Last year about this time I reviewed another classic example of the Oktoberfest style: Spaten Oktoberfest (green bottle version).

Even though there’s a brown bottle edition, the green is what seems to be the most widely available, at least around here—Costco is currently selling it by the case and it’s all green.

Here’s my original review:

Appearance: Super clear, the color of a shiny new copper penny. Bubbles beading and rising from the bottom to a nice head.

Smell: Malty, though less so that what I’m expecting. Noticeable hops. A little bit of "green bottle lager" syndrome of Euros. Caramelized malts, "red" malts.

Taste: Soft on the tongue… pleasantly rich malts with more of a bite of roasted malts. Bready—a darkish rye bread. Noble hops and crispness are reminiscent of a Pilsner.

Mouthfeel: Nice bite, lower-medium in body… very pleasant.

My conclusion was that I liked it, but it was lighter for the style than I expected. Even so, I’m thinking about picking up a case at Costco here pretty soon, just because.

On BeerAdvocate, it’s currently sporting an overall grade of B.