Who'd've thunk that the second post of Oktoberfest season '24 would bring the second Festbier of '24? I know, I know; it's wild. I'm more of a self-professed Märzen man (they're more complex and offer me a little more if I sit with them and mull them over), but I'm finding singles of new Oktoberfest-style lagers to be more and more challenging to come by.

Which isn't to say at all that I don't like Festbiers! They're a great alternative to their typically heavier Oktoberfest cousins. Despite their relative lack of complexity, they're still fun to drink. And, you know, there can often be beauty in simplicity. Let's see what beauty we find in today's beer: Eredità Festbier.

Eredità hails from North Haven, CT. The beer is brewed out of the city's Twelve Percent Brewing by Eredità owner and brewer, Chris Papallo. Driven by the idea of legacy, he got started in his brewing journey with a homebrew kit from his wife in 2013. Years and collaborations later, he's now shipping his beers as far away as Michigan (which is where I got my can--I honestly have no idea what their distribution footprint is). You can find more on the project on their homepage.

I can't find where an official description of today's beer lives on Eredità's website, so to Untappd we go! This lists Festbier with 4.8% ABV and "crackery notes of bread and mild sweetness, accompanied by a soft mouthfeel." Let's see how my can lives up to that.

(Before venturing further, I'll say that my can has some additional info. Namely, the lager's dry hopped with Mittlefrüh and partially conditioned on Hallertau Mittlefrüh.)

Fesbier's bouquet hits heavy with sharp hop notes, which are, in a way, a little spicy. These mingle well with the expected biscuit, caramel, straw, and crisp aromas. I'm finding some freshly baked bread in here, too. Overall, this punches above what a Festbier typically does. This is all lost on Purrl, who refused to give my can even one whiff.

Were I to pick a word to describe the lager's flavor profile, I'd immediately grab for "stunning." Honey, toffee, biscuit, and freshly-baked bread are all present. The sheer abundance of these sweet malt flavors should come across as cloying, but they don't. Why? Because of the hops. These hit my palate first, a little dank and a little spicy. After they've set the stage, that malty sweetness comes through before the finish, which is just honey drizzled on fresh bread with a tiny bit of hop earthiness. Again, "stunning."

The mouthfeel is everything I want it to be. It's big, full, and frothy. Each swig begets the next begets the next. This is a highly drinkable beer.

Before moving on, I want to take a quick moment to discuss the body. Normally, this is a section I skip (because most beers I drink are straight from the bottle/can), but Festbier isn't letting me. As soon as I cracked into it, a rich cream-colored head bubbled from my can, with fairly intricate lacing. I'm kind of wishing I'd opted to pour this into a glass. Oh, well.

Although it has nothing to do with the lager I'm drinking, I'm recalling a brilliant night last month where Michelle and I stayed up to watch a meteor shower. We'd put our toddler to bed and, around midnight, crept outside to lay on a blanket in our driveway. 

It took a good long while for our eyes to adjust to the darkness. At first, we thought we'd missed the shower. Then, slowly, we started to see ghosts of shooting stars, just a few. Once our eyes settled, we could see hundreds. Everywhere we looked there were more and more. It was beautiful.

Look at me starting this season with two stellar beers! My last one was great and Eredità's Festbier's even better. This can is getting a 10/10. It's expertly crafted and, honestly, I can't find a single thing in it to nitpick in it.