Oktoberfests

I'm on a mission later today to find out which one I like best!

Life is tough sometimes!

Paulaner is a solid choice. I really like spatans as well

I remember REALLY loving the Sam Adams version last year, but I'm not feeling the 12 pack I just picked up. Strange....it just seems to have an odd after taste.

Samples of the O-fest I've been lagering for a few months are mighty tastey. Can't wait to tap it fully for a party next weekend.

You should throw out the Beck's. It is incredibly nasty.

Spaten and Paulaner are very good, Sam Adams is a solid O-fest. I don't know the other two.

You're missing out by not including Weihenstephaner or Ayinger. Hacker-Pschorr probably does one, too.

I've got an Ayinger and a Hacker-Pschorr in the fridge that I am planning on cracking soon.

Correct, Hacker-Pschorr does one also, and I'd love to try the Weihenstephaner and Ayinger. Some day.

Today, my observations were that the two American versions were out of the running from the get-go. Just too much flavor for the style. The Germans have been doing this forever, and naturally all three of them were brilliant. What I did not expect was, Becks overcoming Paulaner and Spaten. I couldn't believe it.

The Becks had a very, very wonderful nose of grain and caramel. The finish had a bit of Tootsy Rolls. Absolutely fantastic and spot-on. You could just smell the decoction happening in the brewery.

However, I'm not going to claim that Becks is my favorite of those three German varieties yet, because my nose started getting a bit sniffly and I think it was affecting my taster. Plus, these were one after the other, not side-by-side in sampler glasses.

In any case, I love Autumn.

I really like the Sam Adams I got this year. It has a really nice malt flavor, preceded of course by the malt aroma. I also had some of the Paulaner on tap at a local Oktoberfest - it was SUPERB! I need to try brewing my own next year.

Me too, man - I'd love to brew an Oktoberfest. So much more palatable in the long-term than a pumpkin beer for this time of year!

I've been on an Oktoberfest kick since the beginning of September. I've gotta say, from the couple I've had, I did enjoy the Sam Adams Oktoberfest the most, and the Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest was probably the one that I enjoyed the least.

It could be that I've never had an authentic German style Oktoberfest. The one I had, can't remember the name, said it was authentic, but it looked more like a miller lite then an Oktoberfest.

The one I had, can't remember the name, said it was authentic, but it looked more like a miller lite then an Oktoberfest.

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Domestic German Octoberfests are usually more gold-colored and lower gravity, and the export and special versions are orange-colored and typically higher gravity/ABV.

TromboneGuy said:

Hacker-Pschorr probably does one, too.

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Yup...I brought a 2-litre flip-top bottle of it home from Munich last September.

Just finished a 12 pack of Sam Adams O'fest last week, really enjoyed it, had Becks for the first time also last weekend, thought it was OK.

I want to know what you think of the Widmer Okto. I have always enjoyed, though my palette is not very developed and I don't know style requirements very well. I'm also partial to it, as it's a NW brewery.

Try Brooklyn Brewery Octoberfest...even though I live in Texas, I seem to be supporting this brewery more and more. Good reusable bottles as well!