Oktoberfest from St. Louis' Largest Brewer (sort of)

My latest sampling in the beer world is the Schlafly Oktoberfest.  For those of you unfamiliar with Schlafly, it is the largest brewery headquartered in St. Louis.  Yes, there used to be a very big brewery headquartered in St. Louis, but due to the ineptness of one Augustus Busch IV, it was purchased by InBev, a company run by a much more astute CEO named Carlos Brito.

Schlafly distributes currently in Kansas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri.  In addition to the brewery, they also operate the Schlafly Tap Room at 21^st and Locust in downtown St. Louis, about four blocks walk from Union Station.

More about the Oktoberfest beer:  first of all, I liked it.  One of my major complaints about many of the craft-brewed beers today is the brewers’ over-fascination with hops.  Lots of hops, dry hops, bittering hops, flavoring hops, etc.  Many have lost the sense of balance.  Schlafly hit the mark with this Oktoberfest lager.  There are hops, but they’re balanced with the malt.  An Oktoberfest beer is not supposed to be heavily laden with hops aroma and this one isn’t. 

This beer has a clean taste, definitely a lager and has none of the clove or fruity esters of an ale.  This is a nice red color, so be sure to pour it into a nice pint glass instead of drinking out of the bottle. 

I found this at the local Schnuck’s for less than $6 for the six-pack.  Try some before it is gone.

ABV:5.1%
OG: 13.75
IBU: 25
CAL (12 oz.): 185