(Oktober)Fest season is upon us!
That means fall weather, malty Märzen beers, and lots of campfires and festivals.
I usually lean toward sours, golden ales, a few pilsners here and there, and then the go-to IPAs. But once a year, during that magical time of year that’s full of cooler weather, changing colors, warmer hoodies, and waves of nostalgia, I reach for the comfort that only a Märzen can bring. The characteristic notes of the style seem to describe fall itself, with notes of caramel, toffee, baked dessert, and a bready bountiful heartiness.
Just like last year, I picked out 6 Oktoberfest styled-lagers from mainly the Midwest, along with Sierra Nevada’s new collab to see how it stacked up with last 2018.
And as usual, I got drunk and wrote words about both the beers and shitty poetry – this time one long ode to an Americana-style Oktoberfest. Prost!
Sierra Nevada – Oktoberfest 2019 – 6.0%
“It’s the ultimate season of revelry, so we teamed up with Germany’s Bitburger Brewery for an Oktoberfest that turns backyards into beer gardens. Rally your friends and celebrate with a festbier whose rich amber color and smooth malty flavor bring the Munich tents to you. We brewed Oktoberfest with Bitburger’s custom yeast and secret hop blend called Siegelhopfen, meaning “Sealed Hops”—two house ingredients never shared outside their walls until now.”
Last year, SN partnered with Bavaria’s Weihenstephan, one of the world’s oldest breweries. So how did their 2019 collab stack up? It should come as no surprise, considering their 2018 version was my favorite of the pack last year. This year, well, they managed much of the same in terms of a damn good quality Märzen.
It has the iconic blend of rich dominant malts, that give off notes of caramel, nuttiness, and toasted bread. But it also has a distinct lemony/grassy hop that sneaks in at the beginning and also ends on a slightly drier note.
Potosi Brewing – Oktoberfest – 5.5%
“Raise your glass to the harvest moon and hills adorned with radiant hues. This reddish orange lager celebrates the season with a rich caramel malt flavor, moderate hop bitterness and a frothy head. You don’t have to wear lederhosen to drink it, but you might want to.”
It has all the traits of a Märzen, full of flavorful autumn inspiring maltiness. But like SN, it’s pleasantly hopped and has both a pronounced lemon and spicy noble hop finish.
Schell’s Brewery – Oktoberfest – 5.8%
“A Märzen that is true to German tradition, it is only brewed once a year to celebrate the fall harvest. The perfect balance of Pale, Munich, and Vienna malts create its toasty backbone. Prost!”
Schell’s Oktoberfest is simply classic Oktoberfest lager. It’s maltier than SN and has a hearty profile of toffee, biscuit/bready sweet malts, and hints of a toasted nuttiness to it. And I love the finish. It has this noticeably sweet almost fruit-like flavor that reminds me of another favorite – Revolution Brewing’s Oktoberfest.
MKE Brewing – Oktoberfest – 5.5%
“Traditionally brewed with pale ale, caramel and toasted Munich malts that attribute a sweet earthy malty flavor, toasted aroma and a bright orange hue.”
Whoa, buddy. Move over Sierra Nevada and Weihenstephan, cause MKE can hold their own. It’s rich in Munich malts, giving off a honey-like bready sweetness and rich toffee flavor. It’s like drinking a liquid Skyrim sweetroll. The sweeter malts pair well with the hops, which give off notes of melon and baked apple.
Steven’s Point Brewery – Oktoberfest – 4.9%
“Craft brewed using Hallertauer Hops and sweet Vienna roasted malts results in a full-flavored, a finely balanced beer brewed in celebration of the upcoming season.”
Like Potosi, it’s a perfect capture of the rich malty style and stands out for the distinct spicy hop almost pilsner like finish. A little lighter than the rest on the list so far though.
Hinterland Brewery – Oktoberfest – 5.8%
“Brightly filtered, golden color, very malty and lightly hopped. Velvet smooth mouthfeel with rich flavor.”
Hinterland’s Oktoberfest had all the good makings of a Märzen, the caramel, toffee, and sweet honey breadiness. Unlike the others, it had a stronger pine/resiny and floral hop finish. But on top of that it, it finished with a distinct metallic taste that’s just somewhat odd. I’m hoping it’s just a bad bottle.
This poem was inspired by a lot of things. One of them was Patsy Cline’s iconic I Go Walking. The other was the poem the Weary Blues by Langston Hughes. And lastly, the famous scene from James Dean’s East of Eden when Cal and Abra go to the fair together. Anyway, here’s Americana Volkfest.
Americana Volksfest (or a night in a Midwestern Ferris Wheel).
We went out walking that way
yearning for night, after so long a day.
Such a long long day.
Walking our way, your hand in mine
To the fairgrounds walking in 4/4 time
And the carnival lights shining
So so bright
Snuck a rye pull in the parking
lot wearily waltzing
along to carnival tunes
Twighlight brought that denim blue
And the festival lights shining
So so bright
You held my hand on the gravitron
We shared a sticky kiss of cotton
Candy, sky blue your eyes
Dancing electric like
Them holy lights
shining
So so bright
High on the ferris wheel we watched from heaven’s sight
The air perfumed of funnel cake and the heart of a heavy night
And when the wheel came down the spell broke now
Everyone left for home again now
I was alone again now
In the lone lone night.
lights dimmed faded from sight
I should have known right
Then you were gone and I ghost
Right then I needed you the most.