Bottle. Pours a clear deep amber orange with a tan head that dissipates quickly to the edges. Flavor has lots of sweet grains with a bit of toffee and some underlying booziness. Flavor is similarly sweet with notes of sweet grain, caramel and cookie backed by a bit of booze and toffee.

Bottle. Light milky caramel malt and hay aroma. Amber with moderate head. Sweet creamy caramel malt and moderately bitter grass/orange peel/alcohol flavor. Rough.

Bottle - not entirely sure why I bought this - first you imperialize an ofest, then you dry hop it? - whatever - pours medium amber - no really head or lace to speak of - nose has some decent, toasty malt richness, but the high hopping also adds some tropical notes that are odd for the style - there’s also a bit of booziness - flavor is very sweet, sugary, with strong tropical fruit and abrasive hop bitterness, along with a bit of a hot finish - weak.

Bottle from Total Wine in Sacramento, CA. Pours clear light copper with a slight off-white head. Aroma is sort of cooked oatmeal with mixed floral/fruit hop. Med + body or better. Flavor is sort of cooked cereal with some heat and moderate floral/fruit hop. It is smooth. It is slick. The flavors aren’t really strong, but they are firm, and it’s rather amazing. "Toastier"? Maybe that’s part of it. Don’t dismiss this ale!

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, best before 1/2014. Pours light hazy deep orange copper color with a 1-2 finger dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice soapy lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of caramel, biscuit, toast, raisin, brown sugar, pear, apple, light grape, herbal, floral, and yeast earthiness. Ok aromas with solid balance of malt and yeast ester notes; but they are very muted. Taste of big caramel, toast, biscuit, brown sugar, toffee, raisin, pear, apple, herbal, floral, light pepper, and yeast earthiness. Lingering notes of caramel, toast, biscuit, brown sugar, toffee, raisin, pear, apple, light pepper, herbal, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a while. Good balance, complexity, and robustness of malt and fruity/earthy yeast flavors; with some lightly cloying sweetness after the finish. Medium carbonation and very full bodied; with a creamy, slick, and slightly syrupy mouthfeel that is good. Alcohol is moderately well hidden with only a small warming present after the finish. Overall this is a pretty solid imperial oktoberfest. Decent balance/complexity and big robustness of flavors; and pretty smooth to sip on. A fairly enjoyable offering.

Bottle poured into a shaker. Pours a clear dark amber with a half finger off-white head. Aroma of fruit, nuts and caramel. Taste is heavily sweet. Fruit, nuts and caramel. Full bodied with a slightly sticky texture. Lively carbonation and a long finish. Overall, awesome. I’ve never been a fan of the mar zen style until this brew.

Bottle. Toasty caramel malt, and light spicy hop aroma. Clear deep copper with a huge beige head. Buttery toasty caramel malt, light vegetal note, spicy hop, and somewhat boozy flavor. Not a fan of this take on a marzen.