Domestic Tuesday: Oktobock

I love fall, or at least I do once the fall rush is over. When my customers ebb from complaining that their textbooks or coursepacks aren’t in the store, to complaining to other people that they can’t finish their papers on time, I can finally enjoy the season. Fall colours, wool-wearing weather, and so many exciting new beers on the shelves.

I had my eye on the Beau’s All Natural Oktoberfest Pack for a while. Can you tell why?

No, it’s not because I need an iron. See a few tentacles? Perhaps 24 of them? Unusually intelligent, sometimes poisonous, with two-thirds of their nervous system in their arms instead of their head, the octopus is my favourite animal. The pack’s Oktobock featured a red one on the label (I'm holding it in my left hand.) I had missed the Oktobock last year, but I wouldn’t let it get away this year, and so I picked up a pack for a friend’s board game party.

The Oktobock was the first thing I poured. To be worthy of the octopus, it had to be good, right?

Well, imagine my disappointment when it tasted of… jujubes. Wine and jujubes. But as somebody pointed out, I was pouring it into a wine glass, which had just been drained of red wine.

Yes, I am the least classy glassware user out there.

So I drained that glass and gave it a second shot. It still tasted fruity, and not in a way I appreciated. I love the complexity of beers with fruit notes, but this one ended up somewhere between medicinal and candy-like. With enough glasses (no one wanted to share), the 7% ABV eventually kicked in and my opinion improved marginally. I'm willing to give it a second chance, but I suspect it will never be my favourite Beau's offering.

And so I’ve learned: never judge a beer by its label. No matter how cute it may be.