October in Northwest Houston

The next stop on my at-home Octoberfest tour is a local offering from Karbach Brewing Company, the creatively-named Karbachtoberfest.

Karbach has a number of nice beer offerings. Their website lists their regular and seasonal lineup (http://www.karbachbrewing.com/beers/main).

The brewery is fairly close to home, too. It's not too far from where the original St. Arnold's Brewery was located, and although we've driven by the Karbach plant a couple of times, I've never been on a tour.

I am a fan of a couple of their beers, including the Sympathy for the Lager and especially the Weisse Versa Wheat.  The seasonal beer I've tried, Love Street, was good and I'm thinking of looking for their Barn Burner Saison. It's been on the shelves recently, but I haven't seen it in a couple of weeks. I hope I didn't miss the boat this year.

As I look at their lineup, however, I note they really seem to like IPAs. I'm not a big fan of the hoppy IPA, however. I'll drink them, and some are pretty good, but they're certainly not my first choice.  I like a more malty than bitter beer. And, as I wrote above, I do like wheat beers. It's just a personal preference, and IPAs are certainly seem to be popular among the microbrewery fans.

So, I looked forward to pulling the tab on the Karbachtoberfest. The color is nice, but compare the head on the beer to the head on the New Mexican Octoberfest I tried a few days ago.  Also, the aroma of the beer was a little limited. It wasn't as robust or as memorable as the Santa Fe brewery's Marzen. I was a little disappointed. It's not an especially full-bodied drink, either.

As for the flavor of the beer, it's not bad.  It's not especially malty, and certainly not hoppy at all.  According to the specs on the Karbochtoberfest, the alcohol is about even with the Santa Fe beer, but to tell you the truth, it wasn't especially noticeable in the aroma, nor in the flavor.

All in all, I felt this beer was a little bland, and I was a bit disappointed with the tasting, but not so much so that I wouldn't try it again. In fact, one thing that struck me about the Karbachtoberfest is that I could easily see someone buying a six-pack and enjoying it in one evening.  Maybe that's what the brewer was going for, something appealable to the occasional quaffer...or maybe the serious beer guzzler.

Of course, there are plenty of reasons I would be willing to buy another can or two and try it again. It's not something that I wouldn't buy again. I probably will, but I suspect there are better Octoberfests out there. It just depends on what you're looking for in a beverage.