than many Oktoberfests we've had, but still very smooth and very drinkable. We happened to get a six pack that was bottled less than a week ago, so it's pretty much as fresh as you can get. The downside is that unless you live on the south shore in MA, you probably can't get it. So why are talking about it? Because IF you do live on the south shore or can drive there, it's worth it.

There's a nice spice to it, we don't mean actual spice but the grain and hop combination blend to create a very nice balanced flavor

Why we like it:
1. Richer flavor than many Oktoberfests
2. Smooth (we say that about almost all of these but hey it's true and that's why Oktoberfest time of year is awesome)
3. The "spice" is a nice unique flavor that we really enjoy

Paulaner Oktoberfest

Appearance: Medium amber off white head (hey it's all the same style, so no shockers here)
Smell: Bready, a bit sweet

Taste: Nice malty sweetness a little hop spice, and overall a damn good traditional Okotberfest. We personally get a keg of this for our Oktoberfest party each year. As far as traditional German Oktoberfests go, this is our pick. We tried a few last year in a blind taste test and this won out. This is the first time we've had it this year and it still tastes awesome. Don't get us wrong, we love a good American Oktoberfest, but it's good to see what inspired those to be created in the first place.

Why like it:
1. It's from Munich, it's in the REAL Oktoberfest
2. Its our favorite REAL Oktoberfest beer
3. It's been brewed for over 360 years, no mystery why it tastes awesome

Berkshire Oktoberfest

Appearance: Darker than many others. Off white head.
Smell: A little sweet... a little boozy... a little bready

Taste: A little too sweet for an Oktoberfest. A little boozy for style. Fruity, and not in a good way.

We've had some great stuff from Berkshire. Their Coffee Haus Porter is killer! Unfortunately, this is just not up to par. Don't overlook their stuff, just maybe pass this one up. Dieses Oktoberfest bier ist nicht so gut.

Victory Festbier

Appearance: medium amber a bit redish.
Smell: Smells like an Oktoberfest beer... OK let's be honest, we've tried six or so Oktoberfest beers now, they all smell really similar

Taste: While the smell might be similar for many, the taste is not. This beer is VERY clean tasting, it loses some of the malt funk (funk isn't a bad thing, this is just different) and adds a nice bitterness that we'd pretty much expect from Victory. We love Victory and this beer is what we'd expect them to put out for an Oktoberfest. It feels like an american oktoberfest but isn't overdone in any way. There's just enough hops to make it feel like it's from Victory without ruining the style.

Why we like it:
1. Another great beer from Victory (we swear they don't pay us to say this, we really just think their beer rocks)
2. Little more hops makes it a little more tasty
3. Goes really well with food (even Kung Pao Chicken...which we're eating right now)