As summer wanes and your girl starts to wear her Ugg boots and order pumpkin spice lattes there is cause for celebration – fall beers! If you’re an avid reader of my beer reviews, you’ll know märzens and fall seasonals are my favorite craft beers. But this week might be my all time favorite American märzen and one that I look forward to drinking every year. This weekend, Victory Brewing Company’s Festbier is What’s on Tap!
It goes without saying that I love Victory! Being from the same area as Victory I make the mandatory growler fill at least twice a trip home! And being able to drink Festbier when its fresh and straight from the source makes a great beer even better. Festbier loads your pallet with lots of flavors but yet the beer remains incredibly drinkable. The malt and caramel notes are at the forefront of each sip to give the brew a bready malt sweetness. What is interesting about Fiestbier’s taste is that each sip is not overly heavy in fact, despite the beer’s great flavor it has a “mouth feel” of being light. And with no real bitter quality and only a subtle hop presence Festbier is the perfect way to say good bye to summer and hello fall.
I am drinking Festbier as I watch football and marinate some ribs, not the baby back ribs but the full spare ribs! To help balance my curry, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon dry rub I am also cooking the ribs in Festbier! The ribs should absorb some of the malty sweetness and the rub should provide the right amount of kick to balance it.
Beer Stats
Style: Märzen
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 5.6%
Color: Amberish hints of orange and red
Hops: Whole flower German hops
Malts: Imported 2 row Vienna and Munich German malts
