Noteworthy marzens in your area

Discussion in 'New England' started by orcrist_cleaver, Sep 13, 2020.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. orcrist_cleaver

    orcrist_cleaver Initiate (0) May 3, 2014 New York
    Trader

    My local faves in the Hudson Valley region from the past have been Captain Lawrence's Marzen Attacks and Great Flats' Schenectoberfest. They are definitely on the darker side and display a treacle like fruitiness. This doesn't surprise me as my favorite German example is Hacker-Pschorr.

    And while I'll drink a Hofbrau or Paulaner any day, I haven't really come across a light Americanized version I could say the same about.

    Anyway, what are your go-to local marzens?
     
    #1 orcrist_cleaver, Sep 13, 2020
    ChuckDardenne and jonphisher like this.
  2. jonphisher

    jonphisher Grand Pooh-Bah (3,850) Aug 9, 2015 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Strictly staying local my two favorite marzen styles are neshaminy creek and victory. Sly fox gets a lot of love too but oddly it’s not my favorite. Edited: Forgot to add cape mays is pretty decent too and yards new one is very good, very easy drinking.

    You’re right I have not come across any festbier styles other than carton’s. It’s like a slightly beefed up, 5.5 abv, helles pils hybrid (it’s noticeably hoppy, actually smells a lot like prima pils), and minimal sweetness. Very good beer, I actually really loved it but as you said I think of the German ones and this didn’t resemble the festbiers I have had.
     
    #2 jonphisher, Sep 13, 2020
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2020
    DrStiffington and orcrist_cleaver like this.
  3. orcrist_cleaver

    orcrist_cleaver Initiate (0) May 3, 2014 New York
    Trader

    Sly fox and Victory were some of the first marzens I ever reviewed about 5 years ago. I gave them OK reviews, but maybe I should revisit. And while Festy tasted OK, my biggest issue was its mouthfeel, same for Victory.

    That's probably the biggest difference between American and German examples for me. I could easily drink liter after liter of German beets, but the American ones I'm done with after a pint or two.

    Neshaminy seems to be popular on here, but hard to get in NY. Same with Sly Fox. Whatever presence they had in NY 5 years ago is completely gone.

    One Jersey marzen that fell short of my expectation was Ramstein. Now that it's in blts, I may try it out again.
     
    #3 orcrist_cleaver, Sep 13, 2020
    jonphisher likes this.
  4. jonphisher

    jonphisher Grand Pooh-Bah (3,850) Aug 9, 2015 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I very much agree and can relate to this sentiment. But I would revisit victory for sure. It’s definitely a heftier marzen but it’s very enjoyable and super clean. If you try it again let us know what you think. Also yards definitely has a super high drinkability, it’s what I noticed most about it. I would try it if you see it up there. Any NY ones you enjoy that you know make it around regionally? The two you mentioned I have never seen or heard of around here. Well captain Lawrence used to be around but haven’t seen their stuff in a long time.
     
    #4 jonphisher, Sep 13, 2020
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2020
  5. orcrist_cleaver

    orcrist_cleaver Initiate (0) May 3, 2014 New York
    Trader

    Indeed, the two I mentioned are brewery only.

    Two other local brews I'd recommend are Mill House Brewing's Oktoberfest and Industrial Art's Autumn Landscape. Mill House cans can be found in pretty much any bottle shop in the lower Hudson Valley...not sure about the broader tri-state region. I'm pretty sure Industrial Arts has a wider distribution. The interesting thing about Autumn Landscape is the recipe changes year-to-year.
     
    #5 orcrist_cleaver, Sep 13, 2020
    jonphisher likes this.
  6. jonphisher

    jonphisher Grand Pooh-Bah (3,850) Aug 9, 2015 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Cool. Yea the IA landscape stuff usually makes it down here and I’ve usually grabbed them when I see them. They tend to show up much later after the brewery starts selling them, at least in my experience looking for them. I will look for autumn and hopefully get to grab some, thanks for the recommendation!
     
    #6 jonphisher, Sep 13, 2020
  7. YamBag

    YamBag Initiate (0) Feb 2, 2007 Pennsylvania

    Victory use to make a pale draft only version called Zelt Bier. It was incredible and I would buy a 1/2 keg every fall. Unfortunately they no longer make it, along with a lot of the other lagers they eliminated. Man do I miss the old Victory.
     
    #7 YamBag, Sep 13, 2020
    Spade, jesskidden and jonphisher like this.
  8. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    #8 JackHorzempa, Sep 13, 2020
    guinness77, ChuckDardenne, DrStiffington and 3 others like this.
  9. jonphisher

    jonphisher Grand Pooh-Bah (3,850) Aug 9, 2015 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I gotta say that I plan to buy some this year, mostly thanks to you :beers: when I see it. I didn’t grab last year for the first time in a while. Watch I’ll try it this year and it’ll be my new favorite haha.
     
    #9 jonphisher, Sep 13, 2020
    DrStiffington, jts211 and ESHBG like this.
  10. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Come over to the 'dark' side!:stuck_out_tongue:

    Cheers!
     
    #10 JackHorzempa, Sep 13, 2020
    jonphisher, jts211 and ESHBG like this.
  11. Xerlic

    Xerlic Maven (1,398) Aug 26, 2016 New York
    Trader

    Ramstein makes a solid marzen, but I'm pretty sure they're only available in NJ.
     
    #11 Xerlic, Sep 13, 2020
    RobHB likes this.
  12. ChuckDardenne

    ChuckDardenne Initiate (0) Aug 19, 2020 Pennsylvania

    Hello to all. I was going to stop trying these Oktoberfest beers. Not my favorite style but since some of you are liking the Sly Fox and I live kind of in the area I guess that is the next one I will try. So far the Flying fish marzen has been my favorite followed by the Paulaner. So I will give it a shot before the cold weather starts and I will be drinking a more hearty beer.
     
    #12 ChuckDardenne, Sep 13, 2020
    Spade likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.