Oktoberfests / Marzens

Unfortunately Sly Fox does not distribute to you area so that beer is unavailable to you. Also High Point (Ramstein) does not come out your way. Do you get Shiner? They make a quality Oktoberfest.

My favorites German brewed Oktoberfest beers are Weihenstephaner, Ayinger and Hacker-Pschorr.

Cheers!

 

Many great suggestions have already been made, so maybe I'll just break them down by type (these all have something going for them, no matter which type they fall under).

Amber Marzen- will have a toastier and more melanoidin-like malt quality, this is the more popular type among American beer enthusiasts. Notable examples- Spaten, Ayinger, Hacker-Pschorr, Paulaner Marzen.

Pale Marzen- the more modern interpretation, very rich bready/doughy platform that shows off the noble hops better than the ambers, made for drinking by the liter. Notable examples- Weihenstephaner, Hofbrau, Paulaner Wies'n (note that Paulaner makes both kinds)

Ayinger kind of falls in between the two versions, and is excellent in its own right.

This year Weihenstephaner was head and shoulders above the rest, but I also am very fond of Ayinger and Spaten.

@JackHorzempa was nice enough to send me some Sly Fox last year, and it is very legit, with the malt presence of the best German examples. I don't think it can be found much outside of Philly, though.

 

These were my three favorite this year as well. I tend to lean more towards liking the paler beer, because I think of them almost as imperial Helles, and I LOVE Helles.

The Ayinger was mediocre on draft I thought, although it could have just been a bad tap line, end of the keg, whatever. Because in bottle it was fantastic as usual.

In years past Hacker Pschorr has been one of favorites, but this year's was lacking to me.

 

Michael, you may be correct that Sly Fox Oktoberfest has limited distribution. Sly Fox as a company has a broader distribution of NY, NJ, PA, DE and MD but it may be true that seasonal beers are not distributed in all 5 of those states.

Cheers!

Jack

 

I checked in NJ recently, and we don't get the seasonals or the Dunkel Lager here. What's odd is that my sister hasn't been able to find the Dunkel near Bethlehem, PA either (and one of the places she checked was Abe's, which does have a very good selection overall). I think I am just going to have to contact the brewery to get the scoop on what's available where.

 

I'm definitely in the Imperial Helles camp myself, and I really wish it would be brewed year-round. Hofbrau's is solid still, but it didn't blow me away like the Weihenstephaner did.

I didn't get to the H-P this year, but I am shying away from the ambers lately. If I can find a stack of Weihenstephaner cases this upcoming season I just might not try any others this year. (well... I might make an exception for the Sly Fox, if I can get it).

 

We get the seasonals and the Dunkel Lager in central NJ. I can usually find them at Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville and the Buy Rite (formerly Circle Liquors) in Pennington.

 

Thanks- I'll have to look into that some more. I did see that order sheets, myself, for the Northern NJ distributor and there wasn't anything like that on there (just Pikeland, Odyssey, Route 113, Phoenix Pale, Royal Weisse, Ichor and maybe Black Raspberry, I think). At the very least the other ones are registered with the state, so it's just a matter of seeing how close it is.

 

It blows my mind how hit or miss distribution is within the state. I can barely get High Point's beers down here.

 

Tell me about it- and another funny thing with Sly Fox is that I have to cross the border in NY to get the Helles. One of my hopes is that they can get the O'fest in NY this year, and I'll get it there even if i have to commit to buying a case.

 

“..O'fest in NY this year, and I'll get it there even if i have to commit to buying a case.”

Michael, I bought a case of the Sly Fox Oktoberfest last year (for the first time; I previously just purchased 6-packs). I was happy with that decision.

Cheers!

Jack

 

Great topic, its among my favorite styles. I'd say Ayinger, Spaten and Weihenstephaner are not only my favorites among the style but some of my favorite beers in general.

 

Yeah- I think one's not going to do it for me this year .

 

I'm fortunate in that the bar up the street from me has nearly every imported Oktoberfest on tap all through September and October.

 

That's a good point- I could probably try them on draught first and see if I am prompted to pick up any more for home consumption. Nothing so close to home for me, unfortunately.

 

Very good point and I am of the same opinion.

 

As I understand it, Hunterdon is the state-wide distributor for Sly Fox in NJ - so any Hunterdon retail customer should be able to get any of their beers. I've bought the Oktoberfest, Dunkel and the Helles in NJ - the latter were topped with the regular lids, not the 360 pull-top which apparently are illegal in NJ (and other states) due to old "anti-pop-top" legislation that banned that often littered top.

Sly Fox has sort of missed out on the canned beer fad in NJ - it's usually much more common to find other brands' cans even though SF was one of the earliest/closest brewers to adopt the package. And when one does find the SF cans, they are often old or nearing their pull dates (when you can find a legible date). Haven't seen any draught SF beers in a long time. I've gotten the feeling that there is some "tension/lack of cooperation" in the relationship between Hunterdon and Sly Fox. I've been picking up my Pikeland Pils in "suitcases" just over the border in PA lately.

 

Considering the historical difference between winter and summer lager beer in hopping rates, I would personally allow for a rather broad span of IBUs and percieved bitterness in Märzen beers (i.e the last summer beer to be brewed, which was to keep for the longest). I'm not convinced that the style has remained unchanged as far as hopping rates and perceptible bitterness goes, when it's clear that wort strenghts have been drastically altered along with attenuation, and with the obvious process of standardization which has taken place across German styles. The 13 degrees plato of Summit's Festbier might be a bit low if one judges it on the basis of historical accuracy, and the 30 IBUs in combination with the lower original gravity probably gives the beer a more noticable bitterness than most modern German examples. It sounds like it's a stellar beer however, and one I would likely enjoy a great deal.

 

Exactly the "historical" reference I'm talking about; my own experiences. I'm only comparing to Märzens I've enjoyed over the past 30 years -- have no direct reference beyond that.

No doubt -- Summit makes great beer, this is just the first (and only) Märzen with this (unusual) level of bitterness I've ever had.

 

I see. Well I just thought that it's important to acknowledge that the authenticity/true to style issue cuts both ways, American brewers might deviate from how the Germans are currently brewing their beers and how they brewed in the past, but German brewing itself hasn't exactly stood still, and makes for a rather shaky gold standard to lean against, unless style is thought of as a moving target, in which case adherence to style, as far as I'm concerned, becomes an exercise in futility.