UPDATED: OCT 29, 2021 Deep dark brown coloured body with a very thin off-white and tan head that fades very quickly and leave nothing on the top or the sides. Light-bodied; Strong earthy and especially nutty malts with a lot of grain notes at first and then bringing out some caramelised sugar and toffee notes. Aftertaste shows some of the light bready and yeast notes, but the malts are obviously right at the forefront, with some light sweetness from the pitted fruits and caramel, but there is little else, aside from the heavy malts here - no hops to speak of, nor any bitterness. Overall, a pretty standard brown ale, but perhaps even a bit less complex than average, given that until I saw this was an ale from the label, I would have classified it as a Marzen, given I thought it was a lager - that said, this is purely passable, of course, but this is far removed from a DECENT old ale. I sampled this twelve ounce bottle, purchased from Wegman's Grocery in Alexandria, Virginia on 20-October-2021 for US$1,99 sampled at my house here in Washington on 28-October-2021, just a bit more than a week after purchase, a few days before Halloween!

UPDATED: AUG 24, 2021 12 oz bottle. Pours a dark brown with a thin tan head. Sweet smells of roasted malt. Porter like dry mouthfeel over a sweet and ashy roasted malt body. Medium carbonation with a short astringent finish.

UPDATED: APR 20, 2021 This is a backlog rating from 2007 from a bottle picked up at Party Source, from notes. When I had this beer it was average to below average for the style and not something I wanted to have again or I just didn't get back to my notes because of my technology at the time, work and/or family. Words to describe this beer are toasted malts, caramel, light earthy, ok.

UPDATED: JAN 16, 2021 12 ounce bottle. Pours a nicer, dark amber with a thinner tan head. Taste is of caramel, malt, fruit and some hops. Lighter aroma. Has a lighter mouthfeel with a mostly clean finish. Overall, fine.

UPDATED: OCT 6, 2020 12oz bottle from local Remke - label says this is 7.0% ABV. Bottle also fails to mention this is AB InBev. Bottle does say to enjoy by12/19/20. Bottle says this is a Brown Ale. Bottle says this has Munich malts and Bavarian hops. Nose is wheat bread and pumpernickel? Light rye bread nose. Sip adds caramel and toast. Not getting any hop flavors on the front end. Light to medium sweetness. Getting light citrus zest on the back end. I was looking for something seasonal that wasn't fall spice flavored. Decent. If I were involved, I would add maple syrup to make it a little boozier.

UPDATED: SEP 10, 2020 Nice brownish head retention. Dark malty aroma. Dark roast malt flavor. Almost tastes like a winter warmer.

UPDATED: MAR 14, 2019 An enjoyable brew. Had a few samples from this brewery, nothing really stands out so far...but each one decent. I thought this would be lighter based on the label (lighter brown or Marzen/Oktoberfest), but more like a dark brown ale ...almost like a black lager. This is more like a winter ale, but it gets a lot colder in Colorado in the fall vs. Florida.

UPDATED: DEC 27, 2018 Bottle. Toasted malt aroma with notes of caramel, toffee, nuts and some spicy hops. Pours deep brown with a thin toffee brown head that has some retention and good lacing. Starts with toasted malt, caramel and toffee malt flavors. Finishes smooth and a bit dry with nutty malt and some spicy hop flavors. Pretty good fall beer.

Hy-Vee Oktoberfest 2018. Bottle. Pour was near black, off white head. Aroma was malty, caramel. Taste was mild sweet, malts, toffee, nut.

UPDATED: OCT 16, 2018 Dark brown with thick frothy head. Rich malty aroma with toffee and caramel. Sweet malty flavor. It basically tastes like drinking straight malt extract, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.