Ballard Octoberfest 2016

Ballard Octoberfest 2016 17Sep2016

I started at Reubens as per the published schedule but it was too crowded, so in spite of the Umpah band I moved on to Stoup.

A lot of people had the same idea or Stoup is just popular, whichever, I found a lineup at the bar.

I got a taster of the Marzen and the Simcoe fresh hop ale, and then settled in for some good beer. I was not disappointed.

Tasting Notes:

Marzen (5.5%, 25 IBU on the right above): Clear amber, peppery sweet aroma, rich and malty and dry, bitter finish. Sessionable.

Simcoe Fresh Hop (7.5%, Lots of IBU): Reddish gold and clear, simcoe aroma, malty with a bitter simcoe flavor.

I polished those two off in no time and moved on to Lucky Envelope.

I ordered up a schooner of the Octoberfest while I watched the OSU vs Idaho State football game. The Octoberfest could have been better.

Tasting Notes:

Octoberfest Vienna Lager (5.3%, 26 IBU): Hazy amber, rich and malty (diacetyl?), slightly cloying, sweet finish with little bitterness. I finished about half.

Ever optimistic I moved on to Populuxe.

Let’s try a pint of the Octoberfest (why break the chain?).

Tasting Notes (5.5%): Light amber, slightly hazy, medium body. Malty and dry with a slight bitterness. Slight diacetyl? It was OK but had some odd flavors. I stopped at the ice cream vendor for a dish and talked hops with the woman dispensing my chocolate-malt flavored treat.

I headed back to Reubens, which was still going great guns but the line was a bit shorter and moving well.

I ordered a schooner of the Marzen.

Tasting Notes:

Marzen: Clear amber, sweet malt aroma, dry and malty with a slight bitter edge. Sessionable.

The little serendipitous exercise of matching Marzen or Oktoberfest beers showed me why Reuben’s and Stoup are popular. They both executed the Marzen beer style well, while Lucky Envelope and Populuxe need to work on their lagering skills. After all that beer I staggered home to write up my notes.