Today's beer is one I picked up on a whim this week (meaning it wasn't originally slated for this month!). Michelle and I took the time to finally head to Wandering Monsters, one of the newest breweries in our area. I had a pour of their Oktoberfest and enjoyed it so much that I nabbed a few bottles of it to bring home.

Yes, this isn't the first time I'm drinking Ludwig. However, I'm excited to sit and really mull it over. Will I like it as much from the bottle as I do on tap? Let's find out!

Wandering Monsters opened their doors in Cincinnati's Anderson Township in July, 2023 (man, it took us a good damn while to get over to them!). It's headed by Jason Brewer, who worked at the now-(unfortunately-)defunct Listermann Brewing Company before branching out to found Wandering Monsters. The brewery's truly family friendly (unlike other breweries that claim to be but really aren't). Zac Boehnke, the brewing mastermind at also now-defunct Braxton Labs, is Wandering Monsters' head brewer. Head over to their website for any further details you could need.

Ludwig, currently listed on the brewery's "Beer and Drinks" page, is a 5.6% ABV festbier that's "...light, malty, and sessionable...." Speaking from my experience with the lager, yeah, it's all three.

I pulled this directly from the brewery's website while writing today's post.

The nose here is light and crisp. I get biscuits, yeasty bread, honey, caramel, toffee, and an earthy, grounding quality. Digging deeper, I find a little lemon and orange zest. Really though, these notes are so perfectly combined that nothing overpowers anything else. Melba gave my bottle five whiffs. She's getting better at judging beer!

Ludwig's palate is as crisp as its bouquet. Everything I mentioned previously? It's all here. I'll say that the hop earthiness is a little stronger than the rest of the flavors at first, making this an easy beer to drink. The finish is honey, bread, caramel, and biscuits. I find myself taking pull after pull to have the hops crash against that malty sweetness.

Would you believe me if I said the mouthfeel is also crisp? Because it is! It's a little bitey at first but quickly fills in, big and frothy. This is an exceptionally quaffable lager.

On late-summer days when I don't have work, I like to throw myself mini Oktoberfests in the afternoon. I'll get a soft pretzel or brat with German mustard, pour an Oktoberfest-style beer into a stein, and head out on my porch to eat, drink, and listen to polka. This gets me through the last bits of the horrible summer heat. Ludwig would be a perfect beer for that. Hell, it'd be a perfect lager for any Oktoberfest celebration.

I'm pleased to report that the bottle experience from Wandering Monsters' Ludwig lives up to that of its draft. This festbier gets the first 10/10 rating of Oktoberfest season 2025. I'll have to head back to the brewery soon to grab another bottle or three!