I had a rockin' good time at Two Roads' first Ok2berfest. There was music, food and beer - lots of beer. There were männer in lederhosen, frauen in dirndl and others in facsimiles thereof.
It wasn't hard to decide where to start, of course. The first thing I did when I got there was a grab a beer. And then it was off to grab a pulled pork sandwich made with the happy pigs who fed off the spent grains from the brewery. That was some mighty fine pork! There were loads of other food vendors, but there's only so much food you can eat when there's so much beer to drink!
The head brewer, Phil Markowski, brewed up two beers for the festival - Ein and Zwei.
I got the opportunity to speak briefly with Phil to congratulate him on making some mighty fine brews. I also chatted with Two Roads partners, Clem Pellani and Brad Hittle, to compliment them on the success of the festival.
In fact, I was in the middle of a conversation Brad when he asked which beer I was drinking. When I said I was drinking a Drei he was like, "Wait! What?" I don't think I got through the whole explanation before he turned tail and took off to get himself one of these marvelous concoctions. Yeah, it was nice talking to you Brad! Tee hee.
It's all good. It's all about the beer. I understand these things.
I also took the time to talk to a several of the brewery staffers and a few of the festival goers to get their opinions of the Ok2berfest offerings. It was pretty much an even split between the two beers. It was actually one of the beertenders who clued me into the Drei. I like that guy!
Ok2ber fest was super fun. What did I think of the beer?
Ein (5.8% ABV) is a traditional Marzen/Oktoberfest style beer.
The color is a clear coppery amber with a bright white fluffy head that leaves behind nice clingy lace.
It has a classic beer aroma; roasty and malty. This what I think of when I think about what a beer smells like.
The taste is, again, what a beer should taste like. Loads of malt with just enough bitterness to offset the sweetness with a crisp finish.
It has a nice mediumish mouth feel with lots of carbonation. Smooth drinking and über quaffable.
Overall: very good
Zwei (5% ABV?) is a golden lager of Phil's own invention. It is a barely hazy golden color with a full white head and leaves loose lacing behind.
The aroma is bright and hoppy with and undercurrent of malt.
The taste is big on citrus hops, almost like a pale ale, with pale malts. This is a clean, crisp brew that finishes dry with lingering bitterness.
The mouthfeel is light to medium with nice effervescence. This is an easy drinking beer.
Overall: very good.
Drei wasn't on tap per se. If you asked for a Drei, like I did, then you'd have gotten a stein mixed with half Ein and half Zwei.
The two mixed together ended up being a slightly hazy amber gold brew. The aroma was malty with citrussy hops. The taste is an a good balance between the two beers. Not as sweet and malty as Ein and not as bitter and dry as as Zwei. Still Oktoberfesty and impressively tasty. NOM!
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