It is well past time 'round these parts to put away the crisp, clean, refreshing beers of summer and head on into something with more character, flavor and body. What better than an Octoberfest beer?
Red-brown in color, with a full creamy head, the Harpoon Octoberfest Beer makes my mouth water. There is a hop aroma and a little bit of bitterness about this brew, but let me tell you it is the malt here that shines. The bitterness is really at the end, and it is a soft finish just enough to balance out any residual malt sweetness. What lingers is the rich malty tastes. I do mean that in the plural. If you take your time, there are a number of nuanced malty flavors wandering in and out of your taste buds.
I know it is an old joke, but this beer tastes like another one. Many beers I like very much are good for one bottle/pint and you are ready to move on to another nice brew. This study lad is ready to keep you entertained with its quality taste beer after beer.
So this so called Octoberfest probably has little to do with real Munich Octoberfest beer however it is a nice brew all the same. Harpoon is a local brew for me (local as in I am in New England and so are its two breweries) and I often forget how much I like their different brews. It is usually an afterthought for me to pickup a box of Harpoon bottles, but I am nearly always glad I did. Highly recommended.
Cheers!