German / Imported Märzens

Hey right you are. Checked the bottle. Ofest Marzen is correct
Delicious and still my favorite. That honey note still sings through on the palate..
Prost

 

My favorite this year too.

 

Actually, when I think aboot it,
It was very lightly flavoured even after it warmed up. No spices, very light hops, some bread, not really sweet. I hope it's not an old keg.

 

So while I couldn't find pictures on my phone, I found old posts from me that referenced this phenomenon...

From August 2018 (so I'm referencing previous years here in this post):

"Honorable mention goes to Paulaner's Wiesn, which can be very hit or miss for me. In recent year's some batches have been hazy, which makes no sense."

From October 2019 (referencing 2019's draft, and Traunstein, so it wasn't just Paulaner):

"I also swung by Magoun's this past weekend, and was disappointed with the Paulaner Wiesn and Traunstein Oktoberfest I had on draft. I think both of these are past their prime (which has happened to me before at Magoun's by the time the calendar hits October).

They were both hazy, which I highly doubt these beers are when fresh. German imported pale Oktoberfests are typically clear as day. Ah well."


I remember when receiving drafts like this thinking, "Well that looks odd, why isn't it clear?" To be fair, none of them were as turbid as @Bitterbill 's.

And before someone says "dirty tap lines", the draft before 2018 was a different bar than the one in 2019. And Olde Magoun's (the bar that I went to in 2019) always has stellar Oktoberfest drafts, so it would be odd for them to have dirty tap lines.

 

I've never seen dirty tap lines muck up the appearance of a beer -- but I suppose it could be possible.

 

I don’t think it was dirty tap lines, just old kegs. Maybe they had year old kegs and never noticed?

 

After many "Oktoberfest" beers up here in Oregon ( they come after Fresh Hop season) and tasting many German varieties. I think some Oktoberfests are not Marzens,,but slightly more malty Helles, i believe these are more common in Germany. Many Oregon brewers are now doing "festbiers"..the Helles type.
It is hard i know but can these two styles of Oktoberfest be divided?

 

Bought a case of 16.9 bottles at my local total wine so far the best import Marzen I’ve had this year.

 

This has been an ongoing discussion for years -- both the 2 different styles and separating them. I don't recall the BA stance for not separating them, but I'm sure it has a lot to do with managing so many styles.

FWIW -- those of us who are big fans of the "Oktoberfest" style -- of both ranges, embrace them both. To me it makes the season more enjoyable with more choice.

Also FWIW -- BJCP separates the two in their guidelines, if you want to see some more info on description, history, and ingredients.

 

Bar crew not noticing dates on beer? C'mon.

 

All of that, definitely, plus now we're seeing a lot more pale-ambers so there's not really a clear delineation between the two ends; it's more of a spectrum.

 

I'm not sure how intentional that is. Yeah, there's a fine line between dark gold and light amber, but there's an even bolder line between Bavarian versions and Ami versions... therein lurks the (always lively) seasonal debate!

 

Yeah? So, those six-packs on the shelf in the background belong to someone else?

 

It also kind of works out nice because Oktoberfests hit shelves in August, and the pale style lends itself more to warmer weather, while the amber style lends itself more to cooler weather.

 

Oh, let's not re-start THAT debate now!

Okay -- the temp in my area is supposed to peak near 80 today, then crash to 55 or 60 around 3:00 -- gonna prep some beer for an experiment!

 

Actually, I have been watching it and hoping they would mark it down. They did not. Of course, I would not buy it now.

 

I've seen that before, but only at large liquor retailers. Other places don't seem to care about turnover.

 

Not sure where you are in PA but I am east of Pitt in a rural area and most of the time, local distributors do not career any of the three you mention. Very frustrating.

 

The only other import I have had this year was paulaner oktoberfestbier it was good but not on ayinger level. I do have a six pack of paulaner marzen waiting for me in the fridge.