Northeast Oktoberfest Thread

This has been the longest season so far from me, starting in August and still going...have a Joseph Brau Oktoberfest in my fridge I need to get to still to add to the list. And Foam's Festbier is on tap as well, so might add that one. I also need to figure out if Long Cross has the Rathaus Marzen or the Rothaus Marzen...

Anywho...here's the season to date:


In italics are the standouts for me at this point.

OVERALL BEST SO FAR: Spaten and maybe Hacker-Pschorr on draft too. Need to have the H-P one more time...for science.

Best in show (amber): Spaten on draft (maybe H-P)

Best in show (pale): Andechs Spezial Hell on draft

Imported Pale Oktoberfest:
Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier (draft and can)
Hofbrau Oktoberfestbier (draft)
Tucher Bergkirchweih Festbier (draft and can) - only the draft was a stand out
Andechs Spezial Hell (draft)
Weihenstephan Festbier (bottle, draft, and can) - only the can was a stand out

Imported Amber Oktoberfest:
Paulaner Märzen (bottle and draft)
Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen (both bottle and draft) - only the draft was a stand out
Spaten Oktoberfest Ur-Märzen (both bottle and draft) - only the draft was a stand out
Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Märzen (draft and bottle)
Allgäuer Büble Bier Festbier (draft)
Bitburger Festbier (bottle and draft)

Domestic Amber Oktoberfest:
Jack's Abby Copper Legend (can)
Idle Hands Brocktoberfest (both can and draft)
Zero Gravity Oktoberfest (can)
Von Trapp Oktoberfest (can and I think draft?)
Sam Adams Octoberfest (can and draft)
Bells Octoberfest (bottle)
Mighty Squirrel Oktoberfest (can)
Toppling Goliath Oktoberfest (can)
Founders Oktoberfest (can)
Harpoon Octoberfest (can and draft) - only draft was a stand out
Trillium Märzen (draft)
Remnant Brewing Fest Lager (draft)
Brooklyn Oktoberfest (I think I had this on draft? either this or Von Trapp on draft)
Winter Hill Brewing Dr. Leo Märzen (draft)
Silvaticus Brewing Oktoberfest Festbier (can) - they label it as Festbier, but this was quite amber to me. Tasted that way too.
East Rock Oktoberfest (can)
Troegs Oktoberfest (draft and can)
Victory Festbier (bottle)
Cambridge Brewing Company Festbier (draft)

Domestic Pale Oktoberfest:
Notch Festbier (can and draft)
Trillium Wiesenbier (draft)
Idle Hands Wiesenbier (draft)
Dorchester Brewing Festbier (draft)
Nightshift One Mighty Festbier (draft)
Mast Landing Feierabend (can) - I recall this being pretty good, need another can to determine if it's a stand out
Sam Adams Festbier (draft)
Jack’s Abby Munich Fest (can)

Imported German Märzen
Rothaus Märzen Eiszäpfle (bottle and draft)
Schlenkerla Märzen (draft)

Domestic Austrian Märzen
Schilling Konstantin (draft)

Barrel-aged Oktoberfest
Founders Ultimate Oktoberfest (bottle)

Non-Alcoholic Oktoberfest:
Athletic Brewing Märzen (can)

Oktoberfest Events Attended:
Sam Adams Oktoberfest at the Boston Taproom in Quincy Market
Bow Market/Remnant Brewing Oktoberfest
Idle Hands Oktoberfest
Notch Oktoberfest
Trillium Oktoberfest
Nightshift Oktoberfest (both days!)
*Dorchester Brewing Oktoberfest
*technically the day after, but still the same weekend, and their German beers were still on tap
Winter Hill Oktoberfest
ONCE Oktoberfest

Stein Hoisting Competitions:
Sam Adams
Idle Hands
Notch

 

Man, I'd be running there for that. It's hard to figure out what's what with their Festbiere in the US. The one I was used to seeing was north of 6% and not being sold as Fürstentrunk, but that stronger beer was my favorite Festbier and I don't see it around anymore.

 

I didn't see that on my last post, was that from a previous post?

It's funny because that WAS at my local, and I went there to have it Friday night, but it was kicked.

Had to settle for Bitburger Festbier and Rothaus Märzen Eiszäpfle on tap (had only had those in bottle this year so far).

 

Sorry for being late to reply. It's the normal Untappd chaos. The Untappd listing is for Rathaus in Switzerland (as @steveh noted). That Rathaus beer appears to be a 5.3% amber Märzen. Looking at the photos on Untappd, it's clear that many people are mistakenly using this listing for Rothaus Märzen (with the yellow bands on the label)... which I believe is the same beer as Eiszäpfle (with the silver bands on the label)... which is a 5.6% gold Märzen. It's confusing that Rothaus appears to have two different labels for the same beer.

I bet some bars in the US are listing their beer incorrectly as well... which would obviously add to the confusion. The Rathaus Märzen has two reviews on BA, both of which more-or-less claim that their beer was a golden Festbier and not an amber Märzen. One review states that it was on tap in NY. Are both of these reviews really for the Rothaus beer? Seems pretty likely. If so, this could be user confusion or the bar mislabeling the beer. Is Rathaus imported to the US? With all of the BeerAdvocate reviews for their various beers either being from travels in Switzerland or mistakes (see above), I'd say it's very unlikely that they are imported here.

So if all of this wasn't enough to make one think that Long Cross is really serving Rothaus despite what their menu says... I also see that they use Untappd as the source for their online beer menu. Anything is possible, but I know what I'd expect that beer to really be.

Previous post... not your "hads" post. You can use the up arrow link in the quote to see the source.

 

@zid

Thanks for the clarification!!!

Well, I guess my Oktoberfest season is nearly done. One more I haven't had in my fridge (Josephbrau). And then maybe one more local on tap up the road (Foam).

I also need to try Troegs another time. I kinda dug it, but it was never on a fresh palate when I had full pours/cans. The ONE time it was on a fresh palate it was a 5 oz. sample at a bar, which I don't want to judge a beer on. For what it's worth I didn't care for that sample.

 

What'd *I* say?

 

Well... it's really just conjecture. You can always buy a glass and do the ol' pic of the keg Oktoberfest tradition. You can blame @steveh if I was wrong.

 

You found TJ's? I looked a couple times around here and never saw it. Figured it had been discontinued like so many of the other Josephsbräu beers.

Um. Check the date?

 

I think we both did the same research and came to the same (solid) conclusion.

 

Ha, yeah @steveh beat ya to it and he sent me some private messages about it. I was going to go to the place and ask to take a pic of the keg, but this seems pretty definitive at this point.

Plus I have bigger fish to fry (Celebration Ale).

Ah crap, yeah I almost ALWAYS do, but don't think I did this time....I'll see when I get home....

 

I'd hate to think your local TJ's has been holding on to stock for a year, but...

 

Just checked, and I think I did check in the store, because this date rings a bell.

Best by 5/23, phew.

 

Note to self: after having these two beers one after another I still prefer Paulaner, but not by much. The main difference is a slightly metallic aftertaste in Weihenstephaner Festbier, which is often present for me in German imports, but it is less present today.

 

Notch isnt a standout?

 

I know right!? It's good, but not quite a stand out for me. I really like their Helles Spezial which is only a slightly different recipe.

I had it on draft two or three times, and had about five cans, so I gave it a good shot. Again, enjoyed drinking it, but not quite on the level of the imports.

 

The season is over, but I keep adding new/old beers to my list of '22. This strategy worked very well compared to trying to get all the different beers at once and then being overwhelmed with too many beers of a similar style. The last two added today are Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Märzen and Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier. Enjoying both of them, but Hofbräu is my preference this time. Anecdotally, in previous years I rated Märzens over Festbiers, but this year Festbiers are the winner.

 

Place down the street from me just got a keg of the Notch Festbier 10 days ago (a bit late) and it's pretty forgettable in comparison to the German imports.

 

Ever had their Helles Spezial on draft? You might really dig that one.

 

Ok, I think I'm finally done this season. Finished in October I think, although I'm sure I had an Oktoberfest repeat at some point in the last week or so. Might snag another draft somewhere too since there's still plenty of imported kegs kickin' around.


In italics are the standouts for me at this point.

OVERALL BEST SO FAR: Spaten and maybe Hacker-Pschorr on draft too. Need to have the H-P one more time...for science.

Best in show (amber): Spaten on draft (maybe H-P)

Best in show (pale): Andechs Spezial Hell on draft

Imported Pale Oktoberfest:
Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier (draft and can)
Hofbrau Oktoberfestbier (draft)
Tucher Bergkirchweih Festbier (draft and can) - only the draft was a stand out
Andechs Spezial Hell (draft)
Weihenstephan Festbier (bottle, draft, and can) - only the can was a stand out

Imported Amber Oktoberfest:
Paulaner Märzen (bottle and draft)
Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen (both bottle and draft) - only the draft was a stand out
Spaten Oktoberfest Ur-Märzen (both bottle and draft) - only the draft was a stand out
Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Märzen (draft and bottle)
Allgäuer Büble Bier Festbier (draft)
Bitburger Festbier (bottle and draft)

Domestic Amber Oktoberfest:
Jack's Abby Copper Legend (can)
Idle Hands Brocktoberfest (both can and draft)
Zero Gravity Oktoberfest (can)
Von Trapp Oktoberfest (can and I think draft?)
Sam Adams Octoberfest (can and draft)
Bells Octoberfest (bottle)
Mighty Squirrel Oktoberfest (can)
Toppling Goliath Oktoberfest (can)
Founders Oktoberfest (can)
Harpoon Octoberfest (can and draft) - only draft was a stand out
Trillium Märzen (draft)
Remnant Brewing Fest Lager (draft)
Brooklyn Oktoberfest (I think I had this on draft? either this or Von Trapp on draft)
Winter Hill Brewing Dr. Leo Märzen (draft)
Silvaticus Brewing Oktoberfest Festbier (can) - they label it as Festbier, but this was quite amber to me. Tasted that way too.
East Rock Oktoberfest (can)
Troegs Oktoberfest (draft and can) - can was a stand out, only had a 4 oz. sample of the draft and then the second time was a full pour but wasn't on a clean palate, but I recall it being tasty
Victory Festbier (bottle)
Cambridge Brewing Company Festbier (draft)
Josephs Brau Oktoberfest (bottle)
Foam Brewers The Fall (draft)

Domestic Pale Oktoberfest:
Notch Festbier (can and draft)
Trillium Wiesenbier (draft)
Idle Hands Wiesenbier (draft)
Dorchester Brewing Festbier (draft)
Nightshift One Mighty Festbier (draft)
Mast Landing Feierabend (can) - I recall this being pretty good, need another can to determine if it's a stand out
Sam Adams Festbier (draft)
Jack’s Abby Munich Fest (can)

Imported German Märzen
Rothaus Märzen Eiszäpfle (bottle and draft)
Schlenkerla Märzen (draft)

Domestic Austrian Märzen
Schilling Konstantin (draft)

Barrel-aged Oktoberfest
Founders Ultimate Oktoberfest (bottle)

Non-Alcoholic Oktoberfest:
Athletic Brewing Märzen (can)

Oktoberfest Events Attended:
Sam Adams Oktoberfest at the Boston Taproom in Quincy Market
Bow Market/Remnant Brewing Oktoberfest
Idle Hands Oktoberfest
Notch Oktoberfest
Trillium Oktoberfest
Nightshift Oktoberfest (both days!)
*Dorchester Brewing Oktoberfest
*technically the day after, but still the same weekend, and their German beers were still on tap
Winter Hill Oktoberfest
ONCE Oktoberfest

Stein Hoisting Competitions:
Sam Adams
Idle Hands
Notch

Prost!