Gluten-tag: It's Oktoberfest Season

With October on track (until recently) to be one of the warmest October’s on record, a lot of people would say we’re still in what I would call “summer beer season.” But as a guy who sweats when it is above 65 degrees, I have been waiting for the gales of November to come early.

 I love a triple dry hopped hazy IPA as much as the next guy with a beard, but there is just something about drinking a beer that tastes like a pretzel, while in a buffalo plaid flannel, that gives new meaning to life.  

Since moving here to the land of 10,000 breweries in 2020, I have been on a personal quest to try every Oktoberfest beer in the metro. This journey involves sampling everything from the mass produced to the home brew, and everything in between.  

That’s why when Utepils announced their Receptional, a festbier, was on tap starting on August 1^st, I started foaming at the mouth.  Since they were one of, if not the first, brewery to announce their fall brew, I felt it only fitting they would be the first one to be sampled on this year’s journey.  

The beer itself is different… but in a good way:  

Deviating from traditional German beer allowed Utepils to not have to stay within the confines of “what makes an Oktoberfest beer an Oktoberfest beer.” 

• The first thing I noticed was the color; not as dark or even red as some other Oktoberfest beers. 

• Receptional has a crispness and lightness to it that a lot of other beers in this category don’t have. I would say it is like drinking a wheat-thin vs drinking a pretzel.  

• Sitting at 5.9% ABV, it sits itself right with other local fall brews (Surly’s is at 6%, Shell’s at 5.8%, and Omni at 5.6%). It shouldn’t mess up your hammerschlagen game too much…. 

• The sweet taste in the back of your palate serves as almost a sweet goodbye to summer, and hello to fall.  

  
  

In the end, Utepils’ Receptional feels like the perfect way to usher in the season; refreshing enough to sip after a long hot day in October, but layered with just enough sweetness to signal the cozy months ahead.