Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest?

Back at'cha pal, right back at'cha.

Ain't that the truth -- but hey, it's just my opinion and what does that trump? Maybe lack of knowledge of what a good Märzen ought to be, not what a modern beer geek thinks would make it "better."

With that, this thread is dead to me until the SN Oktoberfest hits the shelves.

 

Correct, but this is also the core issue. He doesn't buy them, he's tried them and they're not traditional. That leaves him with imports, many of which arrive here already a few months old. It would be nice if more US brewers actually brewed them (see my post above on the number of Oktoberfest/Marzens in the database) and then brewed them correctly. Then you could get fresh, traditional examples.

And trust me, no one knows, and adores, a good Marzen more than @steveh.

Also, check out the shelves this fall (well, more like August now). Many of those examples (albeit poor ones) are being supplanted by pumpkin ales. In fact, many of the imports (excellent examples) are the first ones being taken off the shelves. Why drink liquid bread when you can chug pumpkin pie?

To echo @steveh, they need to learn how to walk before they run. Can't make a stellar example of a traditional Oktoberfest? Throw hops at it!

US brewers spent years tweaking and dialing in the American IPA to what it is today. Why not take the time to truly learn other styles before "innovating" them?

 

Too many responses to reply to all, but I'll say this. If we are truly lacking "quality Marzen/Oktoberfest beers" made here in the US, then why is everyone buying and drinking the US versions that are made. Obviously people are drinking and enjoying them enough that brewers keep making them.

 

will flipside still be released this fall?

 

Pretty sure Flipside will still be the fall seasonal. Tumbler is only returning for the variety pack and it sounds like the two new brews will also be exclusive for the time being.

 

Do you have any numbers to support this?

There's now 650 pumpkin ales in the database as opposed to 1100 Oktoberfests. Those are the only numbers I have. I imagine this gap will decrease even more this fall.

But the eye ball test tells me there's less and less Oktoberfests each fall, and brewers are putting out more pumpkin ales. I don't have numbers for that though. Also, I know for a fact I can't find as many of the imported Oktoberfest beers as I could in year's past.

Let's say your statement is true in terms of numbers, that people love them, brewers are making more of them, and they're plentiful. People also drink a lot of Blue Moon. What the consumer wants is not necessarily an indicator of quality.

 

Yup.
If I had never had the real quality maerzens produced in Germany I would be content with the often unnecessarily hoppy O'fests brewed in the states. I imagine the same would be true for many craft beer drinkers in the US now.
I certainly drank them in the past and fully enjoyed them. I find most of them now to be lacking a little something.
I also used to prefer Frosted Flakes to regular corn flakes, and Coco Krispies to Rice Crispies.

 

For those of you arguing or wondering if it will be hoppy, it won't be. This isn't a new beer from them. It's a traditional Marzen. I've had this last fall in Chico. I'd expect to see a lot more new things from them in the future. They've had all kinds of new stuff they've been pilot brewing and had at the Torpedo Room or Chico. A scotch ale, pumpkin ale, coffee stout, rauchbier, etc.

https://untappd.com/b/sierra-nevada-brewing-co-octoberfest/78762

https://untappd.com/b/sierra-nevada-brewing-co-oktoberfest/229088

 

I should ask for SN's bank information so I can just cut out the middle man and have my paycheck direct deposited to them this fall

 

I think the Ashville brewery will free them up to produce more of these one-off beers in 12ers that we've seen lately. The 4-way IPA pack, for instance, or this 12er in fall. With production of the staples over at Ashville, the Chico brewery can free up some space.

We've all heard how the folks at SN like brewing lagers and "traditional" styles and all that jazz, now it's time for them to produce!

Side note- I could see Kellerweis getting bumped to a summer 12 pack since sales of it are always seemingly weak/I can't find it on shelves anymore anywhere.

 

From SN Bill previously in the thread:

I haven't been keeping up with the info on the new brewery, is it gonna be pretty massive?

 

It will be about half the size of Chico IIRC to start out, with room to grow.

Nice picture of it, with a big row of 800 bbl fermenters (the have a boatload of those in Chico). The tall ones on the right are 1600 bbl, which is new for them.

http://www.sierranevada.com/brewery/north-carolina/brewery-tour

 

It will be a good-sized brewery, about 1/3 the size of Chico's volume.

We will focus primarily on brewing Pale Ale, Torpedo, seasonal beers, and Kellerweis in NC, but we will have a 20Bbl pilot brewery (which will be installed later this year) to do some fun draught-only stuff for NC and the region. We will also do specialty beers that are East Coast only out of this brewery as well.

That said, with us doing some of the heavy-lifting for the core brands, both breweries (theoretically) should have some space and capacity to work on new tasty things for bottled releases. The variety packs have worked out well for us this year, so I imagine we'll keep doing something like that in the future as well as release some more 6-pack beers, too.

We've been brewing steadily in North Carolina, but there is still a long way to go to get everything streamlined and running smoothly and up to full speed. This next year should really be the bellwether for how we go forward and what cool stuff we can do.

-Bill

 

Bill, is it safe to assume that Kellerweis will continue to be brewed in the near future?

Cheers!

Jack

 

Yes!
Oddly, Kellerweis has had a bit of a bump over the past year. Not setting the world on fire or anything, but at least treading water. It's looking like in the near future 100% of the Kellerweis production will more to North Carolina (due to our sweet open fermentation setup) so I'm hopeful that it will slowly and surely keep gaining ground.

-Bill

 

Bill,

Thanks for sharing that good news!!

Cheers!

Jack

 

BA Narwhal please

 

Go on....

 

I'd like to see Southern Hemisphere in 6-packs. I see a pic of what appears to be a 12 oz bottle of Southern Hemisphere on the SN website. However, I've only ever seen it in 22 oz format.

Southern Hemisphere is like Christmas in June...it reminds me a lot of Celebration.

 

This is great news. Can't wait