Märican Biere Bought and Drunk...

That Spaten is definitely different from the one we get over here.
This is obviously a stock photo, but it looks pretty close to this:


Your H-P looks exactly like a Lowenbrau Urtyp I had last year. Not quite burnt orange, but certainly a few shades darker than a helles or pils.

 

I have recently begun to suspect that in many cases -- and specifically in Spaten's case -- the darker color is simply achieved by adding Sinamar to their regular, paler version. Again, this is 100% speculation, but having tasted some beers made with Sinamar at the Weyermann maltings, my suspicions began. As to why these colors are added to export/U.S. versions? Probably just to conform with our preconceptions about yellow beer being "flavorless" and therefore adding "flavor" by adding color. Heck, most U.S. versions seem to be based on the belief that Oktoberfestbier must be extra malty and roasty-sweet.

 

Maybe this year, but in years past Spaten, Paulaner, and H-P definitely had bigger malt character than some of the lighter versions like HB and Weihenstephan. But with AB-InBev worming their way in more and more, I despair.

 

Uh, yeah. Didn't you say that you'd had H-P Oktoberfest over here since you've been back? It's most definitely darker than that -- copper brown. Same with Spaten and Paulaner, the colors of their Amber-Märzen are nearly identical, if not their flavors.

 

The Sinamar concept is an interesting one. I know that Garrett Oliver suggested that large brewers have used that with their dark offerings (a la Amber Bock and Zeigenbock).
It wouldn't shock me. I had a CB & Potts (RAM Restaurant) maibock back when I first moved to CO and I could have sworn it was the most flavorful non-dark beer I'd ever had...back before I knew that was even possible.

 

So you're saying that there were bottles of H-P that poured darker than the draughts you got at the Oktoberfest? I guess that would make some sense. But all I was saying is that the Maß of H-P you show above is much lighter than the bottles we get over here -- but now I'm interested to try the Hacker-Pschorr special Wies'n Festbier they're importing, ought to be interesting to compare with the other "Pale" Festbier we see.

 

That's how I felt about the Spaten Dunkel when it first returned to the U.S.

 

Even that looks a lot lighter than the last Spaten Okto I had. But as you say, it's a stock photo so I have to wonder if there's some special lighting for effect -- I mean, that head looks awfully "sculpted."

(If I can get my photo sharing program to work I'll attempt to post some photos)

 

For all, here's the press release on the H-P Special Releases out or coming out.

 

I suppose sinamar is farbmalz taken one step further, the use of which seems to have been controversial for over 140 years at least (excerpts from the publication "Der Bayerische Bierbrauer" from 1867):

An excerpt from a pdf containing correspondence between Dr. Windisch from VLB and the brewery manager at Radeberger Export Brauerei from 1923:

Additionally, on the question of Oktoberfest beers (the pale ones), I thought this article was interesting

Here's a page which purports to show the abv, original gravity and IBUs of the 6 beers from 2012. The ratio of Munich malt to Pilsner malt in Hofbräu's 2012 pale Oktoberfest beer, as per Dummert's statement, seemed to have been 20%-80%.

 

Sinamar is the brand name of Weyermann's beer coloring agent/syrup. From what I was told, it shouldn't impart any roasty malt notes, only a touch of sweetness. I didn't inquire further during the tour, so I can't really say much more than that, I'm afraid. At any rate, it is purportedly different than adding roast or chocolate malt to the grain bill.

 

This is a 100% my take, its a nice beer, which I enjoy, but i dont completely consider it a pils. More of Pils/apa hybrid.

cheers

 

Even then, the HB says it's between 8 and 9 EBC.

 

Agree. The primary effect of all this talk is that I am totally craving a Mass of Oktoberfestbier.

 

Green apples and pears? Is that essentially saying that their beer has an acetaldehyde note? I know Coors has that as a not-so-secret house flavor.