Oktoberfest Märzen
Goldfinger Brewing Company

Crisp, malty, and clean. Well done!

Pours a crystal clear copper color with a fluffy khaki head that provides ropes of lacing and a little doily of a cap on the body of the beer. Gorgeous Oktoberfest.

The nose is left by rich caramel and biscuit aromas, and there’s some toasted wheat bread with a bit of spicy herbal hop aromas in the background. Wow.

The taste is led by the rich caramel and biscuit flavors, with the toasted wheat bread and more prominent spicy herbal hop flavors providing balance. Magnificent.

The mouthfeel is clean and crisp, making for an extraordinarily drinkable Marzen. World class stuff, IMHO.

Draft pour into a half liter stein. Light brown with a dark khaki colored head of about two fingers. Malt forward on the nose and taste with dark bread and subtle earthy hop notes. Märzen beers never looks that great but this one does a great job. It’s malty and sturdy but very drinkable. Full mouthfeel. One of the better American-made Märzens I have had.

 

16oz, canned on 09/15/25
L: Frothy ivory colored head leaves a spattering of lacing on the glass atop a clear copper colored bier
S: spicy herbal hops with caramelized grain and bread crust
T: caramelized grain, bread crust, toasty malt, hops are spicy & herbal
O: really good Märzen and probably a top 10 all-time for the style for me

 

A very traditional recipe, taste is excellent yet just a hint shy of an authentically German Märzen. Goldfinger is doing amazing work with this brew. One of my favorite Märzens. Excellent!

 

After the first sip of this Marzen, joy and anxiety hit me simultaneously. The joy is tasting a new entry into a style that most American micros brew, but only a few succeed in approaching the Bavarian masters. Only four releases into this style, Goldfinger is in that approach. The style is such a delicate balance between the sweet malt and the lingering hops that few micros demonstrate what the masters have taken centuries to brew the balance. Goldfinger is very close.

My anxiety comes from recognizing that I have paid too little attention to Goldfinger and, now, I'm moving from Chicagoland. So, I've missed my chance to appreciate Goldfinger's rapid success in the lager sector. Nonetheless, Prost !

 

 

16oz can, dated 09.25.2023, poured into a 16oz tumbler glass. Enjoyed on 10.17.2023, reviewed from Tasting Journal.

The beer pours a dark medium amber color, copper and orange hues, good clarity and a bone colored head that rises nicely with good retention and lacing. The aroma is of hearty brown bread, amber malt, earthy noble hop, light stone fruits and somewhat floral. The flavors are good, very bready, amber and caramel maltiness, earthy noble hop, lightly floral, herbal black tea and soft fruitness. The mouthfeel is good, coating, super smooth, nimble but hefty body with an easy finish.

Verdict: A very nice Märzen. Earthy, bready, complex, perfect to welcome autumn.

Clear dark amber body, full white head leaving plenty of lacing all around. Smell has a euro complexion: German bready yeast, euro sweet malt, toast and faint grain, really nice balance and intensity, welcoming you in. Taste has the malt serving as a base for the bready yeast, grain, toast, acorn and gentle mineral water. Feel is higher in carb but has plenty of yeast and malt to balance. Well made with no weaknesses

 

 

 

Had on draft 9/29/22 @ the Hopleaf.

Freshly baked wheat bread & mild caramel notes in the nose.

Creamy medium mouthfeel.

Nice white head; frothy, tree-rung lace.

Freshly baked wheat bread & autumn leaf flavors up front; a kiss of caramel on the finish.

Fall in a glass; pretty phenomenal.

Smells of bready malts & no hop presence. Tastes of caramel; bready & toasted malts. Smooth smooth flavors. Medium bodied beer. Moderate carbonation. Creamy texture while being lighter than most Marzen that I have had which is a positive attribute for my tastes. Also the best Marzen that I have had.