Festie by Starr Hill Brewery is being evaluated as a Festbier (Category 4B) from the 2015 BJCP guidelines.
This beer pours a deep gold, bordering light amber, color with no head when poured. A very thin, white ring stayed around the glass during the entire drink. The aroma is malt forward but moderate-low in intensity with a base malt presence and lovely, toasty and bready, malt character. Low spicy noble style hops are evident as well. Fermentation is clean and typical for a well-done lager. The flavor consists of a moderate grainy base malt and sets up for a subtle, but noticeable bready toastiness character. The low spicy noble hop presence from the aroma carries over to the flavor and a medium bitterness balances this beer out. Though having a noticeable malt sweetness, a moderately dry finish helps add to the perceived bitterness of this beer. In the aftertaste a very sight ethyl alcohol flavor is detectable and the toasty notes of the malt linger for several seconds after the swallow. A medium-thin body with a moderate carbonation which slightly tickles the tongue. There is a very slight warming sensation from the noted alcohol flavor. Overall, this is a very lovely and easy drinking Festbier with traditional German malt and hop flavors. The lingering flavor and savory aspect of the beer is high in comparison to the easy drinkability of this example.