The previous Saranac
didn't impress me. However, Oktoberfests are really a chance for a brewery to take a step out of the norm to try something different. You add a spice or you add a new kind of malt, and your beer can taste fantastic. Let's see how this one fares.
It's a lightly hazy beer with a bright copper color. The head becomes a patchy, kind of gloppy hat on top of the beer. There is no lacing along the sides to speak of. The aroma is Near non-existent. I might go so far as to say it is a black hole of smell, sucking the smell in from around it. Seriously, I have no indication of what's in this beer. Okay, if I try really hard, I can smell sweet malt, but that might be down to the power of suggestion.
Actually sipping the beer tells me that it also lacks most taste. The little taste that is there is not a great one. It's got a lot more Earth than I had expected, and it has a metallic twang that is off-putting. I'd also say it has some grass in there. The whole combo is pretty lousy.
A bigger drink is in order; maybe it can save this experience. Tip-in tastes like nothing - it's a watery grave where taste goes to die. The middle introduced carbonation biting around the cheeks and tongue. unfortunately, there is no real taste beyond a slight malty wisp. The finish hits with ... just crap. It's the earthy, grassy, aluminum ick.
It's bad.
0.5/5