Oaktoberfest - Live Oak Brewing Review
Fall comes not only on the calendar, but in the sights and sounds all around us: the changing of the leaves, the echoing football stadiums, and the shelves lined and stacked to the max with Oktoberfest beers. It’s an inspiring season, especially for us beer nerds who love putting on sweaters, growing beards, and scanning shelves for our favorites.
And while we’re stacked up with our tried-and-trues, we also have to taste a few new ones, of which there are more and more every year here in Texas. A classic amongst those new for us is Oaktoberfest from Live Oak Brewing out of Austin, TX. Live Oak is known for its traditional beer styles (specifically lagers), and we’re expecting no less with their Munich style lager that comes in at 5.8% ABV and 20 IBUs and is borne of decoction mashing Bavarian malts and balanced by German noble hops.
For those that don’t know, decoction mashing is where brewers take some of the mash (malt) and boil it before adding it back to the rest of it to achieve a greater depth of flavor in malty beers. Live Oak is known for decoction mashing a few of their crowd favorites so let’s see how it affects their Oaktoberfest lager.
First Impressions:
On the Eyes--Golden-amber, clear, and topped with a beige head that diminishes quickly.
On the Nose--Clean and crisp with a distinct caramel note. Robust and intriguing.
On the Palate--Like its color and aroma allude to, it’s quite robust, and I think we can thank the decoction mashing for that. It starts quite roasted and bold before a stroke of caramel smooths is out and takes you to a clean and dry finish with only the slightest floral and spicy hop bitterness. It has a rich full body and a mouthfeel that accompanies its bready and malty character nicely.
Food Pairings: Some of our Oktoberfest favorites are pretzels and mustard, brats, roasted chicken, and pork schnitzel and spaetzle. Think salt, starchy, and rich and you’re on the right path!
Final Thoughts:
Live Oak produces all sorts of traditional and ancient beers and has even been in the art of restoring a few little-known varieties. But you don’t have to be from Munich to have tried some great Oktoberfest beers, either from original German brewers or American craft brewers. It’s a style that’s well known and open for critique.
Now, we weren’t sure if this was a Marzen lager or festbier lager when we bought it, but we now see that it is closer to the maltier, richer Marzen style, a style where the decoction mashing can really have great effect, which it did.
This beer is robust, almost meaty, with deep malt character and a touch of caramel sweetness ribboning through its full body. And, dare I say, the decoction mashing makes it quite unique in that the malt is so hearty, making it a great fall beer that has some of the quaffable qualities (full body, clean finish, and slight hoppiness) that tie it back to the original Marzen style which we love so much.
Live Oak has some great old-world beers and Oaktoberfest is one of them. Worth a try for all Texans.
Cheers!
Mr. Brew
Since you’re here, check out Live Oak’s original Pilz!