Märzen
Pennsylvania Brewing Company

lastmango from Pennsylvania

4.08/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a new penny copper with a tan 2 finger head that dissipated slowly to a thin film. Little lacing. Pronounced toasted bread and malt nose with a fruity essence. Taste follows the nose with added light grassy hops on the finish. Moderate-thin body and carbonation. Crisp and refreshing. This is very nice and drinkable!

Feb 29, 2020

WesMantooth from Ohio

3.99/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

It is a very dark copper color. Sort of foggy. A nice toasted bread nose and flavor with an ample amount of spicy Noe hops. Crisp and dry. This is a nice American made Marzen.

Mar 28, 2017

Jon_Hendricks from Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Pours a copper color.

Overall: The aroma contains caramel, cherry and noble hops. The taste is almost all malt, with caramel, roasted malt, and just a hint of hop bitterness. Really well done and very good. Perfect spring beer!

May 05, 2016

Brian_L-2056 from West Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a beautiful dark orange/amber color into a pint glass. Very little head and little carbonation. Has the typical Oktoberfest malty smell when opening the bottle. Initial taste is a very full of Marzen flavor, better than most other Oktoberfest brews I've tried this fall.

Nov 19, 2015

Bone53 from Pennsylvania

3.86/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Admittedly not the biggest fan of oktoberfest beers, but i found this one quite good and true to style. Sweet bready malt notes with a undertone of light spice and hops. One of the better marzens iv had, but greats lakes is a better option when in season

Apr 08, 2015

Fordcoyote15 from Kentucky

4.24/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Originally rated on 4-4-15.
L 4
S 3.5
T 3.5
M 3.5
O 3.5

Updated 5-27-20 as I think this is outstanding and I was out of my mind for that low rating. It's very malty and sweet and talk just like a good Oktoberfest does.

Apr 05, 2015

pianoguy from Washington

2.85/5  rDev -25.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5

Sorry that I have to give this one a low score. But I got to call em as I see em. Please see the last paragraph of this review as to why this beer may have been at a disadvantage.It may be better then this review,

From the beer of the month club...

Poured a light brown, copper body with a 1 /2 inch off white head that didn't last long.

I'm not getting much aroma. Just a faint apple smell, some type of malt?

Taste kind of follows the smell, there's not a lot going on here . A slightly bitter finish.(the bitter finish is good though)

Feel was slightly prickly

Overall this was disappointing. I have long been a fan of Oktoberfest beers but other then the look this didn't have a lot going for it.

This was from a 3 month Christmas gift of "the beer of month club" Why on earth was the February beer a Marzen ,brewed in march for Oktoberfest the year before ??!! If I ever get a chance to sample this beer when it is supposed to be sampled I might amend this review...












Had the beer of the month club as a gift for three months and this was from February

Mar 27, 2015

DrMullet from Florida

3.54/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark amber. Caramel and toffee are the overall flavors. Medium malty with a slight hop bitterness. No significant hop character. Overall, not bad.

Mar 21, 2015

Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Bottle labeled 09143B20457 at 45 degrees into shaker
Aroma light, malty
Head small (2 cm, aggressive pour), off white, frothy, diminishing to
Lacing none
Body medium amber, clear
Flavor begins with a light maltiness with some hop bitterness; no hop flavor, no alcohol, no diacetyl
Palate light to medium, watery, lively carbonation

Appearance 3.5, Aroma 3.5, Flavor 4, Palate 4, Overall 3.75

Jan 23, 2015

IronLover from Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev -0.3%

Autumn orange in color with a slight chill haze. Poured with a short off-white foam that quickly reduced to a wispy cap. Aromas are very subtle:toasted and caramel malt with earthy grassy and herbal hop notes. Medium bodied with aggressive, crisp, tangy carbonation through the middle. Toasted malt flavor up front. Herbal hop flavors through the middle to the end. Finished clean and dry. Overall, a little short on the maltiness expected in a marzen. Nevertheless, a very easy drinking lager.

Sep 02, 2014

Darkmagus82 from Texas

3.61/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Poured from bottle into a pint glass

Appearance – The beer pours a nice deep reddish amber color with a two finger head of billowy white foam. The head has a lighter level of retention, fading rather quickly to leave some light levels of foamy island lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma is sweet and malty with tons of caramel and doughy smells. Along with the caramel are other sweet smells with lots of toffee and some brown sugar. Other aromas of a light earthy and grassy nature are there as well, but these are quite light, with the overall smell being rather sweet.

Taste – The taste begins with a caramel flavor mixed with a rather decent sum of a lightly toasted bready taste. Toffee flavors are present upfront as well, but these seem to fade as the taste advances. Like the toffee, the roast seems to fade a bit as well, being replaced by flavors that are a bit more biscuit like in nature. While these transitions occur some light hop flavors of an earthy and grassy flavor also come to the tongue. The caramel surges a bit at the end, with the other flavors mellowing a little bit, to leave a moderately sweet and malty Marzen flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the average, to maybe just above average, side in terms of its thickness and creaminess with a carbonation level that is on the lower side. The lower carbonation is quite nice for the sweet and bready/biscuit flavors of the brew, while the average to slightly thicker body also upholds the malty and sweet nicely, but all the while do not take away from the drinkability of the brew. Overall, the mouthfeel is rather nice.

Overall – While not super extraordinary, this is a rather tasty Marzen. Very easy drinking, affordable and tasty. This brew actually seems like a better football weather brew to me as it is sweet, malty but not too big on abv. A nice one to try.

Jun 17, 2014

tbraun1 from Maryland

3.47/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A - Light, copper colored, with minimal carbonation. Slight lacing on the glass as enjoyed.

S - Biscuity, sweet malts.

T - Nice, biscuity flavor. Minimal alcohol taste. Sweet malts, low hop.

M - Light mouthfeel, with just enough carbonation. Enjoyable and easy to drink.

O - I enjoyed this fest beer. Easy to drink, right on the middle road. Little bit of sweet malt, just enough carbonation, pleasant aftertaste. Would be easy to down a few of these without the palate being overwhelmed.

Apr 07, 2014

Twal from Colorado

2.35/5  rDev -38.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

("One of my Top 24 Favorite American Beers!" Beer Critic Michael Jackson )

Unfortunately Micheal Jackson died prior to better examples of american versions existing.

Did they really need to say that he liked it twice? It really doesn't soften the blow...

The beer was unbalanced plain and simple,malt sweetness was overpowering,over the top biscuity/ toasted sesame,toffee ,slightly fruity w/ slight bitter aftertaste.
Considering the manner in which I acquired the beer I know it's fresh.
Poor example of the style.

Mar 12, 2014

thecheapies from Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Comes forth from the bottleneck rocking a lovely shade of auburn copper with good clarity and a sizzling head that rushes up and simmers down to a thin cap. Lacing is a stretch.

Toasty and semi-sweet with caramel malt grains, toffee notes, and earthy hop. A touch of praline to note with a malt base that exudes streusel crumble and a yeast note that depicts salty pear. Not too shabby.

Taste is a little drier than the nose, but follows suit. Quality two-row barley with generous toastiness and a hint of caramel. Some apple/pear esters and a good staunch bitterness, affected by German hop varietals. These offer earthy and nutty notes alomg with a wink of citrus. Finishes short, but the middle has burliness. Carbonation is good and sears the back of the throat with fizz. Body can just keep up with its medium viscosity. It drinks damn fast, and quit enjoyably so. A great Marzen. Fresh as hell, and a great homage to real German spring lagers.

Feb 28, 2014

stakem from Pennsylvania

3.37/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle care of Eric, thanks for gifting me with a couple different offerings from this brewery. The brew appears a hazed color of burnt copper. Some lighter orange to yellow hints are noted around the edges and an off-white cap sits atop. As the cap slowly fades, it leaves a webby pattern of lace on the glass.

The aroma is sweet with a scent of caramel to toffee grain. A bit bready at times with a trace amount of herbal to earthy hops. Overall the brew smells sweet with residual sugar and toasted sugars. Fairly typical of the style.

The taste is just what you would expect based off of the aroma. Caramel and toffee sweetness from the grain that gets a bit bready and buttery towards the finish. The alcohol is noted with a minor fruity ester. Hops are present with a bit of contrasting herbal to floral bitterness. The buttery diacetyl lasts long into the aftertaste with a hint of herbal hop bitterness.

This is a medium bodied brew with a modest amount of carbonation. Overall it is a fairly decent take on the style that is well balanced and the hops are restrained enough to be evident and contrasting to the sweetness but not too much. My only gripe is the buttery finish that lasts long into the aftertaste and seemingly leaves a clingy film in the mouth instead of that crisp snap of a finish I look for in the style.

Oct 05, 2012

jifigz from Pennsylvania

4.32/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle poured into a pint glass.

The appearance is a rich copper brown color with a nice fluffy and huge white head. The head lingered for quite a while and it left some lacing on the glass. The aroma is sweet toasted and roasted grains with hints of caramel and a tobacco like smell. There are also minor notes of fig and raisins. The flavor is very full and extremely delightful. The initial flavor is crisp and sweet before turning into the roasted grain and caramel flavor. The end hits with the raisins and the prunes and finishes with hints of tobacco and some more malty grains and just a touch of bitterness that rides the tail end. The MF is good and of medium body.

Overall, I think that this is a very good Marzen/Oktoberfest. It is rich and malty but still extremely drinkable and very, very easy for anyone to enjoy.

Sep 30, 2012

Alkey from Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured a dark clear amber color, small tan color head. Aroma is slightly sweet malts. Taste is very malty slightly sweet and thin in the mouth. A hint of grassy earth type hop bitterness in the finish but clean and refreshing beer. I could drink this all year round.

Jun 21, 2012

Alchemist from Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This beer is what Oktoberfest style beers should be like.Penn Marzen has the deeper color than its brother beer Oktoberfest from likely a greater addition of Munich malt. This is a malty beer,but probably lacks the overall biscuity nature of some of the German examples. Compared to other American examples of the style, I think that it is an excellent choice. Penn makes very good beers based on German styles.

Mar 20, 2012

MONKandTUCK from Pennsylvania

2.91/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

A - On draught this beer lacked the viscosity, color and head-retention I expected. It's a warm orange, but not bright as I would expect. Looks flat.

A - Not as much biscuit, caramel and malt as I would expected from a Marzen.

T - Some sweet and malty notes, but nothing exceptionally pronounced. Nothing that piques my interest.

M - Thin-ish.

O - Kinda like a leaner, less adventurous version of Yuengling. Ironic, I was expecting a more character-rich and authentic version of the Amber Lager. This was a perfect opportunity to pounce. Everyone in PA or who comes to PA has an idea of what the mass-produced Yuengling is, and Penn Brewery is poised to sail their ship by one-upping it. The dropped the mass, though.

Really, this beer is not bad. But being inoffensive isn't the way you build your name. This is such an approachable style; it's not like an IPA or Stout, where most folks might threaten to vomit before finishing the beer.

This beer could be so much more. Let's see it happen. I'll go out of my way for it, then.

Mar 06, 2012

dexterk1 from Illinois

3.97/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had it at the brewery on tap. Dark amber color and head is about medium thick.
Odor is pretty clean. A little bready and malt. Also pleasant yeast odor which was nice.
Taste is malt and somewhat rich. Some hops, but they are a minor player. Malt is upfront and brings a nice clean finish.
Mouth feel is pretty much middle of the spectrum. Good and clean on the tongue and not heavy.
Overall a very good beer of this style. Maybe my favorite from this brewery.

Feb 21, 2012

ToAzwethinkweizm from Maryland

3.9/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Date: 22 May 2011
Glass: Sierra Nevada XXX snifter
Type: 12fl oz bottle

Poured gently, 1-finger head reduces to nothing, average small-bubble lacing, color is amber.

Aroma is crisp and lager-like with a slight tang. Can't pick out much. No noticeable hops.

Taste is the same. Extremely fresh and crisp. One of the freshest beers I've ever had, and I can't even describe it!

May 23, 2011

greenmonstah from New Hampshire

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle into Ommegang flute

A - Pours a deep amber with a finger of off white head. Poor retention.

S - Very clean, with toasty and bready notes and a bit of sweetness.

T - Very clean and crisp to drink. Follows the nose, with toasty and bready overtones and a bit of sweetness. Pouring in the sediment makes it worse, with a not very appealing yeast flavor coming into the picture.

M - Light to medium body, with a slightly dry finish.

O - Overall fairly average and very easy to drink take on the style.

Apr 20, 2011

scoobybrew from Indiana

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

A - clear orange color with a decent white head that is retained fairly well

S - rich bready Munich-like malt; no hops, clean yeast: no esters, no phenols, no diacetyl

T - toasted bread-like rich malt as expected from aroma; finished slightly dry with moderately low hop bitterness; clean lager fermentation

M - medium body, moderate carbonation

O - This is a very drinkable Märzen and hits the style characteristics in just about every aspect. It's above average in many ways, but it stops short of being exceptional. However, above average and consistent is not a bad thing in the beer world. Prost!

Apr 12, 2011

tempest from New York

4.05/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Grabbed a bottle at Abe's Cold Beer. Damn, I wish I'd bought more, this is a great example of the style. It's crisp and flavorful while remaining very drinkable. The aroma and flavor have a very light fruit component that remind me of strawberries and bananas. The grains provide both a clean, dry popcorn (no diacetyl) and toast along with smooth caramel barley. Spicy, earthy hops provide a mild bitter kick at the end to balance things out. Man, this is a great lager. Go drink it.

Apr 11, 2011

mooseisloose from Florida

3.25/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A recent BOTMC selection ariived directly to my door. Let's give it a whirl.

On popping the cap I get a skunky earthy hop smell classic of this style. On the pour this brew is a light brown with a two finger micro bubble head that recedes moderately quickly. The taste is a sweet and nutty, a bit metallic and quite refreshing. The mouthfeel has good carbonation for the style. The taste is mostly consistent throughout with a little bit more bitters coming through in the end. Mostly nutty all the way through. This is a refreshing brew, spot on for the style, but not my cup of tea.

Apr 10, 2011