Narragansett Fest

Hello everyone, Fontes here.  Last night I sat down to enjoy a pint of Narragansett Fest and today I'm here to give you my opinion of this brew. This is Narragansett's version of an Octoberfest style of beer.  Some of you reading this post might not be aware of Narragansett beer.  Unfortuantely, this beer is only available in the Northeast region of the United States at this time. This is the only downside that I've found with craft beer.  Some of the breweries are not big enough to be financially able to ship their beer across the entire United States. It is a shame since many people do not get the chance to taste great beer. However, that is a different post for a different day. Now onto the review.

Narragansett Fest is a German style Octoberfest (or Oktoberfest). I purchased this beer for $8.99 plus tax in the state of Rhode Island. I am drinking this particular brew out of a standard pint glass. However, I purchased this beer in a six pack containing 16 ounce pint cans. Once I poured the brew into the pint glass I noticed that it is amber in color with a smell of roasted malt and hops. During the brewing process, this beer is brewed with four different kinds of malts and two styles of hops. The taste is similar to the smell of the beer. I do get a taste of roasted malt with a slight aftertaste of hops. However, I do have to say this. I have tried this beer in two forms. From 16 ounce pint cans when I'm drinking it at home, and on tap when I drink it at a bar. I must say, I do enjoy this beer better on tap. The reason for this you may ask? When I drink this beer from the can I taste a little metal, even after I pour it into a glass. It is not an overpowering taste, but I can still notice it. I find that this is often the case when I drink beer from cans, which is why I very rarely drink beer from cans anymore. 

In recent years, there has been a serious debate within the craft beer world about what is better...cans or bottles? In my opinion, bottles will always be better than cans. I feel that they offer a more "pure", crisp taste as opposed to cans. For more information on this debate, check out the websites Professors House and Tasting Beers for a more in depth look at the debate.   

Overall, I am going to give this beer a thumbs up. I you haven't tried this beer yet and want to try it, I suggest that you try it on tap. When I drank it on tap, I got the roasted malt and hop flavor, without the metal taste. Now, I should mention that not everyone will get the metal taste that I got when I drank this beer from a can. If you are used to drinking beer from cans, then you will most likely not taste any metal. However, like I said earlier, I usually drink beer from bottles or a tap, so I am not really used to cans anymore.

Also, if you do want to purchase this beer and are in the Rhode Island area, I suggest that you go to one of two liquor stores in the state. The first is located in Cranston and is called Wines and More.  The second is located in Apponaug and is called the Peoples Liquor Warehouse.  These two liquor stores carry Narragansett Fest and also have a great selection of other craft beer.  

Magic Hat Hex

Helllo everyone, Fontes here, and tonight I'm sitting down, drinking a glass of Magic Hat Hex. This particular brew is Magic Hat's attempt at an Octoberfest beer. In fact, they call it Our-toberfest. So did they achieve a good tasting Octoberfest? The answer?....Kind of. Let's start from the beginning. I purchased this beer in a six pack for a little over $9 after tax. The color of this beer is best described as amber in color, which is consistent with most Octoberfest beers. With most Octoberfest beers that I have tried, I've gotten a predominant smell and taste of roasted malts. The malt gives way to a nice caramel flavor. With certain beers like the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, one can even get a taste of brown sugar and pumpkin. However, with this particular brew, I was kind of let down. Is there a taste and smell of roasted malts? Yes...but only slightly. Everything with this beer is light. The smell, the taste, and the texture. It smells only slightly of roasted malt. I actually get more of a hops smell more than anything. When the beer hits my tongue, I get a slight taste of hops, followed by a slight taste of roasted malt in the after taste. The texture is no Dogfish Head Punkin Ale. That brew was much thicker than the Hex. This beer is much lighter on the palate. Taste wise and texture. I should mention that I'm drinking this particular brew out of a standard pint glass.
 Do I think this is a good tasting beer in general?...Yes. And because of that I will give it a thumbs up...And I'm being generous with this one only because I truely like the rest of Magic Hat's beers that I have tried. HOWEVER, do I think this is a true Octoberfest beer?...No. A true Octoberfest beer should have bold flavors of roasted malt, caramel, and in general smokey flavor, that reminds you of the Autumn season. This beer tried to achieve that, but in the end fell short. Magic Hat might call their Octoberfest Hex Our-toberfest, but it is certainly not my Octoberfest.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

I LOVE THIS BEER!!!!! Ok now that I've got that little outburst out of my system, I can try to do this review hahaha. The beer that I am drinking tonight is Dogfish Head Punkin Ale. This beer is brewed with real pumpkins, brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. All those ingredients combined create one response...WOW!!!! I get a smell of brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and a slight smell of hops. The taste is absolutely fantastic!! Cinnamom, nutmeg, brown sugar, and slight hops warm the palate to give way to a nice subtle pumpkin taste. Every time I drink this beer it's like I get a taste of the holidays. I am drinking this particular brew out of a standard pint glass. The color of this beer is a fantastic reddish amber color. It's basically autumn in a glass hahaha. This beer also packs a punch at seven perecent alcohol for a standard tweleve onunce bottle. It's microbrews like this, that make me wish it was autumn 365 days a year. This beer gets a definite thumbs up! Cheers everyone!!