The recent Nor’easter has brought with it snow and winter-like temperatures, so I thought it was only fitting to write a fall seasonal beer review to remind us that we still have a little autumn left before the winter cold sweeps through the area. I decided to focus on the most traditional fall seasonal, the Oktoberfest beer. Most of these beers are still available at your local craft beer bar or on the shelves at Pinocchio’s Beer Garden. Cracking into one of these selections should bring you back to early October, a time when there were orange and yellow leaves on the trees.
I have to admit, before drinking copious amounts of Oktoberfests to research this article I wasn’t all that knowledgeable on the style. But, after drinking my fair share I realized how great of a style it is due to the diverse mix of flavors, sessionability, and body. The traditional German version of the Oktoberfest or Märzen, that is served at Munich’s Oktoberfest celebration, is a lighter grassy beer with refreshing noble hops that is very sessionable (the alcohol usually ranges from 5-6% abv) and easy to drink out of oversized mugs, steins, and boots throughout the day. The American adaptation of this style tends to have a larger variation in alcohol content, body and flavor. In most cases the domestic version usually has a higher malt content that downplays the crisp hop balance present in its German counterpart.
Weihenstephaner Festbier
To start my discovery of Oktoberfests I began with some traditional German breweries and Weihenstephaner Festbier was one of my favorites. Many of these Bavarian brews blended in with the next, but Weihenstephaner had a more pleasant balance while still showcasing the traditional style. It also weighs in at 5.8% abv which is a bit of a surprise as you sample the subtle flavors of this beer. It poured into the glass with a clear light golden color and an almost effervescent carbonation. This beer smelled of grassy, citrusy, grain; very straightforward for the style. The taste had flavors of citrus, grassy, light caramel, a slight spice, bubblegum, with an earthy finish. The malt was light but the grainy subtlety was very pleasant, this balanced very well with the noble hops that lended a citrus to the grassiness of the hops. The ending of the beer was a different balance of bubblegum from the yeast and an earthy flavor from the hops. If you’re looking for something drinkable to get you into the fall mood this is your beer.
Flying Dog Dogtoberfest
Dogtoberfest earns a spot as my favorite local Oktoberfest and also has one of the best Oktoberfest labels. This Maryland brew brings the malt to your Oktoberfest celebration. It pours a ruby color with a light head that dissipates quickly. The smell is of brown sugar, molasses, cherry, raisin, and fresh baked bread. The flavors in this beer consist of bready, caramel, allspice, crisp slightly citrusy hops, cherry, and it finishes with an alcohol sweetness. This beer has a darker maltier body with an alcohol sweetness, yet it only comes in at 5.3% alcohol which is quite a surprise when comparing it to the lighter Weihenstephaner. Definitely a good beer for those that like a high malt backbone that is not overwhelming.
Great Lakes Oktoberfest
This article is meant to give you six great Oktoberfest selections so you can fill your next ‘pick your own’ six-pack at Pinocchios, but if I had to choose only one Oktoberfest to recommend, this is it. Great Lakes Oktoberfest takes the best flavors found in Oktoberfest beers and crams them into one bottle with balance and grace. This beer is a rich amber color with medium carbonation that produces an off-white head. The scent of spice, plum, caramel and pear are present with each smell of this beer. The taste is of rich amber malts, plums, rum, toffee, spice, caramel, molasses, and wheat bread. This beer has a slight sweetness to go with the grainy flavor that gives way to a spiciness created by spices and hops and finishes sweet and slightly grassy. If you are looking for a good gateway beer to get into the Munich mood this is a must try.
Paulaner Oktoberfest-Märzen
Paulaner is another great example of a tasty traditional Märzen beer. Another great selling point to this beer is that you can buy a one liter (33.8oz) can and it comes with a wrist straining one liter glass mug. Nothing gets me more into the fall season than drinking out of an oversized overweight glass mug. This beer pours with a mild head and a light brown color. This beer smells grassy, with grain, bread, herbal/floral hops, earthy, and biscuit scents. One swig of the giant mug carries flavors of toffee, biscuit, a combination of earthy, grassy, spicy hops, and it finishes with a bready yeast. This is definitely a traditional Munich style brew that will make you forget you are on this side of the Atlantic.
Great Divide Hoss
Hoss is a Märzen style rye lager that takes the traditional style and pumps it up for the big beer loving craft community. This beer has the grassy notes that exemplify its German counterpart but, Great Divide amps up the malt content while giving it a spicy ending with the use of rye grains. This beer has a ruby appearance and a moderate head when poured. The beer smells of grassy, rye, citrusy hops, caramel, and faint dark fruits. The taste of this beer carries flavors of grassy, citrus, plum, cherry, fig, caramel, and peppery rye. The hops get a bit lost in this beer, but they are able to lend a nice crispness to the brew. If you like the taste of dark fruits in your beer this is a must for your self serve six-pack.
Duck-Rabbit Märzen
This beer has a lot of great grain flavors that mingle with an earthiness, sweetness and grassiness. This beer is well-balanced and is a great example of an American style Oktoberfest. When poured it has a deep brownish amber appearance and a thin off-white head that quickly subsides. It smells of caramel, brown sugar, grains, and slight cherry. The flavor consists of grain, rye, caramel, plum, lots of spice, bread, and an earthy yeast flavor. This is a complex yet balanced beer that most will like.
If you want to pick up a fall seasonal and are not a fan of Oktoberfests (or appalled at the idea of drinking them in November) I have two more recommendations that I wouldn’t dare leave out of this Fall review.
Ommegang Scythe & Sickle
I fell in love with Ommegang’s Scythe & Sickle with my first sip and had to figure out a way of including it into this review. This beer is great for those Belgian beer fans that typically get ignored during fall. This seasonal is a brand new release by Brewery Ommegang, the Belgian inspired Cooperstown NY brewery. This beer is a Bière de Garde style ale that weighs in at 5.8% abv and provides a great complexity that is rounded off with a delicious sweetness and strong Belgian yeast character. It also has a slight farmhouse funk that is palatable to the average beer drinker. The beer pours a golden copper with a thick off-white head that sticks around. The smell is dominated by the yeast which creates fruity esters and a slight funk. It has the scent of pear, grape, bubblegum, apple, oats, caramel, biscuit, slight clove, and banana. While tasting one gets the flavors of oat, banana, rye, a nice spiciness, slight clove, raisin, caramel, bread, citrus, and it finishes with a peppery rye spice and an earthy taste. This is a great beer that all Belgian beer fans need to try to help them forget about this bitter cold.
Goose Island Harvest Ale
This non-Oktoberfest Fall seasonal is an amber American Extra Special Bitter (ESB). It actually has a lot of the same flavors and qualities of an Oktoberfest but this is an ale instead of a lager, and therefore has a less grainy flavor. This beer was a bit of a pleasant surprise when I first tried it. The beer pours a darker amber with very good head retention. The beer smells of citrus, piney hops, spice, caramel, toasted grain, as well as fruity esters. The flavor consisted of crisp fruity hops with grassy notes, citrus, spice, caramel, and toasted grains. This beer has a surprising dose of hops that lend well to the smell and flavor, though they are used more to bitter the beer than to flavor it. A nice fall beer for the hop-minded reader.
Hopefully these beers will make you forget about the biting cold outside and put you back into that festive fall mood!
Photographs courtesy of Weihenstephaner, Flying Dog, Great Lakes, Paulaner and Duck Rabbit & Pinocchio’s Beer Garden to Go.
