Monday, September 28, 2009

Beer Review: Coney Island Freaktoberfest


I love beer. I'm sure you know this about me already but I'm not sure you really understand how much I love it. No, I don't love it more than my family or my dog. Ok, maybe more than the dog but not more than my family. I mean come on, I sell beer for a living, I love reading about beer and I have a beer blog which I don't think anyone really reads yet I continue writing it. One day though this blog will be good. I swear it!

Anyways I love beer so much that I get really excited when I get a beer in at the store which I've never tried. I'm like a kid on Christmas. I get all giddy inside and feel like I'm about to burst with excitement. I've been in the process of ordering all my fall seasonals and along with the pumpkin beers(which I will do a write up on here soon) I got one from Schmaltz Brewing Company called Coney Island Freaktoberfest. Right off the bat I knew I had to try it. That creepy little tattooed dude with that crazy, wicked smile just screamed "YOU MUST DRINK ME"! Plus the beer is made with 6 malts, 6 hops and is a 6.66% ABV blood red lager. Hello?? How awesome is that for the Halloween season? Plus getting the phone call from my fellow beer buyer Dan at the Panama City Beach store saying we should price this at $6.66 just made it that much more cool.

I will warn all of you though this beer pours a red that my picture just doesn't capture. The problem here is that I'm not really sure my brain and taste buds truly came together to work properly. Seeing the red my brain automatically was thinking strawberry or cherry and the taste was anything but. I really need to try this beer again without knowing what it is or seeing it. Anyways, here is my review:


Brewery: Schmaltz Brewing Company

Beer: Coney Island Freaktoberfest

Style: American Amber/Red Lager

Recommended Glassware: Pint Glass

Appearance: Poured a strawberry soda red with a huge, pinkish fluffy head. The appearance REALLY played tricks on my brain and may have thrown off the taste buds.

Smell: Not much aroma going on here. Perhaps a hint of grainy-ness and a slight hop bitterness.

Taste: Expecting strawberry this beer truly threw my brain and taste buds completely out of whack. It had a metallic bitterness not really in a good way though. Had a slight breadiness to it as well.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with medium carbonation.

Overall: As I said before the beer messed with the taste buds based on its appearance so I'm not really sure. It wasn't bad but I'd like to try it again with my brain NOT knowing what it is beforehand.

Score: Photobucket 3 out of 5 Buddhas

5 comments:

Scott-TheBrewClub said...

This brew is in my fridge right now and I almost didn't read your review because I thought it might be a spoiler! I got is specifically because of the over-the-top labeling, but I'm hoping its a good beer to boot!

3 out of 5 Buddas isn't bad really all things considered.

The Beer Buddha said...

Scott,

No, 3 out of 5 Buddhas is NOT bad at all. Like I said I'm just not sure how objective I truly was given the situation. Or maybe I was just giving myself another excuse to drink more!;)

Cheers!

Buddha

Lucas said...

The color of that beer is unlike any other that I have tried. This one was the Shmaltz gateway beer for me . . . no regrets about that.

Unknown said...

Hey guys. This is Zak Davis from Shmaltz Brewing Company. Thanks so much for picking up that bottle of Freaktoberfest. The color definitely can play mind games. We brewed the beer with free-range zombie blood to make it look so scary. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I'd definitely suggest closing your eyes on the first sip next time. Style-wise, Freaktoberfest was brewed with an Oktoberfest-style malt bill and an IPA-style hop bill, so, like all of our brews, a little bit of a style hybrid. Hope you have a great holiday. ~Zak

The Beer Buddha said...

Zak,

Thanks for reading the blog! I can't wait to try this one again next year. It was truly the perfect beer for Halloween! Totally threw my brain for a loop! You and the boys over at Schmaltz keep up the great work!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha