Oktoberfest Sampler

I was recently working on my continued efforts of editing my video interview with 612Brew. (I never knew editing could be so much work.) A friend of mine has more knowledge than I do with the particular software I am using, so he agreed to give me some assistance. In order to thank him for his help, I decided to bring some beer to his house for us to sample while we worked.

Ever since the Oktoberfest beers started to appear on liquor store shelves within the last month, I had been wanting to assemble a variety six-pack of all different versions. I did just that at Coborn's Liquor so that I could share it with my friend. Here is what I grabbed:

• Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest
• Schell's Oktoberfest
• Bell's Octoberfest
• Great Lakes Oktoberfest
• Summit Oktoberfest
• New Belgium Hoptober

The first five are all true marzen style lagers. The last on the list, Hoptober, is labeled a golden ale by New Belgium and is very different than the others. I knew that when I bought it, but I thought it would be fun to mix it up with something unique. As my friend and I worked on the video, we split each beer and briefly discussed them.

As far as the Marzen Octoberfest beers go, It's not hard at all to say that four of the five are very tasty and enjoyable. The one we didn't like? Sorry Leinenkugel's. Your marzen smells off, tastes a little funky (not in a good way), and I probably won't buy it again. I guarantee I will be revisiting the other four marzens in the future.

The Hoptober was definitely something special for a fall seasonal. My friend and I both chose it as our favorite out of the six we tasted. Sweet honey, mango, pineapple, and a pleasant bitterness are some of the flavors that come to mind. However, for you fall traditionalists, it's definitely not a marzen style lager. If that's what you're looking for, get one of the others mentioned above.