Oktoberfest seggestions?

I'm loving this time of year, so far I've had the Paulaner, Sam Adams, Left Hand and Harpoon Oktoberfest. (Listed in order of my preference.) Anyone have a favorite oktoberfest/ any thing new from newer breweries that I should try out?

Ayinger.

TromboneGuy said:

Ayinger.

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I agree... Ayinger is at the top of my list!

I like the Sam Adams(had one last night),but think Spaten is better.

Another vote for Ayinger.

I recently had an Oktoberfest fest from Highlands called Claw Hammer. And Left Hand's Oktoberfest. Both are worth trying if you're looking for more Oktoberfest fest beers.

Bell's and Great Lakes make nice ones too, even if they do misspell it - Octoberfest.

Ayinger marzen, don't forget about spaten octoberfest as well. My local bar has it year round

If you can get it = Free State Octoberfest, now in bottles!!!!

There are two in the HBT recipe database that get a lot of attention.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f63/bee-cave-brewery-oktoberfest-ale-38880/

and

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f63/biermunchers-oktoberfast-ale-ag-39021/

I just brewed a batch of Edwort's Oktoberfest last night and followed his recipe exactly. Mine came in at 1.072!

I knew my efficiency was up there so I upped the hops a little to compensate. Can't wait to taste the hydro sample in a couple of weeks.

Classic example that I enjoy most is from Hacker-Pschorr. An American take on the style that I loved drinking tons of last year was Hoss by Great Divide Brewing Company. Cheers!

Spaten is my favorite of the German ones.

Haven't really had many US brew ones that stood out one way or the other. But I haven't really tried many US ones. Maybe this year I should look a little harder and see what else is out there.

I had Avery Brewing's Kaiser. I really, really liked that one. It's I believe 8% ABV so its a bigger beer than most of the others. Definitely worth the price. I need to buy a Paulaner to try.

Great Lakes Oktoberfest if you can get it. My favorite.

TrubDog said:

There are two in the HBT recipe database that get a lot of attention.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f63/bee-cave-brewery-oktoberfest-ale-38880/ and https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f63/biermunchers-oktoberfast-ale-ag-39021/

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I did my oktober ale with alt yeast, everyone at my lhbs suggested otherwise, but I'm just not crazy about the 'spicy' side of oktoberfest. Thus I didn't want to bring out the hops of my beer with a kolsch strain, even if its just a little.. Maybe I'll experiment with the bee cave recipe and try both yeast strains.. I love them both, but alt just gives me that bready sweetness I want (althought its still conditioning, so I cant be 100% sure from samples) and Kolsch, is well just so clean and amazing... who knows, I could play around with it and share results later.

BTW thanks for the Ayinger Oktoberfest suggestion. I'm going to need a couple more, for testing purposes , to see if it can pass my Paulaner favorite. It's a great beer.

gcdowd said:

Great Lakes Oktoberfest if you can get it. My favorite.

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Thanks man, I'll try this one! I'm going to vermont this weekend to escape some texas heat, and I looked it up and its sold in Burlington. So thanks and I'll tell you what I think, not that you care Cheers

Left Hand had a pretty decent one. The Paulaner is goodt too. Sam Adams is among my favorite, as well.

Hoss is an awesome beer, too. LOVE Hoss. Guess I didn't realize it was an Oktoberfest, but it's def an amber lager kinda thing.

Had Ayinger on draft Saturday night...definitely the best of the Germans that are available in the US, IMO. Paulaner also very good. For domestics, my votes go to offerings from Victory, Brooklyn, or Stoudts.

I've tried those HBT recipes referenced earler. Nice beers, but not really even close to a true Oktoberfest (which need lager yeast and a cold fermentation).

Schells(Second oldest family owned brewery in the U.S.) which resides in a sleepy little german town in Southern MN has a fantastic O'fest.