Saranac Octoberfest

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Saranac Octoberfest
F.X. Matt Brewing Company
811 Edward St, Brewhouse Square
Utica, NY USA
Est. 1888
www.saranac.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 5.4 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 12.0 

Postmortem Brew Review
Copper amber color.
Malt and dry spice on nose with hint of hops.
Off white, almost tan, two finger head with irregular bubbles.
Malt and hops are balanced but not too pronounced.
Average carbonation.
Light to medium body. Gets better as it warms.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy 
Today marked the beginning of the Autumnal Equinox. The official beginning of fall. Football, raking leaves, pumpkin and spice in the air - - - and all that...

Yesterday marked the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest.  177 have been held in that 200 year span in Germany, the country of origin. Well, I say, " HIP HIP HOORAY! BRING ON OCTOBERFEST!"

Marzens are my favorite style because they are flavorful, easy to drink, light in ABV and they throw the biggest effin' party for beer around the world, just to celebrate this style.  They go well with footbal in the backyard, lawn chores or that get-it-in while you can last days at the beach.  When done right, they are enjoyable with great food of any style or straight out of the carton on their own.

Saranac makes one that is pretty close to the high water mark, even for an American made Octoberfest. Saranac's Octoberfest is made with a generations old recipe right from the motherland, so it should be good. And it is.  So good, in fact, they truly have "Limited Release" on the label.  That's important as some brewers make this style all year long. In days of yore, these beers were crafted in March (Marzen) and lagered all summer awaiting the fall celebration.

So remember, there may only be 92 days until Christmas, but it's the most wonderful time for a beer!

Saranac Pale Ale

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Saranac Pale Ale
F.X. Matt Brewing Company
811 Edward St, Brewhouse Square
Utica, NY USA
Est. 1888
www.saranac.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 5.5 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 12.0 

Postmortem Brew Review
Copper amber color.
Bready, fruity overtones on the nose.
Sweet hops aromas.
Off white good forming head with modest lacing.
Average carbonation.
Surprisingly a bit heavy flavor. Dry and wheaty tasting.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy 
Pale Ales abound and some stand out more than others.  This one unfortunately does not.  It is worthy of a session, and is enjoyable enough, just not particularly amazing.  One thing that does stand out though is half the hops are East Kent Golden hops.  That puts it in the English Pale Ale category instead of American.

It's good enough for a try.  I know Matt's/Saranac makes other fine brews. We will review more later.

Mississippi Mud Black & Tan

Dead Battalion 

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer

Mississippi Mud Black & Tan
Mississippi Brewing Company
Brewed under contract by:
F.X. Matt Brewing Company
811 Edward St, Brewhouse Square
Utica, NY USA
Est. 1888
www.saranac.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 5.0 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 32.0 

Postmortem Brew Review
Dark brown with a ruby red tinge in color.
Some hop aroma, with a bit of sweetness on the nose.
Caramel to tan in color good forming head with minimal lacing.
Surprisingly light flavor and mouth feel.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy

Before we begin, an announcement. This review will be the 99th in the series thus far. That means, and you knew this was coming...There's 99 bottles of beer on the wall!" We'll here's to that achievement, and the fact that I have kept my promise to you of passing them into the great beyond, one beer at-a-time. Now back to the blog..............

The beer that's half porter and half pilsner. Maybe even, half alligator and half crocodile.

I used to drink this years back; just like me it's been around a while. You'll find it in distinctively ginormous 32 oz. jugs which will add to your experience. Go ahead, make friends. It's like a pass-around pack! Have some now and have some later with the screw on metal top! Novel idea, though Matt's has had many. Like their "beer ball" in the 70's & 80's. The first of the trend towards mini-kegs.

The "Mud's" container makes you want to hook your pointer finger in the loop and sling it on your shoulder for a swig, moonshine style! Hoo boy! When you're all done with the beer, just stuff some posies in the jug, lay out yer best gingham table cloth, and you gotch yerself a dandy table centerpiece fer Sunday dinner!

As for the beer itself, it is a good as I remembered. Sweet upfront with a bit of the gator bite at the finish. A good drinker all around. And as said before, quite a novel dispenser for the Friday night poker/smoker with your gang.

Porter & pilsner, black & tan, half & half and not half bad.