Oktoberfest Märzen
Hacker-Pschorr Bräu GmbH

Disclaimer: I am using Oktoberfest to refer to any of the many styles brewed for Oktoberfest. I understand that Oktoberfest is not a style in and of itself.

Tonight is a new beer to me. (Will be cross posted with New Beer Sunday and WBAYDN)

Hacker-Pschorr Brau GmbH – Oktoberfest Marzen

5.8 %ABV

The beer is listed as “Original – Festbier – Filtered” on the label, and a “Lager – Marzen” on BA.

No dates.

The beer was removed from a 45ish degree temp fridge after having been refrigerated for approximately 2 weeks. Beer poured into a classic Haufbrauhaus dimpled mug.

First Impression: Beer pours about right, but perhaps a little light (more opaque than expected). No immediate aromatics.

Appearance: Nothing special, but strikes me as accurate to style. This is subjective; I’m never quite sure how to rate appearance if it is ‘right’. Is that a 5? Feels wrong if I don’t think it is “pretty” within the category. 4.0

Smell: This beer is not extremely aromatic. Nor are any Oktoberfest beers, not really – at least not like a stout or an IPA. This beer has quite the heady smell – very yeasty/bready by comparison to, say, the Great Lakes Oktoberfest I drank earlier. And, as I alluded to earlier, it has that great “bier” smell character. Given that I am giving this a 4.25, this begs the question of what a 5 would look like for an Oktoberfest. Would I want an Ipa-style aromatic level of Oktoberfest smell? I don’t think so. It’s not intoxicating enough (for me). 4.25

Taste: A distinctively ‘bier’ taste that is not as pale as other Marzens that I have had, but more pale than others. I’d argue this is very middle of the road. It has more of that heady characteristic that I associate with many Oktoberfest beers. I wouldn’t say that it’s bread in a glass or anything (which my BIL used to describe Guinness as), but it is awfully bready. I like that characteristic. No “over malt” shall we say. 4.15

Mouthfeel: Nothing unique or special. It feels (get it) true to style. Really, the mouth feel is quite spot on for what it is. 4.5

Overall: This is a fine Oktoberfest. It’s probably one of my favorites among the 6 I have tried this year, although I didn’t expect it to be. I expected it to be quite pale, and just not quite my style. I was wrong. That said, I don’t know if it is the “best” of the style that I have tried so far, and no doubt I don’t think it is probably the “best” out there. 4.50

BA Review Score: 4.27

This is pairing quite well with my bier bratwurst and knockwurst I had to fry up over the first beer…

 

 

Lucious mouthfeel, beautiful color. A malty treat for any ‘shoulder season’. Just wish it wasn’t in one of those sub-volume 11.2 oz bottles (I want my full 12! ! - kidding). Great beer.

Appreciate its surprising availability - even in semi-remote basin & range Nevada towns.

 

 

 

Gorgeous pour... amber carmel color... It was lively and vibrant in the glass... I could smell a sweet malt to start... Head faded rather quickly... subtle nobel hop nose... and subtle bitter finish...

 

 

Picked up a Pack at Costco! Loved the taste. Good full mouthfeel, rich smooth taste that you expect from a Marzen. Beautiful dark color and pours really well with medium foam. Tastes wheaty and no sour or any other funk. Finished the whole pack quick!

Dark but clear amber to chestnut brown with a khaki foam head of moderate height clinging in fine yet also bubbly ridges.

This one is on the sweeter end, almost prune, also exhibiting a bit of chestnut in flavor, while pleasantly bready too, of dark biscuit or pumpernickel, perhaps even a hint of pretzel.

The beer is copper-colored with an off-white head.
Aroma of sweet malt and herbal hops.
Taste of bread, caramel, and herbal hops.
Medium-bodied, very easy to drink.

Pours a foggy bronze-copper with a couple fingers of white foam. Aroma is spicy, grassy, and herbal hops. Malts are biscuits, bread, and caramel. Flavor profile is spicy, grassy, and herbal hops with some biscuity, bready, and caramelly malts behind. Nice balance between the hops and malts. Bits and pieces of toffee and fig pop through. Mouth feel is medium in thickness. Texture has a very soft crispness and effervescence before it flattens out. Overall, great balance in this crushable fest bier.

Served in a 15.5oz Spiegelau tulip from a 11.2oz glass bottle.

500mL bottle with swing-top cap. ABV 6%. BBE 05/2026.

Appearance: Clear amber yellow with small white head.

Smell: Grassy hops, pale malts, bready savoury yeast.

Taste: Sweet biscuity pale malts, with mild grassy/herby hop bitterness.

Feel: Soft and round, with low carbonation.

Overall: Good mild lager-style beer.

 

Mein freuline, es good, yah?

Burning fall leaves, honey malt with faint pepper and wood. Tight, German boogeyman construction.