Oktoberfest Märzen
Paulaner Brauerei

330ml bottle into a pint glass, best by May 2023, so just inside the wire.

Clear pale copper body, head shrinks to a ring. Clean sweet malty aroma and taste. No nasty aftertaste. Solid across the board.

 

 

Copper-colored brew with a large white head. Toasty, sweet aroma. On the sweet side, but not by any means too sweet. Soft carbonation. There's a slight spiciness among the malt flavors, and also a fruity note that reminds me of apple.

 

L: Pours a clear amber. The short off white head has good retention.

S: Caramel, bread, grassy hops

T: Follows the nose— toasted bread and grassy hops dominate although it leans more malt forward.

F: Medium-light body with lively carbonation.

O: Classic example of the style

L - Poured from a bottle into a standard pint glass. Pours a clear Brown/Caramel. Small head. Minimal lacing

S - Scent is malty caramel. A little sweetness as well.

T - Taste adds a little floral hoppiness. Light flavors overall. Minimal malt. It's a mild biscuit/cracker malt. Opens up as you drink it to have more character focusing on the floral hops.

F - Thinner mouthfeel with medium carbonation. The pour was non viscous and the mouthfeel follows with a lighter texture. Dry finish.

O - Overall this is a solid beer. I taste-tested it against other octoberfest beers and this one has more hop character to go along with a malt-forward style. Very easy drinking beer. I will add this to my regular rotation and recommend it.

Pours a very clear amber color with a finger width foamy head. Head retention is mild. Lacing is decent. Aroma of Belgian yeasts, apples, and breadiness. Bready taste with Belgian yeast flavors. Ends in a small amount of apple at the end. Light bodied with moderate carbonation.

Look: semi clear golden with a thick fluffy white head

Aroma: toasted bread, grassy hops

Flavor: toasted bread, a hint of banana, and a little bit of grassy hops

Body/Overall: Light to medium body. It is easy and light drinking.

 

Appearance: Pours a clear, medium-amber color with a nice, slightly off-white head. SRM of 15-16. (4.25)

Aroma: Moderate aromas of German breadiness/toast comes through on the nose. Mild honeysuckle, lemon, and flowery and grassy fields. Some light bread and Munich maltiness. Nice Munich malts of bready toast with hints of grassy flower. (4.25)

Flavor: More authentic German bread malt on the tongue. Some earthy caramel and Munich malts. Even some dusty cocoa. Lemonflower and grassiness in the middle. Some rubber too. Finishes with an authentic Munich maltiness that gives it a near rubber flavor.. Leans bready without being too rich nor sweet. Not too strong. Respectably light and clean. Finishes pretty dry. (4.50)

Feel: Medium-bodied. Strong carbonation. Feels full on the palate. More creamy than crisp, yet clean enough. Leaves a touch of earthy sweet bread on the palate. (4.00)

Overall: Probably the best of the festbier style I've had. Nice and authentic German breadiness. A little bit of rubber and earth. Even provides a dusty cocoa note. Needless to say, this is an accurate and excellent representation of the style. Fantastic hop and authentic German malt flavors while being true to style and not too sweet. It's a good authentic German festbier. If I was at the festival, this is one not to miss. (Final Rating: 4.28)

 

 

 

 

 

Clear amber with plenty of foam in the Troubadour tulip. Light body with a spritzy mouthfeel. Malty and moderately sweet. Aroma of roasted malt. A hint of spicy hops with a little astringency in the finish. A decent sort of Märzen. Tangy yet gummy tasting, plus a slight but lingering bitter edge in the aftertaste. From the 11.2 oz bottle purchased on the West Coast.

Excellent brew

Appearance:
Rich creamy head, clear amber, good lacing

Aroma:
Toasted malts, noble hops.

Flavor:
Slightly toasted malty flavor, Moderate bitterness and low hop character. More Spicy and less floral/grassy than other O-Fests, especially the US renditions.

Mouthfeel:
Light- Medium, nominal CO2, all systems go.

Overall:
A Benchmark Märzen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A very German marzen style. Less malty than others. Not as dark as others. Overall, an easy drinking beer for this style.

 

A - Pours a clear, copper body, off white head, short but persistent, with curtains of small bubble lacing.

S - A nose of strong malt sweetness, floral hop notes, and just a hint of fermenting grains.

T - Follows the nose, with a caramel and brown bread flavor, a bit of honey and grassiness, then a dry finish with just a hint of clay.

M - Decent carbonation, very light weight, almost like water, which means a quick, quiet close.

O - I like my Märzen with a bit more heft, but the flavors seem on point, and it is easily drinkable.

 

 

 

 

Notes from 8/30/2022.
Poured from a bottle into a Pint glass.
The beer is clear copper with less than a finger of off-white head. Retention is average.
The intensity of aroma is low. There is a crackery malt smell, an earthy smell and a slight yeast aroma.
The intensity of taste is medium-high. The flavor follows the aroma with more bitterness and dryness than the aroma suggests. The long bitter hop note is moderate, spicy and creates a layer of flavor over the crackery malt, earthy flavor and slight yeast.
The feel is slightly above medium in thickness. Carbonation and astringency are low. It's quite dry. The carbonation prickles the tongue.
Overall, it's an outstanding beer. The quality of taste is noticeably better than the Marzen beer brewed in the US that I've had.

 

 

4/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Review Date: 30 Sep, 2022
1.5 x 333 ml bottle
Bottle Date 05.2023
Glassware: 0.5 L Festmug
Temp at Pour: 51.1 F


Look:
Nice deep but clear copper. Initial 2-finger cream-colored foamy head dissipates slowly leaving good lacing

Smell:
Quite malty without being sweet. Toasted grains and bread, including toasted dark bread and crusts. A lot of bread, as a matter of fact. Notes of fresh cut grass and hay drift around not quite in the background. A very slight hint of walnuts can be detected.

Taste:
Very much similar to the nose but with the grass and hay notes somewhat more prominent. This really does taste like liquid bread. There is also some earthiness and a light spiciness that show up quickly and start to dry things out. The sip finishes dry, toasty, and a bit spicy.

Feel:
Smooth and crisp. The body feels about medium.

Overall:
A very nice Märzen-style Oktoberfest. Very similar to its sibling Hacker-Pschorr, but not quite the same. Just like HP, an excellent choice for an autumn day (or night).

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3.99/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Review Date: 16 Sep, 2022
1.5 x 333 ml bottle
Bottle Date 06 2022
Glassware: 0.5 L Festmug


Look:
Nice deep but clear copper. Initial 2-finger cream-colored foamy head dissipates very slowly leaving quite good lacing

Smell:
Quite malty without being sweet. Lighty toasted grains and bread. A lot of bread, mostly brown variety. There are notes of grass and fresh cut hay drifting around in the background

Taste:
Very much similar to the nose but with the grass and hay notes more prominent. This really does taste like liquid bread. There is some earthiness as well. Things finish dry and toasty with a slight spiciness.

Feel:
Smooth and a tad crisp Body is on the lighter side of medium.

Overall:
A very nice Märzen-style Oktoberfest. This is one of the standard-bearers of the style and rightfully so. Things do change slightly year-to-year for this brew (not by much though). Some years I prefer this brew, other years I prefer Hacker-Pschorr's. The 2 are very similar and are owned, if not brewed, by the same company. Between the 2, Paulaner always seemed to tend to being more 'grassy' or even spicy.

If memory serves, this was the first German Okto that I ever had and it helped make the amber Märzen Oktos one of my favorite styles.