Let it begin...

Folks, I'm going to get real honest with you. Fall and winter provide me with the greatest beer joys anyone can have. Starting with the fest beers and pumpkin ales, supported by celebration ales and rich stouts, and topped off with winter warmers...I'm a big fan of it all. With that being said, I would like to welcome all of you to the two Best Beer Seasons of the 4 Seasons! Fall and Winter for those who weren't paying attention.

Brewery: Starr Hill Brewery
Location: Crozet, VA
Name: Festie
Type: Oktoberfest Lager
Ah, a local! Hard to believe that this is my first Virginian beer post but there will be more to come, I'm sure of it. Festie surprised me. Right out of the bottle it poured an orange-y honey color. I know I use a lot of sunlight imagery but this one fit in with that theme matching the color of the sky as the sun hits the horizon. It produced a nice foamy head that stuck around for a second and then melted back to whence it came. The nose is fairly malty back with a tart, citrus tang. Not the astronaut's choice, however. Upon diving in I was expecting more of a malt flavor but I should have known that the color of this beer would take me down another path. I was greeted quickly with a crisp and tart fruit-like flavor which eventually turned to a fleeting malt flavor and then finishing up with yeasty goodness. I couldn't help but to keep sticking my nose into the glass trying to decipher the bouquet, I kept coming with green apple. Odd. This was not at all what I was expecting out of my first "Octoberfest" beer experience. I wouldn't be surprised if you put this in front of me at a cookout in July and told me some story about how this was an amazing summer brew. However, I did enjoy my time spent with Festie. It's a nice way to celebrate drunkeness for the folks who aren't big on a robust malt flavor!

Brewery: The Brooklyn Brewery
Location: Brooklyn, NY (duh?)
Name: Oktoberfest
Type: Octoberfest Lager
Coming off of Festie, this Brooklyn offering seemed to fit the bill of what I was used to with a fest beer. At first blush this is what a fest beer should look like; rich amber and copper with a light cream colored head. The bouquet does not disappoint giving up a nice dose of malt being backed up with a slight tart after-smell(?). Hop heads be warned, this beer gave no indication that those little nuggets of pine and citrus were even used in the production of this beverage. Malt dominates the flavor right off the bat. You can pick out some caramel flavor but don't expect to be wowed by it. To be perfectly frank there is very little that is amazing on complicated about this flavor profile, it's a perfectly suitable beer. The mouthfeel left something to be desired. I found it to be somewhat watered down with the slightest hint of carbonation. I can't say that I would feel terrible if I ordered something new over this but it is a fairly decent beer. I almost feel like this would be a nice beer to pair with some sort of wurst based meal.