Oktoberfest is, like, so one month ago. But in this brief, weeks-long period — the gloaming of autumn before December arrives and we turn to quaffing hale-and-hearty holiday ales — there’s one German-style Oktoberfest holdover that’s perfect for November imbibing and an the ideal way to send autumn out with a bang.
Colorado’s Avery Brewing Co.’s Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest is a potent beer named for a potent potentate. (“Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the world,” Kaiser Wilhelm once proclaimed.) Brewed with four kinds of hops (Magnum, Sterling, Tettnang, Hersbrucker) and several malts, including Vienna and Munich, it’s an astoundingly assertive beer, taking all the hallmarks of an Oktoberfest style — regal, crystalline copper color, a billowing foamy head, powerful malt notes of toffee and caramel, and a pungent hop efflorescence to finish it all out — and makes ’em bigger. Much, much bigger.
As such, this is a perfect beer for aging. At 9.3 percent ABV, it’s powerful stuff, and its creamy, almost chewy mouthfeel points to a hardy lager that can be cellared and savored for months and months after the last beer tent has been taken down, the oompah bands have gone silent, and the tipsy revelers have all gone home. Just as well: this one’s best suited for drinking alone, while pondering the cold gray sky and awaiting the coming of winter.
Available for $6.99 for a 22-ounce bottle at Bauer Wine & Spirits, 330 Newbury Street, Boston | 617.262.0363.
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