Saranac Octoberfest
Saranac Octoberfest is a rich flavorful lager. We use imported two-row and crystal malt and balance it with the pleasant bitterness of Saaz and Tettang hops.
2.8
319 reviews
Utica, United States
Community reviews
Now this is what a true Octoberfest should taste like!! May be a slight thinner then style but besides that it is super drinkable just like it should be. Not to much heavy malt flavors like it should be. Nice job. Wish other American breweries wouldn't mess the style up so much
Reviewed from notes. This was poured into a pint glass.
The appearance was a nice looking hazy amber to orange to brown color with a somewhat soft one finger white foamy head that dissipated within about a minute. There was some nice light lacing sliding into the beer.
The smell had some nice light nutty to caramel malts enriching an enticing sweet German maltiness rolling all around.
The taste was mainly malty sweet with the nuttiness coming back to combine with the German malts.
On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a pretty good sessionability about it. The carbonation was pretty good as there wasn’t anything harsh about it.
Overall, I say this was a pretty good Oktoberfest worthy of having again.
The body has a medium amber color with good clarity and a modest size, just off white head. It fades quickly down to a very thin covering that makes only a little slick lacing. Its aroma has herbal hop notes with light hints of sweet caramel and bready malt. The flavor has an average but still very good mix of sweet caramel and bready malt with spicy/herbal and mildly floral hops. It has a solid medium body with a soft texture and carbonation. The finish leans a bit towards the hops and the drinkability is very good. Overall it’s a solid yet safe Oktoberfest beer.
Clear copper amber with a billowy 1/2" head, bands of lace. Taste is somewhat disappointing: sweet caramel malt going in gives way to an off-balance sour herb finish. I thought maybe large gulps would clear things up, but...same result. Not recommended.
11/1/2009. From a sampler box. Pours amber with a white head. Caramel aromas with light malt. Watery caramel flavors with a sweet finish. Not much going on.
Bottle. Amber copper color. Light head. Gain, malt aroma. Taste is a malty, slightly sweet flavor.
12oz bottle. Slightly hazy but assumably filtered orange-tan. Steady, respectable off-white head. Has a decent vanilla amber tinged "fest" aroma. Hmm...that vanilla and amber come back to bite...sort of gives it an over sweet feel. Not very impressive, but just barely tolerable. Cheap macro-micro.
Light caramel and a sliver of metal. Medium orange color. Mild sweetness, surprisingly bitter, and dry at that. More like a bitter Vienna than a fest beer. Crisp, and very so, yet feels too light, with a pilsner like body. More typology mistakes for Mr. Matt.
Sampled alongside many others of the style. Not my favorite, but not a bad offering. Just a hair lighter in copper color than the other ones. A little metallic. A little vegetal. A little cloying on the tail. Meh.
12 oz. Clear copper with a lasting disc of cream. Aroma is mildly soured orange toffee. Taste is the same with some boiled unseasoned pasta and cola added. Light-medium body is sweet and has average carbonation.
Bottle at a picnic. Pretty good, easy to drink octoberfest. Not too much spice, Smooth body with some pumpkin. Light body and carbonation.
Weak flavor. Pours a pale amber with a thick head. Skunky flavor and grassy aftertaste.
Bottled. Light caramel and light bread bit otherwise some weak sauce here. Nothing to see.
It has the smell of dough with spices. It is a dark orange color. The head disappeared rather quickly and was weak. The taste has a lively kick of floral spices. It has a doughy aftertaste with the spices.
A - Crystal clear, copper/amber color, 2 fingers of soapy off-white head. Average retention with a few specks of lacing.
S - Dried barley dust, toasted bread, hints of caramel, mild straw aroma.
T - Toasted grain, bread crust, some caramel, chalky lager yeast, sunflower seeds, grassy hops come in rounding off the finish.
M - Medium carbonation, light to medium body, rigid feel.
A straightforward Oktoberfest. Malt bill is raw and toasty, mild hops do their job, the yeast plays a part as well. Easy drinking but nothing to seek out. One of the better beers I’ve sampled from this brewery.
Serving type: bottle
09-07-2012
Bottle into a Lager glass. Pour is a dark Amber with a fine head. Aroma is a light malt. Taste is a warm malt back. Finish is a wash of malt.
Departmental picnic tick - thanks, colleague! Dingy amber pour with a watery look and minimal carbonation. Tons of grain and malt in the nose, so rarely the kind of thing that appeals unless it’s got plenty of hops a la Foothills. This was one of the more depressing entries I’ve tried, just a thin, sweet, syrupy excuse for a beer.
Underwhelming Oktoberfest pours clear orange with a fizzy head. Caramel sweetness, a touch of hops. Inoffensive.
Bottled. Hazy orangeish amber colour with a mediumsized beige foamy head. Aroma is bready malts, some slight toffee, mild grass and herbal notes. Flavour is rather similar with a nice sweetish toasted malty finish. Crisp maltyness meeting some grassy and herbal notes.
Paid $1.69 for a 12 oz. bottle@ Julio’s Liquors. Used a lager glass. Totally clear orange color with small thin white head. Nose is lightly toasted grain. Taste is real weak with a thin watery texture. Taste is faint caramel malt and light weak hop. This is below average.
I’m so lazy that I’m tempted to copy and paste my 2009 review of Saranac Octoberfest, change a word or two, and call it my 2012 review of this beer. I’ve been re-reviewing a lot of Marzen-style brews over the last month and my opinion on all of them has changed by at least a grade or two, but this is the only beer that will score exactly the same all these years later.
I poured a 12oz bottle into an official Saranac shaker glass.
Appearance: Perfectly copper colored body, clear with small, slow carbonation visible. Forms an average size, off-white, frothy head which mostly dissipates, but does leave plenty of lacing on the glass.
Smell: A lager without the generic smell and certainly nothing off-putting. A slightly sweet aroma of dark cereal grain and slight earthy, autumn scents. Otherwise mild.
Taste: Most Oktoberfestbiers, German or American, tend to be sweet, but Saranac Octoberfest is bit different. While there are subtle flavors of toffee and caramel, the most prominent feature of the palate is a nuttiness. It’s slightly dry, bitter and rustic - akin to a peanut shell rather than the nut itself. There’s a distinct hop component to this brew you don’t get in most of the style. It’s a mild spicy sensation from the German noble hops which pepper the palate.
There’s a continual sweet flavor as well, reminiscent of hard candy and other confectionery flavors, plus a hint of toasted wheat bread. Caramel emerges strongly on the finish, which is a refreshing change and makes for a well-balanced palate. It’s flavorful and tasty to be sure, but still nothing absolutely amazing. This is what makes for a good American Oktoberfest-themed beer.
Drinkability: Though technically a lager, Saranac Octoberfest drinks like an ale. The body is calm, the mouthfeel is comfortable, and the finish is smooth and clean. Flavorful enough to pair with autumn festival meals like brats, baked beans, potatoes, etc, but mild enough to be refreshing. The 5.4% ABV weight is perfect for this beer as it’s definitely something you can drink two of in a row.
12oz bottle in a lager glass. Pours amber with an off-white head. Aroma of pale and lightly toasted malts, hints of toffee, and some floral hops. Flavor like a standard German beer. Average texture. Not the best beer but a good American version of this style.
Clear orange yellow with small white foam head. Aroma is mucho sweet malty. Taste is watery malty, quite bubbly, not too great. Aftertaste is like a watered down. (Montreal 201210)
Not a great beer. I was hoping for something darker and with more malts. This has a bit of gingery hops and finishes mildly bitter.
Appearance is medium white head with a clear amber. Aroma is a sweet malt. Taste is a bready malt and very crisp. Overall a nice oktoberfest.
Originally reviewed: 10/18/10. 12oz bottle, part of a autumn-themed mixed sixer. Poured into a conical pint glass. This pours a crystal clear dark amber-orange with a thin white head on top. Dissipated to a thin collar on the edges. Lightest of lace left behind. The smell is basic, with some faint caramel and light fruit.
The malts profile is fairly basic. Not the most complex beer out there. Light sweetness noted, but the aftertaste is bitter and reminds me of veggies. I’ve had better balanced festbiers for sure. Mouthfeel is a little on the spritzy side. Smooth this one out a bit more. It’s not bad for the price, but probably the least enjoyable of the style I’ve had this year.
Bottle. Typical of this style, it is a bit heavy. I found the carbonation to be lacking. Not refreshing.
(Bottle, Oliver Twist, Stockholm) Amber colour with frothy, off-white head. Malty nose with toast, crisp-bread, orange peel and treacle toffee. Malty taste with notes of dark bread, toast, orange peel, treacle, crisp-bread and a mild spicy bitterness. Medium body, with some malt sweetness. Quite decent.
Ive not been a big fan of saranac,and yet here is another reason why,Aroma of stale odd hop/fartspray,distinct grain some mineral/ bread. Taste is thin but crisp light diet tasting citrus with a medicine like bittering not blending too well with the beer.Almost a bit of puke like taste in that diet taste.It finishes kind of harsh with a bad diet tasting harsh bittering.I generally like those noble hops but not for this beer.Thinkin about dumpin this so i can drink a good one.
bottle. Light copper color, malty aroma, some spice. Palate is light and sweet, no real aftertaste. Overall lacking in hop character. Kind of watered down, nothing to set it apart from other marzen/octoberfest beers. Not a bad beer, but could use a little more kick to it