Gessner Original Festbier

Gessner Original Festbier is the second beer from Privatbrauerei Gessner that I've tried. The first was their Premium Pils, which was ok compared to some seriously bland pils coming from that part of Germany. As usual with a Festbier, it's a touch stronger than the regulation issue, being 5.6% rather than about 4.9. This one pours a bright amber and delivers a sweet caramel-malt aroma with an apple-like background and a hint of lemon.

The flavour also delivers light caramel with a surprisingly clean -- almost verging on sour apple -- splash, or zing, through the middle. I often think festbier is going to be thick and over-sweet, but this, although you know it's stronger than normal, is quite light in the mouthfeel department. The flavours deepen with a slight spiciness and the hops make their presence felt with a light hay and slightly woody bitterness to the finish. As it warms it does feel a bit thicker, but it's a lot better than I expected it to be. Tasty.

These notes are from last August, in case you were wondering why there's no snow in the photo.