Special) Oktoberfest Oktet

Oktoberfest beers. Come the fall season, the shelves become flooded with them almost as much as Pumpkin Spice-flavored everything arrives. I got curious as to what an Oktoberfest is supposed to taste like, so I bought eight different ones. You know, more data, more accurate results, right?

Shiner, Abita, Sam Adams, Point, Lucky Bucket,
Goose Island, Hacker-Pschorr, Millstream

For the most part, as Oktoberfest beers, they all tasted fairly similar so here's a brief explanation of each one's unique or unusual characteristic.

Shiner) Toffee? Caramel? This one had a burnished sweetness to it.

Abita) Lighter than the others on flavor, but the hops subtle bitterness came through more clearly.

Sam Adams) Smoother and cleaner than the others, but nothing unusual.

Point) Almost peppery in the middle with a floral touch in the linger.

Lucky Bucket) A nutty roasted taste came through.


Goose Island) had an apricot taste in the backdrop.

Hacker-Pschorr) seemed almost like a tart saison with its middle fruitiness. I suspect the bottle had soured a bit.


Millstream) Reminded me of a pumpkin beer. Not sure why.


Assessment: Oktoberfest beers are dangerous to drink. They all finish smooth and crisp and as a result are too easy to drink. Differences if there are any, appear in the middle for the most part or are a subdued part of the background. Any of the eight beers we tried would stand on their own, but because my brother and I compared them side by side, the differences stood out.

So, after we tried them all, my favorites were Lucky Bucket's and Goose Island's with Sam Adams following right after that. My brother for the most part agreed with me, but he liked Shiner's instead of Lucky Bucket's. That was our experience. Yours might be different.



Note: I have since had another bottle of Hacker-Pschorr. It was much better the second time around, and I do believe that it was more of a contender than came across in this oktet tasting.