Oktoberfests / Marzens

I agree with your first point. Having tried only American examples, I thought Marzen was supposed to be a very malt forward style until I tried Paulaner Wiesn. Pale gold color, lots of fresh, floral hops and possibly the most balanced beer I ever had. It's hard to go back to the dark amber, over roasted, caramelly American interpretations.

 

The collaboration between all of the Munich Big 6 (brewed at Augustiner) that came out on the 200th anniversary of the Oktoberfest (back in 2010) was absolutely sublime.

 

Summit Brewing offered a version of their Oktoberfest which was aged on pumpkin pie spices. This was last September at their 'Backyard Bash', and it must've been 96 that day... it was a 'one and done' for me.

 

Personally i prefer a mai bock to a fest bier but love both styles. I agree that right now in the u.s. most imports are under rated. I love the barrel aged stuff and the huge ipa's but you can never go wrong with a classic just because it's not a hop bomb doesn't mean it cant be great.

 

Some of the German imports are still of the copper/amber variety (at this point they may even be made specifically for export), but you should at least try some of the best ones just to give yourself a baseline of how well they can be done. Hacker-Pschorr still makes a great one.

Overall I have come to prefer the pale ones myself, and they are becoming easier to find here in the states. In addition to the Paulaner you can also check out two that were mentioned earlier in this thread- Hofbrau and Weihenstephaner. The beauty is that the more you drink of them, the better they get.

 

What? Did you really drink Warsteiner at the Oktoberfest?

 

Lol In Phoenix it was amazing Imo.

 

I think one should keep in mind the fact that Bavarian lager beer didn't use to be attenuated the way a pilsner beer was (and even pilsner beers have seen an increasing degree of attenuation since the 19th century). The Bavarian lager beer had a comparatively high wort strenght and a comparatively low abv, with a comparatively low degree of attenuation. If one looks at the relationship between wort strenght and abv for modern Bavarian lager beer, it is clear that all styles have seen a reduction in wort strenght and or an increase in alcoholic strenght, with a subsequent increase in attenuation (a process which might be described as "pilsification" ). The result is that modern Bavarian lager beers are leaner, drier and less malty than they would have been in the 19th century.

See for example: http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/lager19.htm

 

As Tongo points out there are a few Munich brands that still export the Amber Märzen and, fortunately, they are more traditional; toasty, not roasted, and bready more than caramel. Spaten, Paulaner (they export both Amber and Wies'n styles), Hacker Pschorr, and even Ayinger -- though theirs is a little between the light and dark.

 

I'll have to keep my eyes open for some newer stock this year. Admittedly I tend away from H-B's Maibock anymore because it sits on shelves year-round without being pulled for the season. The last few times I've tried it, it's been terribly oxidized, and I don't see the half liter bottles as I used to.

 

A friend of mine was over to try that and wasn't terribly impressed… then again, he's a beer guzzler, not the savoring type.

 

SAY WHAT!?!? I never heard of this! Sounds like it would be an amazing beer

 

I wish Spaten used brown bottles instead of green I would buy that one more often. On tap, it is an incredible beer.

 

Plus, the green bottles are a huge deterrent for me

 

I always buy the covered 12 packs. You know a six-pack isn't gonna be enough anyway.

I always dig into the back of the cooler for HB -- 'course, I did buy a whole case of that Winter Spezial they had a couple years ago. No skunking in that.

 

The HB Maibock/Ur-Bock is a anomaly. It isn't overly pale (I'm holding one in my avatar) and it has a lot of the same flavors I usually pick up from doppelbocks.
It's been a few years, but there was a discussion if the Ur-Bock and Maibock were even the same beer. At the time I believe the consensus is that they are. If so, it's the only one I've had in Munich with that color or flavor profile. Admittedly I haven't had the one HP, though. If not...maybe there's a pale Maibock floating around, too?
I'm unfortunately in the same boat as you. Out here that one tends to sit and even when "fresh" those green bottles have done it no favors. On tap it's divine, though. Toss in some of those country potatoes and sour cream sauce and I can camp out under the Chinesischer Turm all day.

 

Nobody mentioned Ayinger Marzen? I like it just much as Great Lakes Oktoberfest.

 

This is in my top 3 favorite beers. I love a good marzen.

 

Ayinger is the best! I too was surprised it hadn't been mentioned this deep in the thread.