The Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast

Ep 133 - Warm Fall, Cool Beers

• The Northwooods Beer Guy • Season 3 • Episode 133

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0:00 | 48:00

What happens when you line up eight American Oktoberfests—NA to 6.1% ABV—and go searching for that rich, toasty, German-style soul? We found drinkable lagers, a few surprises, and a lot of restrained flavor that made us ask why so many U.S. takes feel cautious. From Athletic’s better-than-expected NA Fest Brew to Surly’s subtly sweeter finish, we walk through each pour with clear notes, simple language, and honest scores. Point and Leinenkugel’s hint at malt but don’t carry it through; Central Waters stays crisp and clean; Bell’s introduces a light bitterness that divides; Capital leans malty without momentum; and Shiner—yes, Shiner—delivers a rare initial pop that made us do a double-take.

Between sips, we share a farm story that involves a tractor, a snapping cherry tree, and a hard-earned reminder that even familiar routines can surprise you. That theme runs through the tasting: great Oktoberfest lagers aren’t about flash; they’re about generosity—bread-crust aroma, light caramel, a firm but clean finish—and the confidence to let malt lead. When those notes are muted, the result is pleasant but forgettable. When they’re present, you get the stein-worthy character that made us fall for German Märzen in the first place.

If you’re sampling along, this guide helps you pick based on your goals: NA pacing (Athletic), approachable malt (Point, Leinenkugel’s), crisp drinkability (Central Waters), a firmer edge (Bell’s), malt-leaning finish (Capital), a surprising kick from a familiar name (Shiner), or the closest fit in the pack (Surly). We’re still chasing a U.S. Märzen that nails the classic profile—so help us out. Subscribe, share this with a beer-loving friend, and tell us which American Oktoberfest has real depth. Got a local favorite we should hunt down next? Prost!

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SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to the Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. Hey, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome back to the Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. This is Mike, the Northwoods Beer Guy. And as always, I am joined by Jim. Hey, buddy, how you doing? Doing alright, how about yourself? Enjoying this nice warm weather. Yeah. Last couple weeks have been uh unseasonably warm in this area.

SPEAKER_00:

And it's actually technically fall, isn't it? I think it is.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm not exactly sure.

SPEAKER_00:

By the weatherman by the calendar. Right.

SPEAKER_01:

I was gonna say, I don't remember when those days are, but I think we are. But we've been like talking close to record temperatures a few days, and kind of sucks because it brings the bugs back out.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, it sure does. But I think I'll enjoy this warm weather a lot better than we will the ice and the snow here in a couple months.

SPEAKER_01:

I was gonna say, in not that long a time, we'll be wishing for record warmth, I'm guessing.

SPEAKER_00:

But I think we've been doing good so far with tasting some good Oktoberfest beers. I I can't remember offhand how many we did last year, but we gotta be sneaking right up there in about the same number.

SPEAKER_01:

We've got to be getting close because I think we did three or four episodes last year. And uh, surprise, surprise, we have another episode right now. So this is our third Oktoberfest. Right now, again, remember, we did a German Oktoberfest, which totally ruined us, right? And we've been trying to figure out like the American equivalents to get that flavor, and we haven't quite found it yet.

SPEAKER_00:

No, I mean we've uh and and you and it's not for lack of trying, right? Right, we've been doing our best to try to find every available October American-made Oktoberfest beer out there.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep, exactly. And I see you found some more. I'm searching high and low. Now, I will say this two of them I'm a little hesitant on. Uh-oh. How come? Well, the listeners will find out because I know for one, I'm gonna catch heat on. Uh-oh. And the other one, well, because the last time we did an episode on this kind of beer, it uh they didn't do very well. But I brought them just for you, just so you could redeem yourself. I know you did. I don't know if that's possible though. So we'll see. So I don't know. Uh should we we might as well break into it and uh this is one of them that I'm honestly kind of a little eerie of because if you remember, we did a non-alcoholic episode a while back, and it fell flat, and kind of like all the beers, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

They just really didn't have a whole lot of flavor to them. No, uh surprisingly, because I mean if you're not gonna have any alcohol, you'd think you'd have more flavor.

SPEAKER_01:

You would think, because then what you could have juice if you were but apparently alcohol adds flavor, so is what I'm guessing, because they they were just like they were missing something, and it was the goodness, I guess. So so who do you have there? So the first one we have is by Athletic Brewing Company, and we've had I think we had a couple of them from them in that episode, and this is their Oktoberfest, and it's a fest brew. Oh, and it is well, 0.5% ABV. So you're saying there's a chance we could get drunk. If you drank like two cases of it, you might get drunk, you probably could get a buzz. Okay. Well, I'm thinking you're gonna have to visit the bathroom a lot more. So you're saying there's a chance, there's a chance. So, like I said, uh 20 IBUs, and they're right up. Uh, a traditional golden fest brew crafted for celebration, crisp and malty with bready aromas and a delicate sweetness. With no alcohol, with no alcohol, or very, very little. And it's in a can, 12-ounce can. Yep. So you could drink a number of them, not in a plastic container. No, no. We'll see if a non-alcoholic has any more aroma than what the American ones did last week, and it looks kind of like very light, and very light in color. A lot of little bubbles, a lot of little bubbles. That's kind of freaky. Yeah, again, the aroma's kind of not really there.

SPEAKER_00:

There is a little there's a little head, though. A little bit. So it it it resembles a beer.

SPEAKER_01:

It resembles a beer, it looks like a beer. Yes, it doesn't really it kind of smells like a beer, I guess, but wow, that's not it's different.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, definitely has more flavor than some of the other ones.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. I was gonna say that that's the surprising part, right? It almost has more of a a little hoppier flavor, yeah. You know, I mean maybe that's it says fest brew, so maybe it's supposedly like a you know, a fest beer beer. But it's actually not it's not bad, no, surprisingly. It seems like it has more flavor than the other uh non-alcoholic ones that we've ever had before. Not that we've had a huge amount, but it uh it's definitely different.

SPEAKER_00:

And I think it's actually, I would have to probably say one of the better non-alcoholic beers that I've had.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Again, we haven't had that many, but I again I don't know, you know, when they're talking about a bready aroma, I really don't get that. No, you know, but I it does have a little bit more of a uh, like I said, a hop taste, you know, to me anyway.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. I mean, it's I mean, if you're gonna drink the non-alcoholic beer, you know it's gonna be lacking in a little bit, but I mean, surprisingly, that does have some some flavor.

SPEAKER_01:

It has, yeah, it actually has some, which is surprising. I was going into it expecting it to be just going, huh?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, you know, so you redeemed yourself from non-alcoholic.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, you brought it, but I that one's not as bad as the other ones we've had. So, what do you think? Score-wise, uh okay, again, how do we rate non-alcoholic beers? Um, I'm gonna go. I'm glad you're going first. I'm gonna go 2.0, just because if I go a 2.5, I'm gonna put myself in that corner that I always put myself in, and then it's gonna be terrible at the end. So I'll say a 2.0, not the greatest flavor, but it does have compared to other non-alcoholic beers, it does have some flavor. So I'm a little bit impressed that way, right?

SPEAKER_00:

And I think echo the same exact thing, and I think it actually does taste distantly like an Oktoberfest beer, like a Marzon. I mean, they're trying, so I'm kudos for them for getting it to that point. Is are you gonna be faked out by any of these other ones? No, this is not. I mean, if you're if you like non-alcoholic ones, this would be something I'd definitely give you a try. I'd say the same score of 2.0.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, you know, I do give them credit because you know, back in the day when when you had like a non-alcoholic beer, it was just you know a pilsner, right? And that was it. So I'm it is kind of cool that these companies are trying different styles. Yes, and I'm sure it's gotta it's gotta be kind of hard to make so you know some of those without alcohol in them. And I so I give them credit, you know, an A for effort. Mostly they get like C's and D's for execution, but you know, it it's okay.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, this is not definitely not bad.

SPEAKER_01:

No, we've had worse, right?

SPEAKER_00:

I guess. I get and the hard part is you know, if you're gonna be on that track, you gotta be ready to go to the bathroom because you're gonna that's you're you're not getting much else out of it.

SPEAKER_01:

No, no, it's just yeah, exactly. You're gonna make more bathroom trips, so yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, let's should we try one or has actually got some alcohol in it?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, let's get into like a normal so the next one that we have now that we we got what four are in cans and four are in bottles, so that's kind of a nice little thing. Uh, this is from Stevens Point Brewing. Nice, and this is their Oktoberfest, Mars on. Okay, and this one is 4.9% and six uh 15 IBUs. Sweet. So it it you know that's a big jump for me. Zero to 4.9.

SPEAKER_00:

We went way up there, way up there, but we got less IBUs, yeah. Yeah, yeah. I don't know if that's a trade-off, yeah. I don't know if I'd tasted 20 IBUs in that not on.

SPEAKER_01:

No, like I said, I did get a little bit of a hop flavor, but I mean again, very minor, very minor. Yeah. So the uh the description now you got the descriptions from Untapped, so that's good because I know a couple times when we've been reading them, it's like they're cut off and all that, and and untapped does have a few more, it seems like so. Uh this one, it says Point Oktoberfest is an authentic Marzon style lager beer, a style reminiscent of the beers originally brewed for the first Oktoberfest celebration in Germany during the early 1800s. Nice craft brewed using Hallertow hops and sweet Vienna roasted malts results in a full-flavored, finely balanced beer brewed in celebration of the upcoming season.

SPEAKER_00:

All right, well, there's a lot of talk there, a lot of talk.

SPEAKER_01:

So whoopsies. I better uh hit the floor, hit the floor, the the bottle cap hit the floor. Now, the first one, remember, I said was in a can, and that was really didn't have any look of an Oktoberfest theme to it. No, nothing you know maybe the colors yeah, is what? Brown and some orange and such, but it was just pretty plain. I mean, it looks like they're other cans for athletic. Right, it does not look like Oktoberfest. No. Now, point, they went back to they got the blue and white diamonds and all that good stuff.

SPEAKER_00:

They're all into it.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yeah, they're going all out. It's a little bit of aroma, not huge, but yeah, I was hoping for some little bit darker than that first one, which is good. It's getting a little closer to that color that I'm used to. Right. I mean, it's it's got a little, it's got more flavor than the non-alcoholic one. Not a lot, not a lot, but it's got more. It has some. That is just it's still the craziest thing. There's not a lot there, is it? This one is is maltier. I think I can taste more malt. Not a bunch, but no, no, no, not a huge amount, but again, it it's that's I think kind of the predominant flavor, is more of that malty kind of thing. Again, I'm sure we have drank it and we will drink it, and you know that's not bad. I mean, it's now again. We should say that you know, we've had a number of these before, but these are the 2025 editions. So, yeah. What do you think on this one? If you uh are gonna let the people know, what would you kind of score this and such?

SPEAKER_00:

So, again, I revert back to my older self of doing the German Marzans. Is it that quality? No, is it taste bad? No, is it just there? It just kind of seems like it's it's there. It doesn't like, ooh, I want to have another drink, I want to have another sip. It's just like it touches your tongue, it kind of thinks it's a Marzan, and then poof, it's gone. So my score is gonna be a little lower, not because it's bad, but just because it's not, I don't think it's up there to that level where those good Marzans were. I'm gonna say a 2.1. Okay, yeah, not bad, but just right. Uh I'm just like uh I just can't describe it good enough. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, unfortunately, I'm gonna agree with you and do the same score. It is better than the uh non-alcoholic. Uh, we should say, you know, point brewings out of Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Uh, but again, it's uh I just think it could use a little more, you know, and it it's kind of fallen in line a little bit with some of these other ones that we've had for the 2025 versions, and it's kind of freaking me out a little bit because it seems like historically we had more flavor, but maybe not. Maybe I'm just you know, again, my mind's going back to the the German one, right? But uh it's all right. I mean, I if you have never had one, you could try it. Oh, for sure. You know, it does have a little bit of a malty taste to it, which I don't mind, but it just kind of leaves you wanting more, yes. So little like you're right on the edge.

SPEAKER_00:

Is it gonna be a beer? Uh no.

SPEAKER_01:

And then you're like, well, deflated. Well, I guess we'll have it's you know it's like ho home, yeah. So I don't know. Well, kind of crazy. So well, should we try another one to see if we can get some find some flavor? Well, we sure can. So the next one we have is from Lina Hoogles. Well, what was that? Oh, I was just trying to mimic you there for a minute. Oh, yeah. Uh, so this is of course from Jacob Linen Kugels. Nice. This is their Oktoberfest. Sweet. So this one is 5.15% ABV. They get hundreds. Yes. Hundreds of a percent and 20 IBUs. Yes. And what this one says is Oktoberfest is arguably the world's greatest festival. And our Linenkugels Oktoberfest is the perfect beer for anyone who wants to join in the festival spirit. A traditional Marzon style beer, Linen Kugels Oktoberfest has a toasted malt flavor and subtle, spicy hot notes that make it perfect for celebrating fall in true German fashion. And of course, the perfect food to pair with it is traditional German fare like brats, spatzels, and salty pretzels with mustard. And unfortunately, I don't have any of those. Oh, Mike. I may have brats, but they're frozen.

SPEAKER_00:

Spicy hops. We'll find out. I don't know if we've had a Oktoberfest of spicy hops.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, we'll see. So this one kind it has the blue and white color, but it doesn't have the diamonds, and it's got kind of like two people kayaking on the Yeah, it doesn't look like an Oktoberfest scene. No, no, exactly. It's not what I would expect on an Oktoberfest bottle. I'm guessing they make all their labels, and they're all because they are all kind of tied into that Northwoods kind of theme. Yep. And the colors are the blue and white, but it's a little darker blue. Not that that matters. So all right. Again, it's kind of that darker, kind of closer to like an amberish kind of color. It's getting there. Yeah. Does have some aroma. Again, not very little, huge, but a little bit more, I think, than the point.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep. Is that a little more malty, maybe?

SPEAKER_01:

Maybe a little bit more malty. I don't know if I get like a spiciness at all. So now Line and Cool's, they were headquartered in Chippewa Falls for a long time. No, they still do have a brewery there, but I think they do more like small batch type stuff or specialty, yeah. Experimental, maybe. Um because they moved to Milwaukee, right? Most of it, and then I think so. Cause yeah, I I was gonna say I can't remember if they went to Milwaukee or where it was, but I think you're right. And I don't know, it was not received well from especially from Chippewa Falls people.

SPEAKER_00:

So because now there's I mean that was a big staple there in that community.

SPEAKER_01:

So well, yeah, it had been there for what 150 years or something crazy. Now they still do have the the Liney Lodge, yes, so you can go there, and it that is a cool place. Yes, it is, you know, they and they have all sorts of beers on tap. You can mix beers and they've got like recipes, yep, and they've got of course merch like crazy, any kind of merch you can think of. So if you're ever in that area, I would still stop. Right, but I don't know. They probably still do brewery tours, maybe, but it wouldn't be quite the same, right?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, again, this is not overly flavorful.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean no, I'm sensing a pattern. Yeah, it's we must have forgot that from last year or something, I guess.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I was hoping, and it's been the consistent for all the October fest beers that we've tried, up to including these three.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, other than the German ones, it's it's been kind of I don't know why you want to say it for the flavor if it's just almost like it's washed out. You know what I mean? I mean, I wonder if they're afraid.

unknown:

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

If any guys are listening, don't be afraid. Yeah, flavor is your friend.

SPEAKER_00:

Let it I mean, put something in there, or we can even try it. Because I mean, now that we have now that we're subject matter experts on German, I don't want to speak.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

We're experts, so you expertly know they taste better. So now it's up to you again too.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, it's up to me. Well, I'm gonna go 2.2 one, just one above, because it did have a little bit more flavor. Yeah, uh, I I didn't really get that spicy, whatever they were. Spawning hot notes. Yeah, I didn't really get that. And I like you had said before, I think the I thought it was more malty than hoppy. Right. So I don't know. I guess 2.2 again. I think anybody could try it, you know. And I don't know. Again, we're still trying to find uh an American Octoberfest that we can say, there we go, that's the one. Right. You know, we've we've definitely got some more here to try, and hopefully, knock on wood, that we'll find it. But find at least one, at least one if we don't.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, we'll keep going, but we'll keep there's gotta be more out there. There's got to be somebody that's coming close.

SPEAKER_01:

So I hope.

SPEAKER_00:

What do you think? I yeah, I think you're spot on with a score. I'm gonna say a 2.2 as well. I was hoping again to have a little bit more. I mean, it looks like a Marzan. The initial taste kind of leads you like it's gonna be a Marzan, and then there's nothing there, it just doesn't continue on through the whole thing. There's not much for a finish, so yeah, I agree. It's just kind of disappointed again.

SPEAKER_01:

So we're I'm striking out. Well, I'm 0 for three. Well, yeah, it's just weird because our our pumpkin shows, we've had some really solid ones in there, yep, other than the German one, our Oktoberfest one so far, are not providing the greatest options, right?

SPEAKER_00:

And what's weird is you know, usually we're putting a lower score because the flavor isn't kind of aligning with our palate. These we're getting a lower score just because there is no flavor, right? So that's unfortunate too. Yeah, it's I don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

What a bummer. All right. Well, should we keep plugging away? We can keep going, I guess. We're back to a can, back to a can halfway through. Now, this one we this could have. Now we've had beers from here before. Okay, uh, and this is Central Waters, which is in Amherst. Uh, it does not say anything on here about barrel age, though. Correct. So this is their Oktoberfest lager, lager, and yeah, it's uh it'll be interesting because like I said, I know they know what they're doing with barrel aging, so we'll see what they do with uh Oktoberfest. There you go. So this one is uh 5.1% ABV and 10 IBUs. Nice. And theirs said uh with an enticing bready maltiness characteristic of traditional Marzon style lagers, Oktoberfest is a radiant amber-colored brew that finishes crisp and clean. Enjoy this fall seasonal as summer turns to autumn and the colors of the Northwoods are ablaze. All right, well now this one doesn't have blue on it either. Well, it does, but it's dark blue. Yeah, it has a leaf. Orange. There's yeah, an orange oak leaf. Uh, and then of course they're they're crane or crane or whatever that whatever that bird is, hereon, or whatever it is. Not sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So all right, so we're hoping we're hoping against hope that it's gonna have some flavor.

SPEAKER_01:

So we'll find out here. Well, this one is lighter in color, isn't it? I was gonna say this is lighter than the last one for sure in color. I mean, it's still kind of that it's darker than the first couple, yeah, but it's still fairly light amber. Yeah, you can I can see my fingers through the glass. Again, aroma is very muted minimal. Yeah, that one it is crisp and clean. I mean, you know, right. It's I'm not sure if I get a huge amount of Oktoberfest thinking uh flavor out of it, but it's it's not bad.

SPEAKER_00:

No, it's definitely I mean, these all these first four have not tasted bad at all. It's just in our I think, in our opinions, yeah, it's not up to the level of what nor a Marizan should be.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. I would agree with you there. Well, Jim, uh, you get to go first on this one. What do you think of these central waters? Oktoberfest lager.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, it is incrementally a little bit better than a limey's. Like you said, I don't is that the malt that's maybe in the fish?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's more malty. This one is malty, I think. More malty than the first three, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Is it like the German style? No. Is it there? I mean, I think we're like taking like we're our our steps are like the size of a hair, right? We're not making big steps towards getting a marzan, but we're slowly working our way there. Is it bad? No, not by any stretch. If you've never had an Oktoberfest, you could drink it, not get scared away. But is it what the true Marzans taste like? No. Well, I'm gonna have to say it. Can I go 2.25?

SPEAKER_01:

Sure. I think we're gonna have to start doing something like that because it's yeah, I'm I don't know. Yeah, um, I agree with you. I mean, it is moving in the right direction, but again, it needs some something. I'm gonna go to a 2.3. I think I must like it a slight bit better than what you did. But again, uh I you could drink it, I wouldn't turn it down, right? You know, it's not anything like that, but it's just kind of I wish it had more flavor again.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. I mean, I I don't I don't even know if this is a good statement or not, but these almost taste like the big box beers. Kind of, you know, like if they lose.

SPEAKER_01:

If they made an Oktoberfest, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

It kind of does. Because it's like they're almost brewing for the masses rather than the way that it should be made. Yeah, I don't know if that's a good statement or not.

SPEAKER_01:

I agree with you. That's a I think that's a perfect way to say it. It just seems like they're I don't want to say watered down, but they're not they're not providing everything they could, right? For sure. And it's I don't know why. I'm not sure why. So oh man. Well, we're halfway through this debacle, and uh you said to me that you have an interesting story. I didn't know if it was interesting or funny or oh or what, but uh well, hang on.

SPEAKER_00:

Let's let me pour a little bit more beer because this might take me a little while. Okay, do you want a little bit? Oh bees, yeah, I might as well. All right, okay. So you know, working on the farm. Yep, and um, one of the great investments that I had to make recently was a pole saw. Have you ever seen one of those? Oh, yeah, I have one. And the reason that I had to get one is because my wonderful bride said she wasn't gonna drive me around in the bucket of the tractor cutting off tree limbs anymore.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, now, in her defense, I have driven you around in the bucket of the tractor as well, and it does get a wee bit nerve-wracking for the driver. Does it? Yeah, I don't know, I've never been on that end. I know. That's why you yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So I did invest in a pole saw, which then I can stand on the ground and still reach up. Is it one that has like the like electric or what I mean a gas-powered? No, no, it's it's not just the that kind of electric. Okay, so I can just pull on the trigger and it's it's brushless, okay.

SPEAKER_01:

So I can still reach up 20 feet. See, the lot the one I have is you gotta go up there, you gotta pull and push and pull and push, and it sucks.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, no, I so I figure it was either gonna be having her my wonderful bride drive me around some more, or you or investing in one of these I could do it on my own.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, if if you let me drink like six, eight beers before I do it, I wouldn't have any problem with it. Then you'll be calm.

SPEAKER_00:

I'll be calm as it could be. So I went to a field that I haven't been able to get to in a while. Okay, there's a lot of branches, probably sticking out 20, 30 feet into the field.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00:

So it's probably been 10-15 years since I've been able to do this cutting back. Did my cutting back with the branches, and there was a few trees, you know, because they were once some of the softer trees, they lean into the field too. So you got not only the branches but the tree itself. Yep. So after I got all the branches cleaned out of the way, then I started using the tractor in the bucket to push everything back. Okay, and this has never happened to me in all the times I've been using the bucket to push brush. So I was pushing like about halfway up on a cherry tree, it's probably six to eight inches, and there's a softer tree. Okay, almost like a birch tree. So it's it's not like a hard, hardwood, like an oak, right? It's softer. So I was pushing on it about halfway up, and at some point, I'm not sure if I hit another tree or what, but the tree snapped, and it the whole thing fell on top of the me and the tractor. Okay, the top half, the whole top half of the tree.

SPEAKER_01:

Is it it's your tractor with the bucket on it? Yes, which the last time I looked doesn't have a cab on it.

SPEAKER_00:

Correct. So that fell right on top of my head without my and plus I didn't have a safety helmet, I just had my bill cap. So I have a little bit of did it knock you out. No, I think I was I think I was pretty much like pissed off because I'm like, what the heck just happened? Because it happened so quick because I was pushed all of a sudden it snapped and flipped right onto me probably within two seconds. Wow, so there was no reaction time, but now the whole tree top is laying on top of me, on top of all the controls, on top of the the manifold you know, the muffler, yep, the bucket, all the hoses. So, what'd you do? So then I tried to pick up the bucket to see what happened. That didn't that was not working very good. So I just put it in reverse and slowly backed out. How how tall was this tree? Probably 40 feet. In the top, how much of it? Probably the top 20 feet. Come because it was it was probably another five feet behind me. Behind you, yeah. I was like inside all the branches, it completely I mean, and Julie even saw the shirt had I had rips through my shirt where the branches were coming through my shirt, and I got a little scar now. I I I can see that on top of my melodic.

SPEAKER_01:

I can see that. So, well, the good thing is it didn't hit you in any place important, right? It just hit me in the head. So you're so you're good there, right? But it ripped up a good perfectly good shirt.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, now the wonderful my wonderful brides even have to do some mending.

SPEAKER_01:

Some mending, well, you lucky she didn't have to mend your head.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, what was bad is I think it actually hit you ever seen on a bill cap where it's got that little button on the I think it hit that because that is like the spot where I was like, hurts the work. It's right where that little button is at. So I'm like, wow, but I've never had that in all the years I've been pushing, you know, with the tractor, I've never had it where the the tree snapped right in half and come usually. I can just push them right over when I get them up that high, and they'll just go right over and lay right down.

SPEAKER_01:

So this tree though, that it was leaning out over the field, so you were just trying to push up and into the okay into the wood so it was out of the way.

SPEAKER_00:

Wow, but you hadn't cut it yet, right? I didn't cut it because I thought I could because I knew it was a cherry tree. Yeah, and it would just kind of just lay right over on its own because they don't have big root balls or anything. Wow. So that got my attention.

SPEAKER_01:

So did you you learn something?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, bring the bride out so that she can help cut down the trees more.

SPEAKER_01:

Invite Mike over with a bunch of beers, and then we're gonna go out and so that was on the CRP ground, you know, up on that that one open field up there. Yep.

SPEAKER_00:

It's and it's hard to get to because once you plant all the fields, it's a ways away, right?

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, you know it's probably half mile from the vehicle. So if yeah, you it would have taken you a while to write. Especially if I would have bent something on the tractor and right, because yeah, that's that's a long way to walk up there. We've done it, but not right. We don't have to, it's better.

SPEAKER_00:

Maybe in our younger years it was easier, but not now. Exactly. Wow. So yeah, so that was my funny-ish story for the funny ha ha. Not at the time, yeah, but my melon still hurts. It still hurts.

SPEAKER_01:

So don't slap me on top of the head.

SPEAKER_00:

No, I'm gonna have to have Julie give me a massage on my head.

SPEAKER_01:

There you go. I think she she probably would. I think she said something about a cast iron skillet.

SPEAKER_00:

So I didn't mean that head. Oh.

SPEAKER_01:

All right.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, on that note, should we try it? We're gonna try another bear uh beer here. We gotta we gotta find one.

SPEAKER_01:

We gotta find one. There's gotta be one out there, isn't there? I'm hoping. Otherwise, it's like, oh so we are uh well, this is another brewery that we've had a lot of beers from. Okay, and this is Bell's. Is it Hell's Bells? Like could be could be now. Where is it that Bell's is out of? And they put this sticker on there where I can't right over that. Well, how about this? I have some technology. Yeah, you look it up and I'll talk about it here. Yeah, you do that. So this is their Oktoberfest Mars on. It is 5.5% ABV. They didn't give IBUs, so that's fine. It says crafted as a flavorful session beer. Bell's Oktoberfest beer is perfect for a week-long wedding celebration in Germany or the start of the Michigan Autumn. I guess starting out of Michigan.

SPEAKER_00:

I was just gonna say Comstock and Kalamazoo machine.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, I say they answered themselves. Yes. Well, now it makes sense because they have that kalamazoo stout.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, there you go.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, okay. As with Bell's lager beer, Oktoberfest spends a full six weeks maturing in the fermentation vessels. Unlike its cousin, Oktoberfest trades in the assertive hot presents for a focus on a light caramel malt note, lending body without too much sweetness. So they're the first ones that haven't, you know, they're not talking bready and spicy and all this stuff. So that's not really an Oktoberfest. Maybe they're gonna be closer to telling us the truth.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, it's got a good color. The the head is actually a little bit tan.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, a little bit, and again, it's not as dark as like the was it the point or not the point, the well, the the central waters or the lineys were darker, but well, let's see. Again, very light aroma.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, not much for aroma. I don't know. Light caramel malt note. Well, it's light, it's light, all right. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

This one is it's not bad, it doesn't taste bad. It's just yeah. Again, it's kind of one of those you're just like, huh. Oh, it was in a uh can, by the way.

SPEAKER_00:

Right, and it's pointing, you know, it's like on the scale, it's pointing towards Oktoberfest, but that's all it's doing, it's pointing. It's not really there.

SPEAKER_01:

I I am gonna say we're not gonna go to a thousandth of a point now. I guess it's man. Again, it's not offensive at all. And you know, you you could if you haven't had an Oktoberfest, you could definitely try it. But to me, it's it's almost got a little bit of a bitter thing.

SPEAKER_00:

This one for me so far is not. I think it's down lower than that and whatever I don't know. I can't is making it bitter. I don't know if 'cause it says they're not they're not using hops as much. Right. So I don't get it. Right. And it's not caramel. You would think the caramel would make it a little bit sweet. I mean, not too much sweet, but I mean you would think that's what they were trying to do, but right. That did not come through. No, not at all. And you get to be first.

SPEAKER_01:

I think you might have to use your tenth of the same or a hundredth now, I think. Cheapers. Uh I'm gonna say because of that bitterness and such, I'm gonna go a 2.05. Oh, because again, I have to give them credit because it has alcohol in it. You know, but again, I just it's I don't know that bitterness hasn't been in the other ones, right? You know, and I don't necessarily think that it belongs in an Oktoberfest. No, you know, not what we think of an Oktoberfest, you know. So spot on. That's that's where I'm going.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean, that's that was the exact score. I was gonna say two the 2.05. It's these other three were much, I think, much better. This was definitely, I think, a step down in flavor. That bitterness just caught me like, mmm. Yeah, that's that's the thing that really kind of stood out. And I mean, is it unique from the other ones? Yes, it has a different flavor, but is it a better flavor? I don't I pre me personally, I don't think it makes it better.

SPEAKER_01:

I would agree with you. I think that they could if they took that out, it it would have been right in there with the other ones, but I think that separated it and not in a good way. Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

All right, all right. We're gonna keep trying. We're gonna keep going here because I'm swinging out like this strikeouts. Not so much you, but it's just well, the next one I know is gonna taste good after this.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah. This is gonna get that that bonus because of what came before it. Yeah. So uh this one is by Capital Brewing, all right, and they're out of Madison. Mad City, right? What's that? Mad City, Mad City, Madison. Exactly. And this is the uh Capital Brewery Oktoberfest Marzon. Okay, five and a half percent. Oh, it must have been BAV. I'm not exactly sure what that is. That must have bad finger to it could have been the the acronym there. So, what their description said is the mother of all seasonal beers has a fiery amber hue and rich multi-overtones that dominate the flavor, dominate, dominate, and this is in a bottle model. Now, you know what's funny is this really is I I think they're right as far as saying that an Oktoberfest is the mother of all seasonal beers. I think they're right.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I mean, I guess from our perspective, I mean, this is probably one of the few worldwide festivals that focuses on beer.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, you know what's funny. So early on, one of the uh one of the beers had a description where it was talking about that Oktoberfest is the let me look back. I just I don't want to misquote it. It said uh did it the original uh Brune for the first Octoberfest. What did it say? Um, I'm sorry, I'm trying to because it was talking about how Oktoberfest is like the you know like the the big festival. If you've ever seen the movie Beerfest, okay, and it's a comedy and it it's hilarious. If you ever get a chance to watch it, watch it. It's beer fest. But there, when the main characters go to Germany, they go to Beerfest instead of Oktoberfest, and it goes on at the same time. And the pe the the people that were there from Germany when they were talking to them, they said, Oh, Oktoberfest is for tourists, beer fest is for the real drinkers. Oh and it just gets funnier from there. But yeah, you ever have to watch it. So when I was reading that, uh the first thing that popped in my head was Beer Fest, and that might be something in not us going to beerfest, but in a future episode, I might have to uh print off some like a list of some of the beer movies that are out there. There you go. Um, because I think that would be interesting as well to talk about. Yes. All right, so let's get back to Capital. Capital.

SPEAKER_00:

It's kind of looks like a little lighter than some, but it kind of that it it it might actually look like a Marzon. It could, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Again, it has a little bit of aroma, but not much. It's better than the glass one. It's not bitter, it's a lot bitter. No, there's not a lot of flavor there. No, you know, we're maybe we set our next year. We gotta do the German one last.

SPEAKER_00:

If we do another German Oktoberfest, yeah, because I mean these are just not even come close to any of the flavor from a German Oktoberfest.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, this one is definitely maltier, uh, you know, especially on the finish. I I get a lot more of a stronger malt flavor than anything. Um, again, I would drink it. I don't know if it would be my first choice, right? You know what I mean? It's it's okay, but it does have a little bit of a different flavor.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, you know. I'm I'm with you there. I don't gosh, it it's just so hard to describe because it's not it doesn't nothing really stands out, right? It's just all flat level. Yep, it's it's hard next year.

SPEAKER_01:

We may have to do just one October festival.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, we're trying, we're trying, ladies and gentlemen.

SPEAKER_01:

We are trying.

SPEAKER_00:

If I'm gonna have to say it 2.15.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, geez, I'm sensing a pattern on your uh on your scores. Yeah, I'm um, I'll do the same score. It it's I don't know, it's just normally I like really malty beers, but this one's just kind of got a different flavor to it.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, you know, I throw this out to you too. Is if I had these covered, she couldn't tell what style this was. I don't know if I could even differentiate if this was a Mars on any of these. I don't know if you're the same way.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, oh yeah, I but the blind taste test would really screw me up. I agree with you. And honestly, even with the German ones, you know, I think we mentioned that before that I there's no way I could that we especially you know that we could blind taste test these and try and pick out oh, right, you know, but like if you had a German one and one of these, oh, I could definitely tell you for the most part. I think we could tell the difference between that, but these, even if we knew here's the list, these are the ones we have, and you we blind taste tested it. I don't I don't think we could do it. You know, that that might be an interesting thing for an episode sometime to do that because I'll guarantee we fail. We might get one right just because we lucked out, but so that reminds me.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't know if you've watched some of the latest Alabama boss YouTube videos. He's had actually had to do some blind, he's tasted them all, and then they put it like in a shoebox with a straw, and they've had him like trying to and he hasn't done very good on it. He's even tasted them first and knew what they all were, and then blind tainted them. And then the blind tainting still couldn't get them.

SPEAKER_01:

So wow, yeah, these are just so close. So close. I think depending on when we did it of this group, right? If the if the non-alcoholic one was later, I think we might be able to get that one, right? But if it was right off the bat and then we went from there, I don't know. It's just kind of oh okay. So the next the next one, what the next one I was really dreading because I know what's gonna be brought up, but I am going to laugh like crazy if this one actually has flavor. So what are you talking about, buddy? So we have uh another uh Oktoberfest Marzon style beer. All right, this one is from uh the Texas area. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Haven't we had some beers? I not that I can recall, one single brewery in particular there.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, yeah, yeah. That was different though. Oh, is it that was a holiday one? That was a holiday one, yeah. What and we got an Oktoberfest one. Is it a yeah?

SPEAKER_01:

This is an Oktoberfest from uh a brewery in Texas. Nice, yes, it's from Shiner. Uh-oh. So and again, so I'm guessing the orange and blue is must be the other because we've had like this is the fourth one now, fifth one that has orange, yes, which I get because of the fall colors, but again, when you looked at the German ones, they all had the blue and white diamonds and all that. All right, so this is the Oktoberfest Marzon from Shiner 5.7 percent. So it's the highest ABV so far. Yep, so that's it's going forward, yep, and 18 IBUs. Their write-up says, here in Shiner, Texas, we're suckers for tradition. We're suckers for buying their beer, yeah. It could be. I was for Christmas. Uh, that's why we make our Oktoberfest brew with the highest quality two-row barley, Munich, and caramel malts, along with German-grown Hallerto Tradition and Hirschbruckbrucker hops. Wow, I can't say as I've heard of Hirschbrucker.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I hope they put all that stuff in there, yeah, and in adequate quantities.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, because we need something.

SPEAKER_00:

Because if it's like their other shiner beers, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Again, if you haven't listened to our we did two episodes on it too. Because you had a case because it was it was 12 12? Was it 244, wasn't it? One or the other, 12 or 24. We did it might have been 12.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, is that all?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and they remember they brought back blasts from the past and all that, and it did they probably should have stayed in the past because it just didn't work again. Not light, light aroma. Yeah, and the it's looks very similar to a lot of them.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep, it's not very, I mean, it's you could I can see my fingers to the glass.

SPEAKER_01:

There is a little there's a little flavor on the initial swallow. It almost has a I'm not gonna say bitter, but it's almost like a tart. Is that the barley? I don't know. Wouldn't you say almost like a tartness to it? Like you're going, whoa, you know, it's so out of character for a shiner. Yeah, we always thought they didn't like flavor, you know.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, so this is probably the most flavorful shiner beer we've had. I would agree, and that's pretty crazy. And this is our 25th one or 13th.

SPEAKER_01:

13th one for sure. I think it's 13. Well, yeah, because I can't remember if that one had an advent C wasn't a 24. No, it was like a 12 beers of Christmas thing or something like that. But I'm trying to remember, I don't did it have Shiner Bach in it. I don't remember because we've had Shiner Bach as well, right? You know, and that one still doesn't have a huge amount of flavor, but this does have some flavor, not a lot. I would agree with you, some, and you get to go first. Oh my word. See, now this is where it's like you might have to break into hundreds, thousands. No, um, I'm gonna do my 2.25 on this one. So, yes, this is to me the second best one, I guess. Wow, that's saying a lot. It does have some flavor. Uh, again, I if it didn't have like that, and I say tartness, but it's got kind of a different thing when on the initial swallow. Yeah, but again, it's it's okay, I guess. Falls right in line. Yeah, what we were noticing now.

SPEAKER_00:

So I'm gonna have to do a a redo or reset. Uh-oh. So I'm gonna say that my Linies is a 2.3. Okay, and I'm gonna make the shiner a 2.2. Okay. So very close, similar. In I'm trying to give it the benefit of the doubt because we've tried a lot of shiner beers that have not had any flavor, they've just been colored water. This one actually has flavor, it is actually a little bit closer to the Marzon that we're looking for.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep.

SPEAKER_00:

So that's why I wanted to get that up there. Give it the benefit of the doubt.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep, I agree with you.

SPEAKER_00:

This was in a bottle, by the way.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's I don't know. We got one to go. One to go. All right, what do we so the last one that we have today is from Surle. That's in the Twin Cities area. All right, and this is their Oktoberfest, and I believe is it their fest beer or is it uh October? It just says Oktoberfest, Octoberfest, Oktoberfest beer. Okay, uh it's a 6.1 percent. So this is the highest ABV for uh this this episode. Yep. So you think about it, we had a pretty good span again from zero to six point one. Well, actually zero point five to six point one. We stepped it up, we stepped it up, and this one is back to like that traditional German style coloring, which is cool. It's got like a big old stein on there. There you go. Yep, and it says Oktoberfest lagers are the ultimate party beer. Well, yeah, if you're at Oktoberfest, right up front, they're rich, sweet, and malty, but they finish dry and clean with an ever-so slight touch of hops. Prost. And that's the first comfort, I think, that said prost. Right. And this is in a can, as you can hear. All right, our last one. Our last one. Boy, that's light, just lighter in color than most of them. That is yeah, that is really almost getting back to like the first couple. Yeah, that is really light color. Not much aroma again. Very little sensing a pattern. Yep, that's got a little better flavor, I think. My opinion.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean, but again, it it when you're we're building off of none to not much, it's you know. Yeah, I'm trying to differentiate. There's not it said it was gonna have a little more upfront sweetness. Maybe, maybe that's what that is. Yeah, is that caramel?

SPEAKER_01:

Maybe it could be. Like I said, it's definitely got it has a little more flavor, but on the second taste, it's kind of well, it's gone, but it's kind of like, was it a good flavor? Right. You know, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00:

I guess you get to go first on this one. It's not a bad beer, it's not horrendous. If you've never had an Oktoberfest, you could try it. Yeah, but it's still not, it's still not where it should be for Marzan. And I'm kind of so I think what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna make Linies my 2.35. Okay, and I'll make this a 2.3. Okay, none of these have really like knocked my socks off in any way. I'm just they're all really, really, really closely grouped together. Yeah, I just can't really separate them out by much.

SPEAKER_01:

I agree. I'm gonna go 2.35. I think this is probably I guess you can say my top one for today. Uh, but again, it's just kind of I could drink it, you could drink it. But we've had two episodes now, dude, that American American IPA or IPAs, American Oktoberfest are just kind of fell flat, yeah, a little bit, and it's really kind of a bummer.

SPEAKER_00:

And I mean, they're all like so relatively close in our scoring, too. I mean, it's I mean, granted, we did break it in the hundreds, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

But but I don't think if we didn't, there's nothing that was gonna be a 2.7. All right, and for sure, really, there's nothing that would have been a one-point, right? You know, whatever. So they're very, very similar to each other, and maybe that's the thing is they're this works, and let's just try and keep it in that range.

SPEAKER_00:

Because I know it's only seasonal, they only do it for a short period of time. So I'm sure all right, hey, this is our we're doing a running a batch, you know. We don't want to put a whole bunch of extra stuff into it because it's not like it's a year-round thing, so but the Germans do have it dump at it, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

They they got it again. Two episodes of American Oktoberfest, and the Germans still have us all beat in the Oktoberfest realm. Hands down, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Now, I mean, this isn't even this grouping wasn't even sniffing in even in their dust. Yep, they were so far above.

SPEAKER_01:

I I guess for a wrap-up on these beers, you could try any of them. Yes, I guess the only thing is if you don't want alcohol, get the athletic. If you want alcohol, you could try any of them. They're so close together. Yep. Uh, I don't really think, again, personally, that anything stood out so much above the rest that oh, that was the winner. Right. They're all so close. So that's my my opinion, anyway.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep, I echo exactly. I mean, and I'm sure that a lot of these aren't distributed wherever you're everybody's at. So I wouldn't be afraid to recommend trying one of them just to see what it's like, see if your palate likes it. Because they're not, they're not bad. It's just we we're looking for a little bit more.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep. And ladies and gentlemen, if you know if there's something in your area that you know of that is good, let us know. I mean, we'd love to see if we can find it. See if we can find it and and try it. Because all the ones that we have access to at this point have been ho-hum, kind of the same, you know.

SPEAKER_00:

So I'm gonna allude to our maybe a possible another episode. I think I have found some other possibilities. Okay. I mean, I didn't do very good here, but maybe well, again, it's not your fault. You're we're playing with what we're dealt, so to speak. So I do have some more opportunities, and one of them, like I think we've already mentioned before, is the barrel aged Marzon. Okay, which we have had previously that was really good. And I think it'll be good to see. Hopefully, our taste buds can uh remember back to the veneration, yeah, to see you know which one between those two that you know, pumpkin barrel, pumpkin beer aged, and uh was that that was rye barrel, right?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, that was a rye barrel, and this and that was really good, and this Marzan will be bourbon barrel.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, so yeah, so we'll check that out. So maybe hopefully that has some flavor. Yeah, so hopefully, I mean we kind of struck out here, we didn't really hit where I thought we would, but we did try. We tried. We're trying to let the listeners know what we found, which wasn't much, but right.

SPEAKER_01:

We tried, we found some stuff, but we tried as hard as we could. And when you know that ShinerBach was number two, or Shiner Oktoberfest, I should say, was number two on my list.

SPEAKER_00:

That's telling you something.

SPEAKER_01:

It's telling you something. So awesome. Well, cool. Hey Jim, thanks for bringing these. And again, like I said, we're just hoping that some of these 2025 something would stand out. And we're two episodes into the 2025 versions, and they're they're pretty similar. So we'll see what happens in the future. Yep. Uh hopefully we'll uh stumble across something or someone that decides flavor is good. Yes. And uh we'll kind of go from there. Awesome. Sounds good. Awesome. Well, hey, ladies and gentlemen, thanks for listening to this episode. And like we always say, we hope your campfire is always warm and your beers are always cold. See ya! See ya. Thank you for listening to the Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast. If you have a question, a comment, or a beer you'd like us to review, please feel free to send us a message at Northwoodsbeerguy at gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you're on Untapped, look up Northwoods Beer Guy and send a friend request. Until next week, I hope all your campfires are warm and all your beers cold.

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Mike - The Northwoods Beer Guy

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Brian - The Best Voice in Podcasting

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Bryan (BK)

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Jim

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