Wayyyy OT: Oktoberfest Beer recommendations

[BobC]

My favorite time of the year is here beer-wise.
Looking for recommendations on Oktoberfest Beers that are out.
Last year Sierra Nevada's collaboration was outstanding.

So far I have tried:
Foothills Oktoberfest - pretty good
Highland Clawhammer - very good

Of note, pumpkin beer is forbidden. It is an abomination. Offenders will be flogged. Survivors will be flogged a second time.

What have you tried & what have you liked?

[Tickdoc]

Gotta say I’m not a fan of most octoberfest brews. Most taste like a slightly maltier lager to me.

[Gsinill]

Spaten and Paulaner, both are usually sold at Costco.

[chuckroast]

I'm originally from Kansas City so a little biased but I've enjoyed this since it was first offered back in the 90's sometime:

https://www.boulevard.com/beerinfo/bobs-47-oktoberfest/

[gbcoupe]

Not exactly Octoberfest, but same season. Both based off a harvesting of sort . Should be coming out soon.
Great Lakes Nosferatu.

[Look585]

The only real answer is: go to the source. A few days in the tents with friends, old and new, is unforgettable. Call a buddy you don't see often enough and suggest something crazy. When you do go, spend the €uros on some lederhosen. Worth every penny.

Short of that, the 2019 Sierra Nevada / Bitburger collaboration is very good again this year. I also really enjoy Sudwerk Märzen from Davis, CA.

Sadly my beer tastes run much more towards "malty German" than "piney IPA" so Oktoberfest season is a welcome reprieve from the hopfest that seems to be the norm.

[rowebr]

Originally Posted by BobC

My favorite time of the year is here beer-wise.
Looking for recommendations on Oktoberfest Beers that are out.
Last year Sierra Nevada's collaboration was outstanding.

So far I have tried:
Foothills Oktoberfest - pretty good
Highland Clawhammer - very good

Of note, pumpkin beer is forbidden. It is an abomination. Offenders will be flogged. Survivors will be flogged a second time.

What have you tried & what have you liked?

I really liked the Oktoberfest that Port City in Alexandria VA made this year. Wonder if you can find it down in VA beach.

[Seamus]

Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen. Delicious and classic.

[ultraman6970]

Guillotine and any delerium.

[kohagen]

Originally Posted by Gsinill

Spaten and Paulaner, both are usually sold at Costco.

+1 on both

[martl]

As a Munich native, i dare to give my 2ct worth

Oktoberfest beer is a special brew and is different from your normal Munich "Hell"; it used to be a "Märzen", today it resembles mostly the "Export" kind. It has a more distinct taste, contains more alcohol and has more "gravity" (Stammwürze).

Only the big munich breweries (Augustiner, Paulaner, Hofbräu, Hacker-Pschorr, Spaten, Löwenbräu) may supply the beer for the "Wiesn", so these are the real deal; other breweries also offer "Oktoberfest"-style beers to profit from the hype.

The beer's taste can and will vary from year to year. Löwenbräu, for example, made a tour toward a very distinctively bitter note, almost resembling a Pilsener, the last few years.
The exception is Augustiner, who serve their "Edelstoff", an Export available all-season, from wooden casks, and as such will not vary very much. Many consider it to be the finest stuff on the Wiesn, others say it is a headache (literally).

The munich local newspaper "Sueddeutsche" asks a Sommelier each year to rank this yer's beers, and the results vary vastly from year to year.

[45K10]

I know it isn't a sexy pick, but Sam Adams Octoberfest is pretty darn good. I lived in Bavaria for a few years and had my share of Fest beers. My go to beer tent at the Oktoberfest in Munich was Spaten so I also have a soft spot for that one if I can find it.

[herb5998]

Left Hand brewing in Longmont, CO makes a kick ass Marzen this time of year for Oktoberfest


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[pdxharth]

Oh man, I love this topic!

We are loaded out here in Oregon, with Occidental, Heater-Allen, Zoiglhaus, and others make excellent versions of the style. But they are are local and not widely distributed. Ninkasi makes a very slightly hoppier version - which I had a keg of last fall - but I don’t know how big their distribution area is, either.

I agree Sierra Nevada has a good thing going with their collaborations, and I am looking forward to trying theirs this year.

It has been a few years since I’ve had it, but Great DIvide Brewing, out of Colorado, had an awesome Octoberfest beer that I loved. That may have more national availability.

It is now also fresh hop season here, which is just beginning. Last week I saw the first fresh hop Octoberfest in stores. I can’t imagine that being very traditional, but I bet the marzen style lends itself well to tasting those fresh hops. I should go back and grab a sixer.

Lastly, Deschutes makes an autumn IPA called Hopzeit, using German hops, which is rich and hoppy and delicious!

Great time of year to be a beer lover!

[OtayBW]

Originally Posted by martl

As a Munich native, i dare to give my 2ct worth

Oktoberfest beer is a special brew and is different from your normal Munich "Hell"; it used to be a "Märzen", today it resembles mostly the "Export" kind. It has a more distinct taste, contains more alcohol and has more "gravity" (Stammwürze).

Only the big munich breweries (Augustiner, Paulaner, Hofbräu, Hacker-Pschorr, Spaten, Löwenbräu) may supply the beer for the "Wiesn", so these are the real deal; other breweries also offer "Oktoberfest"-style beers to profit from the hype.

The beer's taste can and will vary from year to year. Löwenbräu, for example, made a tour toward a very distinctively bitter note, almost resembling a Pilsener, the last few years.
The exception is Augustiner, who serve their "Edelstoff", an Export available all-season, from wooden casks, and as such will not vary very much. Many consider it to be the finest stuff on the Wiesn, others say it is a headache (literally).

The munich local newspaper "Sueddeutsche" asks a Sommelier each year to rank this yer's beers, and the results vary vastly from year to year.

A German friend from Bavaria once brought me a bottle of a beer that he said never finds its way outside of Germany: Hetzelsdorfer. Ring a bell? It was fantastic.