HB Oktoberfest at Hop Devil

See below...

Stopped in there last night to sample this very intriguing beer. A bit disappointing in that it wasn't truly a wood beer, as the description made it sound. The cask was wood covered, but definitely lined either with plastic or stainless - no wood character in the beer at all. You could even tell by the seams in the faux hoops, that it was really just a show piece and not a "real" barrel at all.

The beer itself was good. A true German lager, just as you'd expect from HB. Not really an Oktoberfest beer, more like a milder pilsner. Had a fragrant noble hop nose and malt sweetness, but restrained hop bitterness.

On the homebrew front...

Got my 3.5 liter lager yeast starter going. I'm going to use the Carlsberg yeast for my next lager - the granddaddy of all lager yeasts. Unfortunately it got started very slowly, so I don't know if it will be ready for a Saturday brew. If not, I've got an ale yeast slurry ready and it will be Oatmeal Stout time.