Fall Beer Sightings (2022)

I think it’s considerably better then there jagerbier. If I remember correctly it kind of has a hint of apple that I really enjoyed similar to benediktiner festbier.

 

See, I liked the Jagerbier better -- bigger melanoidin malt character. But don't be fooled by its listing, it's a Helles brewed to export strength (German categorization), it's not a Dortmunder. People don't understand the difference.

 

@steveh I ran into SA Festbier six packs this evening on display next to their Octoberfest and they were moving quickly, I was surprised.

 

Saw a stack of the Sam Octo, no Fest. Oh well.

 

FWIW -- saw a mountain of Sam Octo at the grocery this morning; 5 12-packs wide, by 5 tall, by 4 deep. A 1 by 5 stack of the mixed pack next to it.

No Fest.

Maybe sixes in the cooler? I'll have to check later.

 

I also saw an endcap with Octoberfest that was piled high and what stood out to me was that it was $18.99 which is cheaper than usual in my area (for reference this same store was selling SA 12 packs for $20.99 recently). I did not expect to see that with the current inflation situation but I guess SA brewed a lot of it and it's being priced to move.

 

The six-packs I saw around here were $12. Not exactly priced to sell -- to me, anyway.

I glanced at the 12-pack prices today, but since I wasn't in the market for 12-packs, the numbers didn't stick.

 

$10.99 here but that has been the going rate for all of SA for a while now.

 

I think it was here, too -- that's why when I saw it priced the same as Bell's, it made for an easy choice.

Makes me wonder who sets pricing. @jesskidden -- is this a case of distro gouging on a big seller?

 

Ok, here are the definitive results.
The Bitburger is the Festbier.
The Paulaner is the Marzen.
So, it is not really an apples-to-apples comparison, but they are both delicious.
I look forward to getting my hands on some Paulaner Festbier if it becomes available.

 

Yeah... but if you didn't look at the labels, only what was poured into the glasses and tasted -- would you think they were terribly different?

Bitburger calls their beer "Festbier" because they don't want to anger the Munich Beer Police by calling it Oktoberfest. But in reality, it's closer to an Amber Märzen than a Wiesn Festbier.

 

Firestone Walker- Oaktoberfest
Paso Märzen
Description: an elegant,malty amber lager with a rich,toasty malt flavor,restrained bitterness and a dry finish.

 

Served in a verdammt English pint glass!

 

That is correct. They were both reddish/amber.

 

Finally saw Saint Arnold Oktoberfest floating about with another batch of Altstadt. Perfect timing too as we're getting thrashed with heavy rain and below average temperatures for mid-August.

As a brief aside, has anyone noticed that Ayinger seems a bit different versus years past? A lot lighter/golden in color and a bit less malty in flavor. It's still a good beer, I was just a bit jarred when I first poured it. This is from the half liter bottles.

 

Thanks for posting this. Wasn't sure what the code meant exactly for Tucher, I figured the same as you, but already had a bunch of Oktoberfests in my basket, so figured I'd wait.

For Ayinger I believe the half liter bottles I saw were L2039, and the four packs were L2113. Easy choice on what to buy there.

 

I haven't picked up any Ayinger as of yet. I expect to on Saturday, however. I'll have to crack one open and check this out. I have a couple leftover from last year (my fault ) so I can do a side-by-side.

 

Well, sort of.

As I've oft pointed out, Ayinger's Okto doesn't age well -- open those old ones over a sink!

 

FWIW -- I checked this source again today -- no Festbier. But plenty of Sam Summer.

And that mountain of 12-packs is dwindling fast -- at $18 per.

 

Used to be a favorite, but the last few years it just wasn't doing it for me. This year's definitely tastes different, but in a good way at least for me.

It has this (almost odd) sweeter bread flavor to it this year to my palate. Not as robust in the bready department, think a sweet bun or roll as opposed to darker breads.

I'm seeing six packs of Festbier and TONS of Jack-O pumpkin, but no Octoberfest...weird. Seems like they're trying to deplete Summer Ale first.