Summit Oktoberfest

Summit Oktoberfest
Summit Brewing Co.
Oktoberfest
7.4% ABV
OG 16.4° Plato
25 IBUs
12 oz twist off bottle with an enjoy by date of January 09, 2011, poured into a Surly pint glass. No ABV information on the bottle and the ABV is way out of control.

Appearance 4/5
Pours clear, but not brightly clear, honey golden with a nice two finger creamy off white head. Moderate head retention and good lacing. An inviting appearance for sure.

Aroma 4/5
Nice toasted malt aroma with a decent amount of sweetness to it. No hops in the nose. True to style.

Taste 4.5/5
Slightly sweet beginnings with a nice, light and soft, sweet maltiness in the middle and some balancing bitterness in the end, along with toasted flavors. Finish is medium with some residual sweetness and some bitterness. The bitterness certainly helps the finish. Perhaps the best tasting Oktoberfest I have had.

Mouthfeel 4/5
Carbonation is slightly higher than I would like but it's not off putting. Very attenuated and not cloying at all for a malty beer and for its OG.

Drinkability 2/5
I am not going to an Oktoberfest where people are drinking this. Seriously, what were the folks at Summit thinking? As solid as the taste is, are they trying to make a supposedly session beer double as roofies? The alcohol is way too high and the taste and mouthfeel entirely deceptive. At first I thought that the ABV listed on BeerAdvocate might have been an error but I checked at the brewer's website too. Had it been 3.7% ABV (3.7 = 7.4/2!), I could have drank it for hours! What can I say, for a non Belgian beer at this body, the drinkability is below average.