Fall Beer Sightings (2022)

Its the best of the German festbiers we get around here if you ask me. It was the last to show for us too, grabbed mine yesterday. I plan to open one sooner than later.

 

Look for Hofbräu Oktoberest, too.

 

Still like HB better -- seems a bit more substantial (and costs less!).

 

Funny enough I think that is why I prefer it to HB; because it’s just a little less full and lighter.

It’s the time of year we are all happy

 

I came across several Oktos in stock today that I hadn't seen yet this year:

Tucher Festbier (500 ml cans)
Jack Abbey Copper Legend
Schneider Weisse Tap 4 Festweisse. These have "Festweisse" on the label, and a code on the bottle that doesn't make sense to me.
Penn Brewing Oktoberfest
Left Hand Oktoberfest (passed for now)
Toppling Goliath Oktoberfest (passed for now)

Ayinger Oktoberfest-Märzen (this was a call from the distributor telling me that it came in and that they are putting a case aside for me. I didn't make it there today.)

Interestingly, there was still no Paulaner Oktoberfestbier.

 

Festbiers, Pumpkin Beers, whatever. Has any seen any wet hopped IPAs for the season yet?

 

I don't drink IPAs, so I couldn't say.

 

Spaten - please please please go to brown bottles next year for the Octoberfest. And if you cant get to brown bottles, at least do cans!

 

If you want them this early you gotta go to PNW, we happened to be there last year around this time for a wedding.

There were so many fresh hop beers it was impossible to begin to even try them all.

We haven’t mentioned much in this thread but yea technically they are 100% fall beers…

 

There is a dedicated thread for that:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/wet-hopped-beers-2022.668713/

Cheers!

 

Australians, New Zealanders and others below the equator might disagree exactly during which months are the hop harvest.

 

Yes! Please, Spaten, switch to brown bottles (with green labels). If possible, do some 500ml bottles too. If you do goto cans, please, please, please do half-liter cans. At least for the Oktoberfest brews. 333 ml for an Okto (of any stripe) would be just a tad ... silly.

 

Spaten used to export their Okto in covered 12-packs, as they do with their Premium and Franziskaner. Not sure why they stopped.

And they also had half-liter bottles of the Okto many years ago (they may have even been brown). But yeah -- they're hooked an that green bottle marketing for the U.S., even though all of the other Munich breweries have switched over.

Come to think of it, Franzi is in brown bottles. Go figure.

@keithmurray

 

I was going to say that a nagging memory was telling me that Franzi's bottles used to be green. Then I did a quick Google search and found pictures of green Franzi bottles. So Franzi at some point changed from green to brown bottles.

Apparently Franzi also added cans (which I assume are 500ml). The profile page here on BA for Franzi shows a picture of such a can. I have never seen one in the wild as of yet, though.

 

So, embrace the precedence Spaten!

Might be European only?* Like the brown bottles in Spaten's whole Euro lineup?

*A quick check of my local big retailer's web site shows no Franzi cans -- which is only a sliver of research, but... picture uploaded by @Snowcrash000 -- German member.

 

Every year I see it and every year I scratch my head: Flying Dog Dogtoberfest. The label says it's a Marzen Beer Ale Lager and also says (the government made us clarify what a Marzen is). Their site says it uses Lager yeast but it's definitely more Ale-like to me so maybe they ferment it at warmer temps or something?

https://www.flyingdog.com/beers/dogtoberfest/

Either way not one of their better beers and there are many better Oktoberfest choices.

 

That one is my highest rated festbier or märzen.

 

Weird. I know I tried it many years ago and liked it, but subsequent sampling turned me off.

 

Yeah, it's too caramel-y for me and has the slight "beef stew" character I can find in some of these Oktoberfest beers.

 

Hmm. Beef Stew is a new one for me, but sounds awful!

In a beer, that is.