This post was written during a power outage. Please forgive the poor quality of the pictures. 

Here we are on the last day of Oktoberfest. I wanted to see the month off with an official Oktoberfest lager but I couldn't find any I hadn't done before. So, we're left with something else from Germany. That's fine, though. Germany knows how to make beer.

That something else is Hofbrauhaus Freising's Festbier. Let's see how this German-brewed, unofficial Oktoberfest-style lager's drinking!

Here's a bit of Hofbrauhaus Freising's history. Their legacy goes all the way back to 1160. The brewery (based out of Freising, Germany) obviously knows how to make beer. Those of you fluent in German might want to check out their official website. Please note that Hofbrauhaus Freising and Hofbräu are two separate entities. Don't fall into that Stone vs. Keystone trap with this.

We'll get our info on today's beer from BeerAdvocate. This page lists Festbier at 6.1% ABV and states it has "an impressively intense wort and a great malty flavour, finely rounded off with hop aromas." Let's see about that for ourselves.

The bouquet here is plenty pleasant. There's a lot of honey with some freshly-baked bread, toffee, and hint of wheat. I'm also picking out a distinct hoppiness. The hops come in as spicy and verdant, and add to the lager's aromatic and inviting nose. It's so inviting, in fact, that Purrl gave my bottle a full eight whiffs.

Those hops are stronger on the palate. Sure, I find an initial offering of honey, white bread, and toffee. But the hops wash out all of that. What we're left with is a dry riciness, which gives Festbier an almost-artificial flavor. Given this is a Festbier-style lager, one might expect it's something you could drink a few of in fairly quick succession. I wouldn't care for more than this single bottle.

Honestly, though, the mouthfeel is fine. It's frothy and quaffable. It just doesn't match the flavor profile.

I'm drinking this during a hurrican-induced power outage that's reminding me of when Ike rolled through some years back. I was at my parents house and we were without electric for days and days. We used candles for light and had to limit our water usage. It wasn't fun. This outage isn't fun. I hope the electric comes back on soon because this bottle of Festbier's the only cold beer I have to get me through it. (NOTE: The power is back on after being out for three days.)

Look, Festbier's the least appealing lager I've had this season, which is a bummer because it's the one German beer I'm doing. Prost, I guess. If you have an official Oktoberfest beer, drink that instead. Hofbrauhaus Freising's only earning at 7.0/10 with this one.