Fresh Fall Beer Sightings 2025

But I always have. The labels on Spaten, Paulaner, and Hacker-Pschorr amber Oktoberfest Bier always read Märzen -- have had for as long as I've been drinking them. I'm very happy to follow that German tradition.

 

Hacker Pschorr label has both terms. (Damn, it’s totally my fault that I always get into this conversation on BA )

 

Big shrug. Covering all bases?

And yet it comes from the same brewery that sends us an amber Märzen AND a Festbier.

Maybe I'll just save frustration and point to Spaten *UR* Märzen since it's my go-to anyway.

 

04/2026 on my Marzen bottles

 

Grabbed some Southern Tier Maple Warlock from Wegmans VA Beach Sunday. Picked up Ayinger and Zero Gravity Oktoberfest at Total Wine Norfolk today.

 

I figured what I saw was old(er) stock (damn year-round availability! ). April is pretty standard for the 2 Paulaners and the H-P Märzen.

 

For what it's worth, I had the Hacker-Pschorr this past weekend (it's this year's, forget what date) and it was absolutely fantastic.

 

Have you compared it with the Paulaner? After last year's were so close to identical, I've decided to buy only one and not the other.

Besides -- the Paulaner was $4 cheaper than the H-P six-packs where I saw them.

 

It almost seems like Paulaner wants to kill the H-P brand over here.

Discontinuing the Münchner Gold bottles/cans and consistently pricing H-P higher than Paulaner when they're made at the same brewery.

I don't think there ever was a history of H-P (and Pschorr before it) being considered/treated as more of a premium brand than Paulaner except in recent years.

 

Funny thing is that H-P Weißbier pretty much set the standard for what we expect in a Bavarian Weiß -- what, 30 years ago?

 

Slightly off topic - but was reading about the 6 US Hofbrauhaus locations - they are all francises from HB in Munich....my daughter had lunch at the facility in Columbus where she lives - there is also one in Cleveland, closer to me here....(and Newport KY, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Las Vegas)

Curious as to why 5 of the 6 locations are in the Midwest and Eastern US (and one location and francise HQ in Las Vegas), but no where else?
I also have not seen the HB Octoberfest beers around my area yet....hmmmm!

https://www.hofbrauhaus.us/locations/

 

I have a six pack of each, but only had the Paulaner while grilling and socializing and wasn’t really paying too much attention. Luckily I have five more bottles of each to “experiment” with.

 

In my area, the 12 packs of HP marzen are always $3-4 cheaper than the Paulaner. Never understood why that is the case.

 

Tasty beer! 05/2025 bottling

 

This one is better than I remembered.....good stuff!

 

Try it side-by with that Paulaner.

 

Stopped by a local place yesterday and most of the fall brews were out! I picked up some of SN's Oktoberfest and had a couple - I'm sure I'll enjoy it more when it's not in the upper 80's but it was good nonetheless!

 

It's strange. There is a Hofbräuhaus Restaurant & Pub in Helen, GA, but it is not affiliated with the German one. Surprised they can get away with that.

 

Hofbräuhaus is probably not trademarked -- there are Hofbräuhauses all over Germany. It's really a general term.

Now, Hofbräu München is another matter.

BTW -- been to that one in GA -- many years ago.