A Märzen brew, something a bit different which brings us back to 1539. A Bavarian Brauordnung (brewing ordinance) decreed that a Märzen can only may be brewed between St. Michaels Day, September 29th and St. Georg Day, April 23rd. Flying Dog brings their own Märzen seasonal by the name of DogtoberFest.
This brew uses traditional German ingredients from overseas to brew up their Dogtoberfest. Flying Dog keeps it real with this Oktoberfest by making a beer with a great red copper tone and the scent of malty sweetness with hints of caramel. Unlike some Oktoberfest brews from North America, Flying Dog stays traditional without pumping their beer full of fake aromas of pumpkin and spices.
This authentic German beverage is medium carbonated with a chocolate caramel taste. There is a slight bitter taste, ever so slight with a carbonated tickle on the tongue. There is a slightly sweet finish which hangs for a few moments allowing you to take in the full malts.
DogtoberFest isn’t as potent as a winter seasonal, holding back a few malts for their winter beers. There is more caramel taste than a dark chocolate and you’ll notice, at 5.3% alcohol by volume (ABV), it runs a little weaker in alcohol than a winter beer. It’s enough to warm the belly and balanced well against the malts.
The head is thin with a bright white color and tiny little bubbles holding the head upon the beer for the duration of the beverage. This is a beer tasters beer, allow it to swirl around in your mouth for a few minutes to take it all in — awesome.
The bottle is an eye catching yellow matching the leaves of the season well. If you want to expand your pallet to a Märzen, I highly suggest you try Flying Dogs recipe as they have gotten this spot on correct.
The beer weighs in at 159 calories with 11.4 grams of carbs. But, who’s counting?
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