I put together a 6-pack of beers I'd never had last week. The FestBier is the second one to lose it's top.

This is a beer from Gordon Biersch Brewing Company, based out of San Jose, Ca.

This beer is a Lager, Octoberfest style. Again, I poured this beer up into a tall pilsner glass, and drank it while eating a meal of shrimp creole.

The pour-up yielded an exceptional nice, high head, that dissipated very, very slowly. After sitting for two or three minutes, there was still (at least) a 2 inch head of solid foam! Even after half a glass, there was still a visible layer of foam. The beer is advertised as a balance between "rich, malty undertones with a moderate hoppy finish". I found the beer to be reasonably crisp, with an immediate hops taste, and not as balanced malt, but still with a noticed malt undertone. The finish was hoppy as advertised. I'm not a big fan of beers that are over-hopped, but I wasn't turned off by the medium-strong hoppy finish. Maybe because it was a "clean" finish, that did not linger for 20 minutes. The finish DID last a couple of minutes, but when the hops disappeared, they were gone.

The flavorful, but reasonable quick finish of this beer makes it ideal for drinking with a wide variety of flavorful foods. I'd think it would overpower mild, bland foods. I could see this as a decent beer for a hot day, served very cold. It would make a good thirst-quencher, but in my opinion, that would be a great waste of a beer that seems tailor-made for drinking with a good meal!

Overall (and remember, I'm not a big hops fan), I would give this beer a 8 to 8.5! It surprised me that the hops did not turn me off!!!! Good for thirst, but this beer really shines paired with the right foods! I can absolutely see me buying and enjoying this beer sitting in the middle of Helen, Georgia, at their Octoberfest, eating some great German brats!!
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