Beer Reivew: Becks Oktoberfest

Brauerei Beck & Co. Becks Oktoberfest Lager

I was very skeptical about purchasing this after being burned so strongly by Beck's light. I mustered up the courage and decided that it was only a brief commitment and that it can't be any worse than premiere light. They still use the damn green bottles. I was tricked into thinking it was amber from the beer color. Bastards. Pours an amber marzen color with a head that sticks around for a good period of time. Aroma is of sweet Munich malt with a hint of crystal. Kinda like sweet buttered bread. So far it looks the part.

Flavor was surprisingly nice. Nothing too amazing but the malt flavor really comes though. It has that sweet full character with a hint of roasting that comes from the crystal/Munich combo. The hopping leaves something to be desired. While not critical for this style it is required for greatness. The area where this beer really delivers is in drinkability. Goes down ridiculously smooth and I feel like I could drink the entire six-pack without thinking twice.

The drinkability and malt flavor make this brew pretty much dead on for the style. This won't be the best Oktoberfest you'll ever have but it is good and will certainly work in a pinch. I would like to compare this to Beck's dark and see where they differ. I have yet to try that. As far as I have experienced Americans ironically brew the best Oktoberfest beer. If they had hopped better this could have been world class. As it stands right now it's no better than average.

Final Score: 75% (Very Drinkable but Lacks Hop Background and Complexity)