Already Craving Oktoberfest Beers?

Ha, none.

I'd make a good beer manager, I'm ruthless with date codes (looking them up, knowing how to decipher most, e-mailing breweries...etc.). Although I'd probably get fired after refusing so much stock from the distributor and constantly rotating the inventory.

They were both six packs I believe, so that makes sense. Sounds like they sent out early six packs, and then newer ones. I'm not even sure we get 12 packs because they don't sell that well.

 

I typically start to crave Oktoberfests when the evenings start to have a cool dark crispness. Right now in the blaze of summer I'm still leaning towards hoppy drinkable beers and pale lagers.

 

99 degree heat index today and I'm craving any beer so long as it's cold.

 

All I can think of easing this is seasonal creep.

 

It sells were well in the bars around me. Even some Bud drinkers I know drink it as soon as the Sam Adams seasonal tap changes over to it from the Summer Ale.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. Based on my experience with their summer wheat (had low expectations for it, but that beer blew me away to be honest), I will certainly give their Octoberfest a shot.

 

There are a lot of beer drinkers who love Sam Adam's Oktoberfest. (Personally, I pass as I feel I may need a diabetes screening while consuming one). I've tried to give some German examples to some of these people over the years, but overall they prefer Sam Adams. To each their own, and I'm sure if it didn't sell Sam Adam's would revamp it or discontinue it.

 

Some interesting competing interests here. Some of us just love the various oktoberfest styles so much we could drink them year round. Some of us could drink them year round, but appreciate the seasonal nature as it 1) gives us something to look forward to (keeps our interest peaked) and/or 2) helps us better identify fresh oktoberfest offerings. Some of us want it as a seasonal, and bemoan the fact that we can now pick up a fresh oktoberfest in July, when we likely want a paler lager, and by late September and October, when the weather is ideal, fresh examples may be hard to find.

In a perfect world, I would wish for two things. The first would be that there were a few breweries who made fresh oktoberst style lagers available year round, distributed them widely, and used easily identifiable bottled on dates. Then we could have a second waive of brewers releasing the style as a seasonal offering at an appropriate time of the summer.

 

I didn't until I skimmed through this thread. Now I want football on my TV and a pint of Great Lakes Octoberfest in my hand.

 

I would just caution you to not have expectations that the beer is a 'classic' Oktoberfest and instead just approach it as an enjoyable beer.

Cheers!

P.S. I am also a fan of the Yuengling Summer Wheat; that beer is more of a 'classic' Hefeweizen.

 

This would be ideal. I get this with Pilsners for example.

I enjoy my staples year round (Notch Pils, Rothaus and Pilsner Urquell when they're fresh...etc.). And then I don't have to worry about having to cram all of my favorites into a few months, because some of the others I enjoy are seasonal (Troegs Sunshine Pils, Sierra Nevada Summerfest...etc.).

 

I've had the same experience. Seems like non-geeks (and some actual beer-geeks) expect that heavily sweet, Ami-Okto and when I tell them that's not how "traditional" Oktoberfests taste they look at me sideways.

Another experience I had was buying beer for a Fall celebration where I work -- a year later one of my co-workers was telling me how much he liked the Oktoberfest we'd had. When I told him it was Spaten he told me I was a liar. I pulled the keg cap from my desk and showed him. He'd only had experience with light-struck Spaten Okto and didn't realize how good it really was.

 

I don't find Oktoberfest's being seasonal at all, they are just typically delicious lagers I could drink year-round. They are not even in the same ballpark as other seasonals like pumpkin and Christmas ales and the like. No real gimmicks about them.

I wish more places brewed them year round... Could enjoy in any season.

 

Yes I'm looking forward to Octoberfest beers because that means SN Celebration is right around the corner!!

 

They're sort of the original seasonal -- they even have a month in their names... you know? To me it just seems odd drinking an Oktoberfest in, say -- April?

And sure, the Oktoberfest starts in September, but it runs thru October -- it's really an Autumn celebration; cooler days and nights, heavier and a little stronger beers to be enjoyed. Oktoberfest beers just scream Autumn to me, not Summer or Spring -- not even Winter.

 

@zid and @AlcahueteJ -- just had a very fresh Pinkus Ur Pils that I happened on this afternoon. The first swallow was a big hit of sweet melanoidin that I really haven't tasted in a long while -- and the overall experience was far from heavy or boozie. In fact, the melanoidin reminded me of that Bell's Okto I had a few years back.

If you can find this fresh, give it a go -- I'll be going back for more.

 

I cannot WAIT for the next SN Oktoberfest.

 

I love last years! I hope they can match this year.

 

I know they dont get much love, but Octoberfests are one of my favorite beers.

 

I love Oktoberfest biers, but in late September/early October. Otherwise it's too damn hot here in Texas to drink that style.