Marzen / Oktoberfest Discussion

[Barroomhero]

you guys all but forced me to go buy a mixed 6 of Oktoberfests over lunch today

Yup. First up...

I thoroughly prefer the marzens over the festbiers. Not bad, but doesn't have much malt depth compared to a marzen. A sweeter helles; bit of spicy hop bite on a sweet body that stays light, but just so.

 

[Barroomhero]

Cabbages and such aside...

This is well done, though a bit on the light side. Nutty, light bready sweetness, mild spicy bitterness in the background. Thoroughly sessionable.

 

[TheeWalrusHunter]

I blame you. Your post didn't contain the word "Rauchbier" at all when mentioning Aecht Schlenkerla, now I know what you mean by "not exactly traditional." Generally not a style I enjoy, but this was drinkable.

hahaha do you not usually enjoy marzens or rauchbiers?

Aecht Schlenkerla = rauchbier. I swear to god if they made a pilsner it would somehow be smoked and still taste delicious.

 

[TheeWalrusHunter]

Had me one of these tonight. Man this is such a damn good beer.

 

[nodamagedone]

hahaha do you not usually enjoy marzens or rauchbiers?

Aecht Schlenkerla = rauchbier. I swear to god if they made a pilsner it would somehow be smoked and still taste delicious.

Rauchbiers. Wasn't familiar with the brewery and didn't know that seemingly every beer they brew is smoked. It was a worthwhile tick, but not one I'd tock again.

 

[HenrikO]

hahaha do you not usually enjoy marzens or rauchbiers?

Aecht Schlenkerla = rauchbier. I swear to god if they made a pilsner it would somehow be smoked and still taste delicious.

Note quite a pilsner but still delicious: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/aecht-schlenkerla-helles-lagerbier/16402/

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Lagunitas Tuberfest

A non traditional 8% ABV "Oktoberfest" from Lagunitas. Apparently contains potatoes, but all I'm getting is that typical uber hoppy Lagunitas character, toasted / nutty malt, light caramel and a bit of booze. Not bad, but not something I'll be revisiting.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest (Festival Lager)

Sierra Nevada Oktobefest / Festbier that everyone has seemed to enjoy, and while I can understand the appeal, it just tastes like a Maibock / overly sweet Helles style lager. Grainy sweetness, mild hopping, clean profile, but none of the toasted / nutty / bready / caramel character that I really enjoy in the Marzen style.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Ballast Point Dead Ringer Oktoberfest

Rich, malty, and lots of toasted / nutty / melanodin character throughout. Mild hopping to balance out the malt character and little to none hop aromatics. Clean with a bit of a sweeter finish than other American takes on the style. Solid and "bigger" than most other examples.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Goose Island Oktoberfest

Very similar to the Ballast Point version from above, but with a noticeable reduction in sweetness and a cleaner finish. Probably my favorite local American version I've had so far this year (as I can't get Staghorn in IL), just a great drinkable fall beer.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Sprecher Oktoberfest

For a brewery that I'm a bigger fan of their soda than their beer typically, this was a pleasant surprise. Crisp, nutty / toasty / bready without much in the way of sweetness, firm bitterness but not too much for the style, clean finish, lacking a bit in carbonation but still a very solid example.

 

[furley]

so far a Staghorn and Central Waters Octoberfest down

neither tops Leinie's Ofest for me. love that sweetness.

 

[Arbitrator]

Great thread. Staghorn is one of my favorites in the style, if not THE favorite. Almost makes me want to trade again.

 

[TheeWalrusHunter]

This was awesome. not as sweet as the Ayingerz - a bit dryer and slightly more bitter. I could drink a lot of it.

 

[mrk_d]

This thread made me buy a 4-pack of FW Oaktoberfest and I'm glad I did. Taste is comprised mostly of a bit of malt sweetness with a surprisingly nice, subtle hoppy finish. Now I need to buy some German versions when I see them for comparison.

 

[ccbstl]

Urban Chestnut Oachkatzlschwoaf directly from the tank. I want to drown in this.

 

[furley]

Oachkatzlschwoaf

 

[TheeWalrusHunter]

BLIND TASTE RESULTS ARE IN.

So we had a 8 people doing a blind taste test. We each had a taster of beer rated it based on categories in a 10 point scale. The beers represented were:

• Spaten
• Heater Allen Bobtoberfest
• Sierre Nevada Oktoberfest
• Ayinger
• Firestone Oaktober
• Aecht Schlenker
• Paulaner
• Hacker Pschorr

Overwhelmingly, the winner was...


PAULANER

• Aecht Schlenkerla was the most polarizing
• Heater Allen was 3rd.
• Hacker Pschorr and Ayinger were also in the top
• Sierra Nevada was consistently in the bottom.

Personally, I had Heater Allen near the bottom. Tasting it again, it tasted and looked more like a hoppy bock or helles than a Marzen, the hop character was really apparent. It's a really good beer, but to style it just didn't hold up. This was disappointing because Heater Allen is one of my favorite breweries.

My personal rankings were:

1. Paulaner - 44 points
2. Hacker Pschorr - 37
3. Ayinger - 36
4. Firestone 33
5. Spaten - 31
6. Heater Allen - 21
7. Sierra Nevada - 21

I took Aecht Schlenkerla out because it was the most obvious and least attempting to be traditional.


Go drink Paulaner.

 

[Kirkse]

I'm not usually a big fan of the style, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one a couple years ago... haven't seen it since.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Half Acre Lagertown

A hop forward, very non-traditional take on the style. Lots of hop bitterness, citrusy and grassy aromas, caramel and toasted malt character but very much leaning towards an amber hop forward beer.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Firestone Walker Oaktoberfest

Lighter Festbier styled beer, and lots of grainy pilsner notes. Very much like a Munich Helles with a bit of tannin and a touch of toasted malt character, almost no sweetness, not my jam.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Bells Oktoberfest

Toasted / caramel / biscuit like malt character, light sweetness, mild bitterness, extremely drinkable in that I could drink a few pours of this one without getting worn out. Just about perfect for what I was looking for tonight, but not the most complex / expressive variation on the style.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

BuckleDown Oktobefest

Very similar to the Bells version, but with a bit more melanodin malt character and a bit more sweetness. Probably my favorite Chicagoland version at the moment, not much I can critique about this example. Toasted / nutty / caramel malt character, bready malt backbone, light hopping, clean fermentation profile, and super fresh.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Great Lakes Oktoberfest

Good but nothing oustanding compared to the previous 5 I had tried this evening. Sweeter with more caramel malt character, sweeter finish, and a slightly off finish that was bitter and cloying. Want to revisit on a fresh session, but probably my 2nd least favorite of the night.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Imperial Oak Das Boot

Toasted / nutty / caramel and melanodin malt character, light hopping, clean finish, but it didn't clear like it should have. Only as minor issue (appearance), but it takes something away from the clear character of the other 5 I had tonight. Love my local brewery, and I know it will only get better next year.

 

[user 305963]

This thread delivers. Love it. Inspired me to go buy a smattering of German and German-style beers. First up was

Love the simplicity of this beer. Light sweetness and clean finish.
Next up....

Crisper than the Weihenstephaner, likely due to Sierra Nevada's love for hops.

 

[ccbstl]

DDT X-Post

 

[StarRaptor1]

Societe

 

[blackgnome1]

After coming in this thread SSTroller sent some Staghorn and glassware for only a label. Damn I love this site!

 

[furley]

damn, he sent a Nikon too?

 

[mvl339]

This is very solid this year:

 

[thunderbirdesq]

This is very solid this year:

Agreed, have already drank nearly a case since it came out.

 

[greg4579]

Agreed, have already drank nearly a case since it came out.

I am loving the can option on them! Plowed through a case already and going back for more.

 

[reverseapachemaster1]

For some reason I've really dropped off on this style. Maybe I got too craft beer snobby but I think it's because the local options winnowed down to a lot of terrible local examples or the same couple imports on tap, which are usually my least favorite.

The local German grocery store sometimes carries Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest, which is my favorite, but they get like two six packs and they go almost right away. Nobody else carries it for whatever reason.

 

[thunderbirdesq]

I am loving the can option on them! Plowed through a case already and going back for more.

Oh **** I may order a case or 2 of cans. I haven't seen them yet.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Has Live Oak made an Oktoberfest / Festbier style yet? Also hoping that Dovetail pulls one out in the coming weeks.

 

[MooseLang]

For some reason I've really dropped off on this style. Maybe I got too craft beer snobby but I think it's because the local options winnowed down to a lot of terrible local examples or the same couple imports on tap, which are usually my least favorite.

The local German grocery store sometimes carries Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest, which is my favorite, but they get like two six packs and they go almost right away. Nobody else carries it for whatever reason.

Luckily, Hacker-Pschorr is easy to get here. I think it's the best, and it always flies under the radar. I love Ayinger, too, but H-P just scales back the sweetness a hair. Definitely not Festbier territory, but a tad drier.

I crushed some Weihenstephaner Festbier this past weekend. That one is always great to get to before the light-colored bottles take their toll.

 

[JCastle1]

This is very solid this year:

Really wanna try it. Faust makes some great beer.

 

[JCastle1]

Has Live Oak made an Oktoberfest / Festbier style yet? Also hoping that Dovetail pulls one out in the coming weeks.

 

[Ole Worm]

Has Live Oak made an Oktoberfest / Festbier style yet? Also hoping that Dovetail pulls one out in the coming weeks.

Dovetail Festbier is coming. Brewed in mid-March ...