JosephsBrau Oktoberfest

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Purchased at Trader Joe in Vegas. Pours an amber colour with a very slight haze. The head is warm, lasts a good time and creates thick lacing. The aromas are mild but with a nice blend of cereal, caramel and hints of fruity malts. The taste is a little sweeter, fruitier, but still malty. Hints of spices, decent bitterness. A little apples. Not a bad beer overall and better than their Bohemian lager.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

Pours a nice golden amber with a fairly thick but none too persistent whitish head. Aroma is malty and a little yeasty and a bit wan. Flavor is crisp and malty, fairly mouth-filling, but not complex. Texture is smooth, only a little tingly, and leaves a slightly unpleasant metallic aftertaste. Palatable, but no cause for a "Tweet."

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

You cant really go wrong for a buck, but this beer, while adequately malty, was pretty damn thin and boring. I feel like my average scores for martens don't reflect my respect for the style, but I've just had too many thin, boring ones like this.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 5

Sampled on 11/1/08. This Marzen pours a medium amber color from a 12oz bottle. Small to medium sized white foamy head. The aroma is caramel and sweet but kind of mild. Light to medium bodied Marzen. The malts are caramel, bready and sweet. The hops are earthy and spicy. Touch of tobacco and some tea. Lively carbonation. It’s a little thin and watery and there is an off flavor I can’t quite place. Its not really unpleasant, but I do not think I ant to drink this one very often. Mouthfeel is thin. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

This beer pours a very clear amber amber colour. Very little head except for a white foamy ring on the outside. Soft caramel undertones, slightly hoppy with light, creamy mouthfeel.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 5

A remarkably drinkable Oktoberfest beer from the "Trader Joe's Collection." I haven't found any corporate information about "JosephsBrau Brewing Company" but the noise on the Internet seems to indicate that it is contract brewed by Gordon Biersch. The aroma is a bit Budweiser-ish, but it has a decent flavor to it. The color is the caramel-tinged amber that was popular when I fell in love with Oktoberfest as a teenager, that seems to have fallen out of favor in the past decades. The flavor is not bad at all, especially for an inexpensive beer.