Festbier
Occidental Brewing Co.

FestbierFestbier
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From:
Occidental Brewing Co.
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
Märzen
Ranked #109
ABV:
6.7%
Score:
87
Ranked #17,753
Avg:
3.84 | pDev: 8.07%
Reviews:
18
Ratings:
31
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 06, 2023
Added:
Sep 30, 2012
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
A smash hit at Occidental’s Oktoberfest, this year’s Festbier is a rich yet quaffable lager in the old tradition of Oktoberfest beers before light colors and flavors began to dominate the style. German noble hops provide a delicate hop character to pair with a firm malt profile featuring Munich and Vienna malts. Portland-area beer drinkers can enjoy these flavors during the transition from summer to fall while admiring the beer’s beautiful, deep mahogany color.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Hoptometrist:
Photo of Hoptometrist
Reviewed by Hoptometrist from Ohio

3.04/5  rDev -20.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Served on tap at Occidental Oktoberfest

A- Poured a very dark and clear ruby brown color, lots of visible carbonation, dark frothy head that left some spotty lace.

S- Indistinct maltiness and breadiness, pretty faint aroma

T- Lots of caramel malt, some medicinal notes, some booziness

M- Lighter bodied, pretty watery, just sit on my palate, not refreshing

O- Not one of my favorite Oktoberfest beers. Pretty one dimensional with a lighter body that was a little boozy.
Sep 30, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of heymikew
Reviewed by heymikew from California

3.88/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours out a beautiful deep red amber with a perfect head of foam. Not much on the nose. Rich, strong malty flavor with noticeable alcohol presence. Nice mouthfeel.
I had grabbed the can cause it said "festbier" and didn't say marzen so I was a bit surprised when I saw the abv and darker color after opening it after work on a hot day.
Oct 06, 2023
Photo of jonphisher
Reviewed by jonphisher from New Jersey

3.9/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Deep amber, beautiful clarity; big gelatinous light brown head forms, very nice retention, splotchy lacing.

Rich nose full of dark bread, crusty, light noble hop presence, toasty with some darkened caramel.

Taste is rich and malty, almost lightly doppelbock like, darkened bread crust, a burnt caramel presence; earthy hops on the tongue.

Medium body; but on the higher end, mostly dry, carbonation is very smooth, goes down very easy but you can tell this is a bigger beer, even some slight warming.

Very rich and hearty marzen; it is very drinkable but it warns you to proceed with caution.
Oct 04, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by BigIronH from Michigan

Sep 24, 2023
Photo of flagmantho
Reviewed by flagmantho from Washington

3.93/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Poured from 16oz can into a dimpled mug. Canned 8/9/23; this year's version is 6.3%.

Appearance: rich orange hue with the tiniest hint of haze and two fingers of frothy tan foam with a hint of orange. It's just really, really pretty.

Smell: lightly malty aroma with mostly a toasty, biscuity character, along with a little sweetness. The volume could be turned up a little, though, I think.

Taste: quite bready, with a bit of toasty and biscuity character as well. It's rather on the sweet side, but overall very autumnal. There's a bit of a dryness to the finish, which has a mild but nice bitterness. This is definitely more of a Märzen than a Festbier/Wiesnbier, and it says as much on the label ("in the old tradition", indeed). By that standard, it's a pretty tasty beer.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a decent carbonation and creaminess.

Overall: a pretty darn good Märzen; it's definitely on the rich side so I don't think I could quaff liter after liter of it, but it's tasty and I'm definitely enjoying this one.
Sep 14, 2023
Photo of NickSMpls
Reviewed by NickSMpls from Washington

3.62/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
A pretty copper color, clear and clea. Light head fades quickly away; very light aroma. Taste is very malty, touch of sweetness with a light bitterness coming in on the finish. The body is light, but seems a little light on the carbonation. As the can says, it's quite quaffable but falls short of memorable. 6.3% ABV.
Sep 04, 2023
Photo of Pivopijak
Reviewed by Pivopijak from Washington

3.8/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
draught
Creamy, off-white head. Deep, medium orange with a little bit of a chestnut highlight. Light, medium toast malt, with a touch of spice, for the aroma. Just a bit of spiced, floral hops on a bed of caramelized, medium toast malt, for the flavor.
Apr 16, 2023
 
Rated: 4.28 by Wisconsin_IPA_Lover from Wisconsin

Oct 12, 2022
Photo of Reidrover
Reviewed by Reidrover from Oregon

3.94/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
16 oz can poured into my British pint mug.
From a 4-pack bought at American Market on State Street Salem OR.

$12.99 a 4 pack.
Pours a nice warming deep a dark amber with a beautiful tan head.. Obviously a Marzen not a festbier.
Aromas mainly malty..deep English toffee aromas..and lighter dark fruits. No sign of hop, as expected.
Taste is semi sweet malts, some dried dark fruits and maybe the faintest touch of floral hops. Very good indeed..they have prevented it from being over sweet!
Mouth feel is good body is medium to medium heavy with medium to low carbonation..works great. Smooth and not cloying.
One of the best MARZEN style Oktoberfests I have had.
Sep 30, 2022
 
Rated: 3.75 by TMoney2591 from Illinois

Feb 26, 2022
 
Rated: 3.74 by shelby415 from Oregon

Sep 22, 2021
Photo of unlikelyspiderperson
Reviewed by unlikelyspiderperson from California

3.32/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
All told this is a deeply uninspiring beer. I most likely won't finish it. Smell and taste are weak and thin to match the body. Somewhat off putting sulfury note too that builds up.

Amber beer with touches of copper. Little head.
Smell is quite muted. Softly bready
Taste is also fairly meh. The earthy bitterness from the hops and the sweetness of the malt give a slight apple like impression.
Somewhat thin mouthfeel.
Nov 23, 2020
 
Rated: 3.39 by rab53 from Washington

Oct 18, 2020
Photo of Captain69
Rated by Captain69 from Illinois

3.44/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
smooth beer to drink - not much malt flavor for a marzen
Oct 06, 2020
Photo of TheBricenator
Reviewed by TheBricenator from Oregon

4.25/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Look: Nearly clear dark amber/ruby red with a great tan head that forms quick and recedes slowly, leaving great lacing
Aroma: Warm brown bread, toffee, melanoidin, earthy hops, some graham cracker, and light floral notes
Taste: Follows nose but stronger and all the malty aspects really take center stage. Great interplay between the strong malt and subtle but present earthy/floral hops continue before sweet maltiness closes things out
Mouthfeel: Smooth, silky, medium carbonation, and extremely clean throughout. Crisp finish as well, especially with how malty it is
Overall: Awesome beer here. A great American-made example of a malt-forward Marzen. Good balance though and a great body on this beer too. Very glad I pulled the trigger on the 4-pk of this as it’s delicious and last year we didn’t get it in my neck of the woods. Recommended, especially for lovers of malty beers and/or classis amber Marzens
Oct 04, 2020
Photo of MaltsOfGlory
Reviewed by MaltsOfGlory from Oregon

4.47/5  rDev +16.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
16oz can

Pours a finger of white head into my perfect pint glass. Fades fairly quickly, but leaves a very thin layer of foam on top of the body. Initial lacing looks pretty nice. Body is a dark amber, with some orange hues. Crystal clear, with a lot of nucleation coming up. Looks good so far.

Nose is bread, caramel, toffee. Very rich and sweet, perfume like. This is exactly what I want from a festbier. This style has a nose that is often deceptively sweet, with the flavor being far more balanced, we will have to see if this holds to that very important standard.

The taste does not disappoint, you get all of those flavors from the nose, but just dialed down to a palatable level. Still full, malty, rich, but reasonable.

The mouthfeel brings this together. The attenuation is high, it drinks pretty crisp, while also having a slight sweetness. As a result, the body is pretty light, but those sugars add a little weight in the background. Carbonation is medium-high. Bitterness is hardly there. This is what makes oktoberfests such a godsend, you get this malt onslaught, while still being light, crisp and drinkable.

Appearance turned out quite nice. Thick sheets of lacing all the way down, and while the head wasn’t perfect, it lingered the best it could.

Overall this is a really solid beer. Tasty, sessionable, prost!
Sep 17, 2020
Photo of Sellen
Rated by Sellen from Connecticut

3.42/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Oct-30-2018
Jun 23, 2020
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.5/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle from Brewers Haven. Dark amber with small creamy head . Malty aroma, dark brown bread. Taste is also centered on the malts, pumpernickel. On the darker side of the märzen spectrum.
Feb 25, 2020
 
Rated: 4.04 by wisegreensoul from Idaho

Sep 29, 2019
Photo of DefenCorps
Reviewed by DefenCorps from Oregon

3.83/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Can from ABV.

A deep amber with a dense, off-white head that falls off to a disk leaving little lacing, this looks solid. The nose is soft, bready, moderately caramel-like with toffee, a noticeably light and bright Munich malt character, a light hop character, earthy and mildly minty. The palate opens with a nice depth but without the subtle richness of the best Marzens. Toasted wheat bread, pumpernickel, caramel, burnt caramel, all kissed lightly with bittering hops - the flavors are all here, but there's just a little something lacking, especially on the mid-palate, where the flavors kind of fall apart before coming back together on the finish. Drying, toasty, delicately sweet on the finish, this beer is medium-light in body and moderately carbonated. Quite delicious.
Aug 31, 2019
Festbier from Occidental Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 31 ratings