Paulaner Oktoberfest Weisn

Paulaner Oktoberfest Weisn

      Don't mind the toys in the back, and, yes I love Futurama.  So it's October, and that means OKTOBERFEST!!!  If you're looking for a place then look online.  The only one I really know of is in Torrance at a place called Alpine Village. It's okay--supposedly the biggest in California--but it's too crowded, the beer could be better, and there's always a fight.  So do what I do and just drink on your own.  I'm going to try to only review Oktoberfest beers this month, but you know how life can be.  So today it's Paulaner Munchen Oktoberfest Wiesn.   This is a new label for us so I should probably elaborate.  Marzen means March in German, in which it was decreed long time ago that beer could only be brewed starting from the end of September until March.  Thus,  a certain type of lager was brewed to last through the summer (something about brewing in summer can be hazardous in a fiery kind of way), and any left over would be served at Oktoberfest.  Full detail from wiki.  Look at that, my explanation is crappier in hindsight.  On to the show.

Appearance

     Removed from the box the beer and glass is packaged like this--beer inside the can inside the glass.  Like a Turducken except less like taking a crap on mother nature and standing over her fecal ridden body and saying "I'm your god now."   The three gentlemen drinking with one hand in their pockets, I thought, was a nice touch and deserved some recognition.  It really adds to the Oktoberfest feeling of the packaging...graphic designers, take note. 












 And here it is when you remove the can from the glass.  The glass is heavy with a little 1 litre mark to remind you that you're going to get drunk.












 

This is what you've been waiting for. Few things:  glassy and translucent with a vibrant amber color.  Very little carbonation bubbles streaming from the bottom and the head was about an inch big and had a cloud-like texture to it with a tint of amber.
















Smell

     When I smelled this I was fully disheartened.  My chest got heavy and a bit of sadness crept in.  I smelled a little bit of hops and a little bit of floral, and, what struck me sad, was a smell of mold or something like it.  Actually, it was more like moss.  In other words, I was sure this beer was rank, or at least on it's way to being full blown rank.  In researching this type of beer, I found that refrigeration is very important to ward off any bacteria.  Maybe that was what was in here.  But it wasn't so bad that I knew I had to throw it out, so I soldiered on.

Taste

     Yeah, rank.  It smelled like wet moldy cardboard boxes that was out in the rain.  It tasted like it as well.  At times I tasted something that only extended my imagery to include the ink of the labels on a cardboard box.  Something oddly artificial came out of that beer.  But there are good points: a little hops and the malt was very much present.  The flavor was consistent and smooth, but overall, it only tasted like dirty water.

Mouthfeel

     Lack of bite and has a similar mouthfeel to drinking vinegar that has been fermented in chili.  It was wet and thick.  No bite from the carbonation.

Overall

     I was bummed and felt stupid by the way I handled this.  I got this beer close to a month ago and just left it out without thinking about what I was doing.  The small pluses that I put in the taste section gives me reason to believe that this is a good, nay, great session beer. The super dissipated tastes that faintly touched my tongue were great, but, unfortunately, the bad tastes will forever remain in my head.  So what did we learn?  Take care of your beer if you're storing it and drink it as soon as possible.  If you see this beer somewhere, buy it and tell me if I'm right.  Happy October people...