Oktoberfest suggestions

I've only had Left Hand's once, so I'm a little reluctant to state the following reaction. I get it that you are primarily trying to compare American vs German - I'm not trying to miss the main point that you are making, but in my limited experience, it's tough putting Left Hand and Sam Adams in the same category. I always have the exact reaction you are describing with Sam, but not with Left Hand. Maybe the differences between Sam Adams and Left Hand are as big as the differences between Left Hand and Spaten. I need to try more of it.

 

Yes, it would suck to be hustled by a distributor. The brewery (Ayinger) can very easily thwart this by simply putting a date on their bottles. While I am a fan of Ayinger beer I do not purchase them often (basically I just buy the Oktoberfest) because they refuse to put dates on their bottles.

Cheers!

 

I was going to post this. I bought a sixer the other day and im going to go out and get more, I thought it was delicious.. albeit not 100% traditional to the style, I think thats what makes it fun.

 

Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest is ok but does not match the hype. Sam Adams version is bready, sweet and one dimensional. Bottom line is: I have yet to find to find an American Marzen that comes close to the German ones. Ayinger, Weihenstephan and Hofbrau are all vastly superior. Next year I will only buy German versions.

 

For my money, Millstream makes the best marzen of any American brewer. I don't think they distribute in WI but it's really easy to find in Iowa.

 

Well show off arent you ready for October. Enjoyed the line up.

 

The truth does hurt even with a collaboration technique.

 

Yes, it does happen. I trust my local liquor store as well. But a few years ago the distributor packaged a Schneider gift pack with bottles all over a year old. I returned the gift pack, and my beer guy let the distributor know. He received all new gift packs to replace the old ones.

Last year the same thing happened with Schlenkerla. I e-mailed the brewery, and they can decipher the two letter code and realized there was over two year old Schlenkerla on the shelf. That was also replaced.

This year I spotted last year's Spaten Oktoberfest, bottled last August. This time I didn't bother saying anything, as I have many other Oktoberfest beers to try. A week later I did notice this year's batch, but even that was from March.

Yes, it does happen, and quite frequently. In the case of Ayinger, you can contact the brewery and there might be a two letter code on it that the brewery could decipher. A quick test I do (this isn't perfect mind you) is to hold the bottle up to the light and look for floaties if it's a style/beer that shouldn't have any. For example the Schlenkerla Eiche had floaties in it, and the brewery said it shouldn't. If it's a wheat beer, you're screwed. Or, their Maerzen/Urbock is too dark to tell. In addition to that, the Spaten from last August was clear as day in the bottle.

Of course, you could always track these beers down on draft, and while you can't see the dates on the kegs, you probably have a better shot of having fresh imports that way. You can also try to find American options that match your preferences, which SHOULD be fresher than most imports.

 

Olde Mecklenburg brews a clone to Ayinger at least to my palate. I know it's fresh, it's dated. I hate games, every brewery should be proud enough of their beers to date them not trick people. Date the bottling, I don't give two shits about best by dates.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to compare Sam and Left Hand directly, only in contrast to the Spaten. To me Left Hand is too boozy to drink all afternoon, not to mention it just doesn't have that good bready malt character.

 

What sort of flavor are you getting from yeast? I taste breadiness and crackery character, both of which could be emphasized by yeast, but to me the SN finishes nice and clean and dry with no real yeast character as you might get from top-fermenting yeast. The SN also has the spicy hops character with maybe a touch of citrus, but nothing I'd call a result of yeast.

 

Not a huge Sam Adams fan but had their Octoberfest last night and enjoyed it

 

Sierra Nevada. Incredible. Don't even hesitate to get a 12 pack.

 

OK, for your "mixed crowd" feast there are plenty of really good domestic Octoberfests and marzens to choose from - well duh, no surprise. Great Lakes and Sierra Nevada (SN 2015 is exceptional) are obvious choices of course, among others. But for my money in order to not freak out the neophytes among your guests Sam Adam's Octoberfest is malty enough and a touch sweet and not too high of an ABV so as ease them into it. I'm just sayin . . .

 

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but Victory's Festbier is fantastic

 

Hinterland
WI Brewing Co
New Glarus
Great Lakes
Bull Falls
Upland

 

Agree totally, i m not a big yeast or malty kinda of beer drinker, i dont want it overpowering the core of the beer. Hops, IBU and citrus with pine added balanced. RESIN comes to mind at 100 IBU'S. Getting back to SN octfest , nice light all fall flavors coming together at the same time

 

Drinking a Hacker now after drinking Sierra Nevada all week. I enjoy the lighter body of Hacker, SN has a sweetness that I enjoy in the first few sips but gets cloying towards the end. Hacker also has a nice toasted note that SN lacks. Both are really good beers though. A nice reprieve from my IPA heavy rotation

 

Potosi (Wisconsin) has an excellent Oktoberfest. I had a Shiner Oktoberfest yesterday. And certainly can't go wrong with Sam Adams.

 

I'm certain to get a great deal of criticism about this but I prefer American Marzens to the traditional German ones.

My favorites are:
SN's 2015 collab
Hooker
Great Lakes

I also like:
Thirsty Dog Barktoberfest
Left Hand
Two Brothers Atom Smasher (high ABV for the style and not at all traditional)
and... SA (I make no apologies - it's basic and good)

One final suggestion:
If you can get your hands on some, definitely close with Avery's Kaiser Imperial version. Again, NOT traditional but it would make for a great dessert beer.