Weihenstephaner Festbier
Next up for Oktoberfest 2009 reviews, Weihenstephaner Festbier. In the glass stein mug the beer was a clear golden, topped with a tight “cappachino foam” looking, white head. Columns of fast and slow moving bubbles were interspersed through the beer’s body. The nose was a strong noble hop spice, mixed with some light pale malt. The mouthfeel was light and possessed some carbonation play on the tongue. The beer played spicey all along the tongue with a crisp and lightly bitter finish. As the beer warmed a light bread character broke through the hop spice.
Having the Stoudt’s and Weihenstephaner in the same session was interesting. It really gave a good sense on how different the style can be, when having two beers of the same style right after each other. I would go with the Weihenstephaner for one or two beers, to really get a good hit of noble hops, but for a full day Oktoberfest event I would stick with the Stoudts, due to its very mellow flavor characteristics.
