Oktoberfest Session Marzen
Third Street Brewhouse

Appearance: Crystal-clear amber-red with a dense white head, with very good retention. Patches of fat bubbles cling to the glass wall, while small streams of minute bubbles race to the surface. The lacing adorns the glass wall in a fine and unbroken sheet.

Aroma: Spicy hops vie with caramel drizzled dark bread.

Taste: Opens with a gentle wave of dark bread and caramel, and lightly toasted malt. The hops seem less pronounced than in the aroma, but offering a mild, gracious spiciness. As the taste progresses, the malt and caramel dominate, though with gentle restraint. As the taste draws to a close, there is a slight flourish of spicy hops, against the residual caramel sweetness.

Mouth feel: A little thin, though with a soft and pleasant feel and mild carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: A very pleasant autumn accompaniment, but would pair well at a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Refrigerated since purchased, though a bit aged, it seems undiminished.

Presentation: Packaged in a standard sixteen-ounce aluminum can, served in a La Fin Du Monde tulip.

From the can, it pours a nice clear amber with a good sized off-white head that very slowly diminishes. In the nose, a bit of malt. In the mouth, a bit of caramel malt that does not overwhelm, unlike some others. Nice!

On-tap at Rumors Sports Bar & Grill, Sussex, WI

A: The beer is hazy amber in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high light beige head that died down, leaving a thick collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of toasted and caramel malts are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell and has flavors of toasted malts along with hints of caramel and a light amount of bitterness.
M: It feels nearly medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This is a very nice representation of the style as it is malty with aromas and flavors of toasted malts.

Serving type: on-tap

The local Aldi is carrying this beer this season. Even labeled as a "Session" Märzen (wha?) I had to take a chance at $7 a 4-pack of 16 ounce cans. As a pioneer micro-brew drinker, I can still recall the regional Cold Spring beer made available across the country by Merchant du Vin. It wasn't as good as it's neighbor in New Ulm, but it was worth trying since it wasn't a big brewery -- hopefully the new owners of the brewery inherited some of the spirit of the originals.

4.6 ABV, no real dating on the packaging, poured into my short Becher glass.

L -- Pours a clear, bubbly, amber-orange with a dense, eggshell-colored head that holds up well.

S -- Spicy hops, lightly sulfury, some grainy and bready malts fighting to be recognized.

T -- Light caramel up front that folds into a light breadiness and finishes with spicy hops. Aftertaste is light breadiness with lightly bitter, herbal hops balancing any strong sweetness.

F -- The mouthfeel is soft to crisp with a medium-light body.

O -- This doesn't fit very snugly into the Oktoberfest Märzen category, it's just too laid-back. On the other hand, if it was labeled as a Vienna Lager I'd probably reward it with more points.

Pours a clear orangish amber with a thick white head. Minimal lacing. Aroma is what you would expect, caramel, bready malts. Flavor is sweet malt with dark bread and a touch of spicy hops. Feel is great, medium body with a fair amount of carbonation. Overall it's a decent Oktoberfest given it's low ABV. Never had a "session maren" before. Fun.

L: brilliant copper filled with streams of rapidly rising bubbles under a robust 2" ivory foam cap with good retention

S: medium level moist grains, bread crust, bread crumb and mild floral hops

T: light toast, bread crust, some spice that suggests cardamom, and a range of melanoidins. The malt flavors start lightly sweet but dry on the finish. It has a medium to medium low bitter hop accent that is more earthy and tea-like than citrusy and pithy.

F: Malt forward creamy and smooth medium to medium light bodied beer with medium carbonation.

O: This is a session beer and is a little on the light side but for its size it is a full flavored easy drinking beer that cries out for fried chicken or grilled brats

Malty aroma, a little weak, some bread, maybe a little caramel. Amber with a thick white head, bubbly and creamy looking. Malty taste follows the aroma: bread, caramel. Thinish body. Mild with little / no bittering. Pretty bland. I guess it is not too bad if you are looking for something low ABV, but otherwise, just a beer.

Surprised by how good this is since most craft beers at Aldi are usually bad. Very similar body, color, taste profile to german octoberfest. The one flaw is lack of carbonation. Also, the 1 percent less alcohol does the beer's taste no favors. Overall and excellent value for everyday drinking during the season. The graphics on the can could use some work. You could pass this one off as a top tier craft at 3 bucks more if the can looked better.

Picked up a 4 pack of pounders at Aldi. Bargain at $5.99. Popping the top pours to a caramel yellow with a light tan head. Smell is malty and tart. Taste is a steady dosing of malt with a slight bitterness in the background and in the finish. Great time of year, great beer. This is a smooth drinker with great malt base, bitterness just right for the style. I will load up on this stuff.

i really like the idea of a session marzen, but if you are a beer drinker for real, marzens are already session beers, so this seems almost superfluous, but i like the beer a lot, and have been pretty impressed with the handful of offerings i have now had from these guys. sometimes when you are hungover from sour or hoppy beers, you just need a cold malty lager to ease you back in, and this is exactly that, unpretentious and not trying to do too much. lighter in body than many, but not by much, and the session part refers more to the alcohol i think than the texture or anything, as this is still fluffy and then crisp in the finish, well carbonated, and with some malt feel to it. light caramel, almond, dry maize, and old world bready lager yeast, it has all the elements, tastes classically german to me, and has a wonderful grainy middle to it, right on point for the style, and never too sweet. why isnt this one getting more love? i think there is a real void of american made beers in this category of any real worth, so i was pleased to suck back a pint of this one. underrated.

 

L-Brunt orange

S-A lot of caramel on the aroma...candy like

T-Weaker flavored than the aroma lead on but still has those caramel notes...slightly bready....reminds of thinner ofests like Point or Leinie..

F-Billed as a session Marzen but it could stand a bit more body even if you are looking to keep it light and sessionable.

O-Not a terrible beer. I'd drink it if offered at a tailgate or something but not one I would choose personally.

 

I picked up a four-pack of cans at Aldi's in the Chicago burbs. First of all, I am struck about how thin the beer tastes - this might have been a decent beer, but it tastes like it was thoroughly water down. I can't say I can recommend it - it's so thin, I can't even taste any flaws. No real nose, barely any mouth feel.

I love the price, but I doubt I will ever buy it again.

16oz canned July 2017 poured into a.5L krug at fridge temp 4.6% ABV. The beer pours bright and a lighter golden shade of copper. The head is khaki and short lived. No lacing. The aroma is bready and not sweet. The taste is full, bready and then a touch of caramel. Not overly sweet. Mouthfeel is thin bodied, well carbonated and finishes not dry enough. There is a bitter (not hops but seltzer like carbonation) finish along with a bit of oily/soapy aftertaste. Overall, good, but not what I expected having seen this place #2 overall in the 2016 Paste Magazine blind Oktoberfest tasting. It's a good value at $7/4pack at Aldi, but not a repeat purchase for me.

16 oz can

Pours clear copper amber, head is coarse and white and dissipates to a lacing.

Smells of toffee, toasted bread malts, and caramel.

Taste is of caramel, biscuit, toast, and a brown sugar finish.

Medium body with tingly carbonation on the tongue.

Solid tasty marzen, drinks easy and refreshingly. Nice representation of the style and worth a grab in the fall.

Session Marzen? When weren't marzen's sessionable?

This beer pours a clear bronze color. The head is a billowy two inches in height, and recedes slowly into sticky lacing. The aroma is bready with a lot of noble hop spiciness. Too much spiciness for the style. It isn't bad, but when I drink a marzen I want it to smell like a marzen. The taste is more toned down, and more balanced. It is very weak it flavor for the style. The mouthfeel is light bodied with a watery texture. Overall, this is a really bad example of a marzen, and a sorry beer in general. If I were to taste it blind I would probably guess that it was a stale helles. One that hasn't yet gone full cardboard, but where something is definitely wrong with the malt character.

I wouldn't drink this again.