German Beer Appreciation 2025

Have fun, and I (probably a whole bunch of us) look forward to reports of the experience!

 

If I have correctly figured out the international phone data usage mystery and the posting of photos on my phone, I plan on posting something daily in this thread.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/trips-beer-trips.680230/

 

I am curious about your thoughts on Hofbrauhaus Traunstein.

Prost!

 

I have not been over there since the 1980s. Must take a road trip over there on the motorbike before it gets too cold. Bavaria hosts approximately 630 breweries. I cant get to all of them.

 

Lightweight. Where's your dedication?

 

Enjoying a nice doppelbock from the Benedictine Abbey of Ettal, dark bread and dark fruit all day. One could subside on this during Lenten fasting.
Cheers!
Tom

 

I picked one up at brewery on Saturday. Saving it for a bit. The monks are very easy to talk about how they brew the beers.

 

The Oktoberfest Season has begun (for me)!

Since it is now post Labor Day (Sept. 1st this year) and in my area (Philly area) there is now a nice cool(er) crispness in the air (early mornings and evenings) it is now perfect weather for Oktoberfest beers, as I posted in another thread in a reply to “cool nights”:

“FWIW that is the time of the day I most enjoy drinking fall style beers (e.g., Oktoberfest beers).”

So, last evening I drank my first Oktoberfest beer: Weihenstephaner Festbier.

I already have in my cellar: Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest, Hacker Pschorr Oktoberfest Märzen, Von Trapp Oktoberfest along with the aforementioned Weihenstephaner Festbier.

The Weihenstephaner Festbier is a very tasty Pale Oktoberfest beer!



Prost!

 

Still my favorite after so many years.

@grantcty

@Bavarican -- note the dark, copper-amber color beer we get over here. As much as I like the pale Festbier being served at the Wiesn, I like the Ur-Märzen much more.



(and no, the mug isn't dirty, I just didn't shake out the water enough when I gave it a pre-rinse )

 

Another great Pale Oktoberfest beer is Fat Head's Oktoberfest beer. I will be buying a six-pack of that beer in a few days (maybe Saturday?).

Prost!

 

FWIW, I personally enjoy drinking Oktoberfest beers for the full duration of fall and I even save a few cans/bottles for enjoyment during the holiday season (between Christmas and New Year’s).

Cheers!

 

Is it though? I usually only see Spaten, Paulaner, and Hacker Pschorr in the Amber Märzen style. But then you've got Paulaner's Fest, Hofbräu, Weihenstephaner, Hofbräu Freising, Tucher, Bitburger, even Warsteiner Festbiers -- even though that one is sort of a tweener like I consider Ayinger.

Does anyone see Allgäuer Festbier anymore?

 

The key word here is Ur-Märzen. It is not on the German website. Nor has it been rated on German Rating sites. The normal Oktoberfest Märzen yes. The American Spaten website lists it as one of their beers. This is another case of the Exports being different than the local ones as we have seen with Ettal, Andechs and others.