So, I may have shopped a bit faster then I should have when picking up beers this week. I had originaly planned to feature a few Festbeirs and a few Marzen sytle beers. I THOUGHT when I saw Festival Lager on the can it was a Festbier, after opening the can and reading the rest of the label I was wrong...but in the best way possible. Let's get into Smog City's Smogtoberfest!

Take the godfather of Pale Ales and put them with a German brewer known for experimentation like Stortebeker and you're bound to get a beer that stands out from the pack! That's exactly what Sierra Nevada's Oktoberfest does. A traditional Marzen stytle Lager with all the matly/breadyness that you'd expect, mixed with a pronounced hop bitterness on the back end to help clean up all that perceived sweetness.

Keeping with this week's quest to find Oktoberfest beers available at a store near you, I grabbed a sixer of AleSmith/AleSchmidt Oktoberfest Marzen Lager. For fans of more malt-forward beers, this traditional style Marzen always delievers in bolt and robust flavors but still light a very drinkable.

Flying solo this week due to a last minute brewery cancelation, I decided to dip into my own beer fridge and do a week of Okotberfest beers! There are a bunch of local options but I wanted to highlight some of the ones you'll find in the wild...today's I found just yesterday while shopping at Trader Joe's. Oktoberfest Festbier, brewered in Germany's own Flensburger Brauerei; this beer is a great jumping off point to dip your toe in the Festbier style.

BONUS BEER! Not always does a brewery bring an extra beer, but when they do...we drink it! A super casual off-air conversation with Chris and Ryan from BattleMage over a Booze Bros. Collab Mexican Lager called Brujo Borracho or the drunken wizard.

Wrapping up the week of beers with BattleMage with a brand new core IPA, White Wolf. Packed with keep it simple hops and a dry finish, this beer is trouble because it makes you want to come back again, and again and again.

It's time for Pinball and Old Ales! Chris and Ryan are back with a 10% big ABV English Old Ale called Hooded Assassin. They also drop the detials about a rare pinball machine they have in the tasting room along with a weekly tournament!

Dungeons & Dragons is at the heart of what inspires BattleMage Brewing's creativty. That comes full circle with the inspiring Dungeon Masters who drink their beer and host campaigns at the brewery. So, brewers and DMs conspired together on a Hazy IPA that would become a pivotal moment and plot point in one of their latest games, roll initiative because your going into combat over this Angelic Betrayal Hazy IPA.

Amber beers don't often take the main stage when it comes to beers of note, but BattleMage has crafted something truly unique with this award winner Amber called Summon Ifrit. Subtle toffee notes on the front end with a very dry clean finish aided by the right balance of hops makes this beer infinitely drinkable and a possible inspiration to summon a fire demon.

Ask any D&D player and they'll tell you any good journey starts in a tavern. For BattleMage Brewing, they built the tavern and coming in Ocotber their are "leveling up" to 8! All week Chris and Ryan from BattleMage join me in studio to talk about thier up coming anniversary, Octoberfest and collabs they've got coming out. We start with something, light, bright and crushable, Divine Light Blonde with Strawberry.