If you're reading this, I hope to God you know what Oktoberfest is..but simply put: yearly outdoor beer festival in Munich, Germany and is considered the world's largest fair. It lasts just over 2 weeks and started almost 200 years ago as a celebration of the royal wedding of the soon-to-be King of Germany. Only beer brewed within the limits of Munich is allowed to be served, but that doesn't stop outside breweries making their own versions and also from being able to procure the stuff that's available at the official Oktoberfest.
First up in my little collection of 3 German Oktoberfests...
Weihenstephaner - Festbier. What better place to start than with the world's oldest operating brewery?! 5.8% ABV and 26 IBUs.. a classic German Marzen. Super clear golden pour..quickly fading head with a nice bready, toasty, nutty sweet aroma. Not overpowering at all with a slight floral Noble hop aroma. The taste was as light as the appearance, crazy light and crisp. The sweetness fades a bit in the taste with a little more of the hops coming into play. The malts come into play towards the middle/end with more of that nutty sweetness and lightly buttered toast. A slightly metallic finishing taste mixed with more malts. The overall taste was far better than the finish, but not enough to be off-putting. A super easy-drinker... easy to see how revelers can drink stein after stein of Marzens during the festival!
Hofbrau Munchen - Hofbrau Oktoberfest. 6.3% ABV and 21 IBUs.. seeing a trend here? Lower IBUs = wicked 'drinkability' (thanks, Budweiser.. gonna sue me too?) Bit heftier of a beer, but why the hell not! This one outright touts itself as adhering to the Reinheitsgebot. Google it. Another gorgeously clear straw pour. Another one with a light fresh baked bread-like sweetness. And another lightly malty sweet tasting Marzen. This one lacks a bit of the hoppy/yeast notes the Weihenstephaner did, but that did not take anything away from this beer. Not fullbodied sweetness, but a bit more sugary than some of the other offerings. Despite the slightly higher ABV, this was another one that went down crazy easy. (seeing even more of a trend, eh?) Simple, yet classic.. this is obviously a more well-known name in German brewing and I feel that comes out a bit in the beer. It's hugely produced and comes off as simple, but is also true to the style in being distinctively sweet and light with hints of hops from here and there.
Paulaner - Oktoberfest-Marzen. 6.0% ABV and 24 IBUs. A nice nutty brown pour with a lovely puffy head. Despite the richer pour, this one still has a muted malty nose with hints of caramel with a little bit of a Hefeweizen-esque banana with a little spice mixed in. Much more complex aroma than the other two. Typical of the Marzens, the malts dominate the taste, but following the nose, there are extra components. A little citrus/lemon, a bit of spice at the front with some light floral hops bringing up the finish. My favorite of the 3 I tried, but nowhere near what the American takes on a Marzen are. Those are spice/malt bombs, whereas the German offerings represent awesome sessionable beers that have much lighter profiles.
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