Good fall beers brewing — have a good stein

Opinion

The arrival of autumn is always a time of mixed emotions — it’s tough to watch the days get shorter and see temperatures gradually get cooler, but it’s also arguably the most exciting season for beer drinkers.

Fall ushers in richer, maltier brews, and sees celebrations of said beers taking place over the course of many weeks in the form of the raucous German party called Oktoberfest.

Beers typically associated with Oktoberfest include malty marzens, big boozy bocks, whimsical wheat beers, killer kolsch and darker dunkels. Those who like beers on the lighter side can always raise a pint of pilsner, helles or other German (or German-style) brews.

Locally, Devil May Care Brewing Co. (155-A Fort St.) celebrated Oktoberfest last weekend with a big, slightly wet street party, but there are other such celebrations coming for those who love to raise a stein and bellow a good “prost!” while reveling in the gemütlichkeit (sorry, copy editors).

The Oct. 4-5 weekend looks to be a busy one for Oktoberfest-style celebrations. Dauphin’s Obsolete Brewing Co. (24 2 Ave. NW) has an event on Saturday, Oct. 4, while Winnipeg’s Good Neighbour Brewing Co. (110 Sherbrook St.) teams up with neighbouring eatery Next Door for a shindig taking place Saturday and Sunday in the brewery’s backyard.

Also on Oct. 4, Barn Hammer Brewing Co. (595 Wall St.) is having a big old fest of its own featuring an amateur yodelling contest, a stein-holding competition and … pickle kicking?

And at Trans Canada Brewing Co. (1290 Kenaston Blvd.) Sidewiender Fest runs through to Oct. 5 and features 34-ounce steins of the Sidewiender Vienna lager, plus sausage and pretzel platters.

The following weekend sees Little Brown Jug’s Prost! event on Saturday, Oct. 11, at the brewery (336 William Ave.)

Expect plenty of new, small-batch and German-style brews and plenty of fun at all the Oktoberfest-themed parties. In other words, there’s no shortage of spots to make merry before breweries turn their attention to brewing even more pumpkin beers and spooky Halloween-themed beverages.

Beers of the week

Torque Brewing Co. Prost! Märzen (Winnipeg — $4.49/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors)

A returning Oktoberfest fave, Torque’s marzen is medium-pale copper and clear in appearance; aromatically there’s a cracked oat/biscuit note that comes with the deep malt and secondary caramel notes.

It’s dry, medium-bodied and robust, with toasty malt and biscuit flavours coming with the slightest hint of bitterness from hops — and at 6.3 per cent alcohol, it’s deceptively, almost dangerously drinkable. 4.5/5

---

Obsolete Brewing Co. Oktoberfest Oide Wiesn Marzen (Dauphin — $4.50/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors, Liquor Marts)

Medium copper in colour and mainly clear — and with somewhat modest carbonation — this marzen delivers rich, almost-sweet up-front malty notes, with a hint of brown sugar and some decent underlying biscuit notes.

There’s a nice freshness to the biscuit note on the medium-bodied palate, while the rich malt and caramel/brown sugar notes are robust without getting sweet, and the 6.2 per cent alcohol adds warmth.

A touch more carbonation would add a nice zip. 3.5/5

---

Paulaner Weissbier Dunkel (Munich, Germany — $3.95/500ml cans, beer vendors, Liquor Marts)

Iced-tea brown in colour and slightly hazy, this German dark wheat beer offers aromas of Tootsie Roll, raisin, toffee and earthy, nutty notes.

It’s mainly dry and medium-bodied, and on the palate brings banana candy/bread dough flavours from the wheat, while the Tootsie Roll/toffee component plays a supporting role.

There’s very little in the way of hops, and the 5.3 per cent alcohol seems just right. Close your eyes and you’ll imagine being in a big tent somewhere in Munich, drinking this out of a big stein. 3.5/5

---

Devil May Care Tucky’s Teefs Dark Lager (Winnipeg — $4.25/473ml can, brewery, beer vendors, Liquor Marts)

This dark lager, which benefits Veterinarians Without Borders, is deep root-beer brown in colour — the darkest of this lot but not the heaviest.

It brims with rich dark malty notes and offers hints of smoke, dark chocolate and hops.

It’s dry, light-plus bodied and brings rich dark malt flavours as well as secondary dark chocolate, espresso and subtle smoky flavours, with moderate bitterness (30 IBU) and a modest 5.5 per cent alcohol on the finish. 4/5

---

Holsten Festbock (Kitchener, Ont. — $2.64/473ml can, beer vendors and Liquor Marts)

While the top of the can says “originated in Hamburg, Germany,” the small print notes it’s, in fact, brewed in Kitchener, Ont. (which throws the biggest Oktoberfest festivities outside Germany).

The beer’s deep copper and slightly hazy in appearance, with dried fruit, apricot, toasty malt and a hint of baking spice. It’s medium-bodied and slightly sweet, with big dried peach/apricot, raisin and malty flavours coming with bright effervescence, very little hops and, at seven per cent alcohol, a punchy finish.

On sale (it’s regular $2.99) until the end of September. 3/5

---

Sookram’s Brewing Co. Animator Bock (Winnipeg — $4.29/472ml can, brewery, beer vendors, Liquor Marts)

Deep, vibrant copper-orange in appearance and clear, this German-style brew brings fresh biscuit, dark malt, caramel, toffee and subtle dried fruit aromas.

On the medium-bodied, mainly dry palate the dark malt notes are nicely fleshed out, with caramel, baking spice, biscuit, dried fruit and subtle black licorice notes adding complexity.

The hops mainly stay out of the way, and the seven per cent alcohol adds lovely length on the finish.

It’s gutsy, but it’s also easy to imagine enjoying more than one of these around the fire (or from a stein, decked out in your best lederhosen). 4.5/5

uncorked@mts.net

@bensigurdson