Berghoff Oktoberfest

When Budweiser unveiled their failed "drinkability" campaign, legions of drinkers nationwide struggled to comprehend what exactly "drinkability" was. After all, if Budweiser was so "drinkable", weren't all of its direct competitors? Drinkable, in my mind, became a laughable synonym for "shitty beer-water". Although I still refuse to take this "word" seriously, it has been redefined in my own mind as a descriptor for Berghoff's Oktoberfest (and other like beers).

The Berghoff is a restaurant/brewery located in downtown Chicago. It's been serving German beer & food for a damn long time (since 1898 to be exact). Their food is actually pretty decent if you don't mind dining in a light-free, wood-paneled, geriatric holding center. We dined there twice this last year based on their frequent collaborations with overvalued Chicago startup Groupon.

Berghoff's beers are brewed in Monroe, Wisconsin, a few dozen miles outside Madison. I bought a sampler pack at my local grocery that included all their varietals. I'm only going to review the Oktoberfest here, because frankly their beers are boring. Returning to the theme of drinkability, the Berghoff Oktoberfest represents the height of unobjectionability. It's pretty smooth, tangy, and infinitely more complex than a Bud Light. It's also dull, faintly roasty, and conspicuously devoid of hops or other bright flavors that might make the beer a little bit more memorable. If they were cold, I could drink about a dozen of these whilst participating in a flip cup, boat race, or beer pong tournament. As far as what I desire to drink when I'm sitting around the house and only want to enjoy a couple of beers, this is at the bottom of my list. It's twice the price of Bud Light but half the taste of competitors at its price point, and its much better suited to the confines of its namesake restaurant where it enjoys monopoly status.