Kotas Reviews Shiner Oktoberfest

It's Day 3 of Okotastoberfest! Today we head for Texas and the Spoetzl Brewery for our specimen: Shiner Oktoberfest. The Spoetzl Brewery bills itself as the oldest independent brewery in Texas, and was founded in 1909. The Oktoberfest brew began life as Shiner 96, one of the beers created to celebrate the (at the time) impending centennial of the brewery's life. It entered seasonal rotation shortly after. Their most well known beer is of course the tasty Shiner Bock, favorite of country music stars and Hank from Breaking Bad. Let's see how their brew stacks up!

Oppa Marzen Style!

 I've always liked the designs for the various Shiner beer labels. Distinctive, yet always easy to recognize. This is no exception really, and hey, they spelled Oktoberfest with the proper German spelling, so you know, thumbs up. Shiner Bock is a pretty good beer, the kind you'd get when you want to stay domestic, but want a fancy domestic that looks like an import...at least on the East Coast. 

Fancy and Dancy!

The scent on this one is a lot like all the other ones we've looked at: faint. The color is a bit brighter than either Yuengling or Sam Adams' offerings, and it generated a bit more head when poured, but not a ridiculous amount. The flavor is very consistent throughout the quaffing process: what you taste on the first sip is the same taste that lingers in your mouth. The finish is also clean and crisp, but the aftertaste is very bitter...mainly because the main flavor is a lot more bitter. In fact, it tastes a lot like someone drank a Sam Adams Octoberfest and said to themselves "Man, this is good, but it needs a LOT more hops to really make it shine". 

I am not a huge fan of the current trend in "extra hoppy" beers. I actively avoid IPAs of any strength and something like Milwaukee Brewing's "Hoptoberfest" is RIGHT OUT. This is not a huge offender but it is certainly a lot hoppier than I would like. If you like this kind of thing, you'd probably like this beer fairly well. It won't provide that hop shock and awe that seems to be the current trendy thing, but it is a lot more than most Oktoberfest brews I've had. 

On the FACE Rating System, this gets 0 faces. It's well done in presentation, looks good, and drinks well. I could drink a few of these in a long session...if it was a flavor I actually enjoyed. It's not bad, but it isn't anything close to my cup of tea. Tune in tomorrow for a special edition of Okotastoberfest, in honor of the holiday. Muhahahaha!