Amiable medium-bodied amber lager stays nuttier than most stylistic contenders. Buttery chestnut-roasted pecan, praline, honey nut and walnut illusions override astringent hop toasting. Styptic sour fruiting underscores coarse nutty finish.

Mainstream Czech-styled session lager remains just a tad stronger than pale-bodied competition. Easygoing hop-toasted bread crusting and dewy rye persistence sedately affected by superfine sugar-glassed sweetness. Caramel nuttiness cannot overcome bland phenol spicing.

Stylistically shifty amber lager ‘brewed with grapes’ proves to be rather obtuse as advertised grape influence takes a backseat to brisk fruited malting of ancillary autumnal Octoberfest. Seasonal apple-peach-pumpkin-pied gourd spicing usurps barley-toasted almond pasting and leafy hop resin above metallic phenol whim, creating creamy frothed opening. But musty grape-stemmed earthiness, dinky red-yellow-green grape speck, and thin mineral-grained Scotch lick lose out to sterile Band-Aid astringency, leaving unrealized finish to flounder.

On tap, hardy crystal-malted dry-hopped golden-tanned lager packs quite a wallop, retaining rich wheat graining and loud citric-peeled bitterness contrasting soft clean-watered crisping. Caramelized Munich malt toasting, lemony orange-dried tangerine tang, and minor floral eccentricity create well-balanced flurry. “A sessionable year round Oktoberfest,” indeed. ’14 re-tasting: dewy Vienna malts anchored musty ESB-like peat moss and fig-dried orange compote.

Smudgy flavor profile drifts off to nebulous dry-hopped phenol-spiced floral fruited waywardness. Tepid caramel malting, petty grape-skinned orange-soured tangerine-apricot tang and muddled coffee-stained Blackstrap molasses drear sink mild session beer dedicated to vinyl recordings of yore.

On tap, wayward ruddy magenta amber lager offers herbal dried fruiting to cereal-grained toasted malting. Orange-dried cherry-fig-date conflux perks up diminutive almond-buttered chestnut roast. Puzzling flavor mix is as freaky as beer’s circus-inspired moniker. In bottle, ubiquitous gin-soaked caraway-seeded honeyed wheat tapestry provides funky promenade for bodacious limestone-salted lemon-bruised grapefruit bittering and stewed prune souring, upping its rating.

Blatant phenol acerbity drains light-bodied easy-drinkin’ amber ale. Slender sweet-corned cereal graining, barren honey-roasted malt whimper, and desolate almond paste divergence weaken latent sour orange tang.

Unconvincing honeyed malt drear, remedial lemon-soured hop fizz, and washed out barley dearth dim abruptly dissolving sourdough finish. Subsiding orange marmalade wisp wavers.

Muted roasted oats match bittersweet toasted barley foundation and tamped down hop scourge of pale-bodied Bavarian-styled lager. Though mild, mainstream, and predictable, its off-dry grain subtleties are its charm.

Frugal dry malts and placid grain earthiness intersect daintily sour orange rind perimeter, receding to lightly-hopped watery finish. Acidic backwash defeats zesty citric punch as weak finish and fleeting aftertaste vanish with nary a trace.

Cardboard-y clear amber moderate body with aromatic barley-wheat pleasantry deepening up-front toasted malt sweetness. Murkily dank orange-peach fruiting undeveloped.