By David Nilsen
Beer lovers rejoice: It’s Oktoberfest season!
Most folks assume the word “Oktoberfest” on a beer label or tap list refers to a particular style, but it’s actually a little more complicated than that. Let’s talk about how we got here, and then get into what’s what with Oktoberfest lagers.
(scroll to the bottom for some recommended Oktoberfest lagers to try!)
Love, Lager, & Horse Racing
Oktoberfest started with the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony in Bavaria in October 1810. The wedding celebration was open to the entire populace of Munich, and included plenty of drinking, eating, and—surprisingly—horse racing. It was so much fun they decided to do it again the next year. And every year thereafter.
Beginning around 1870, the style served at the Munich bash was Märzen, but in the late 20th century, tastes shifted toward a paler, crisper lager style sometimes called Festbier.
These two closely related sub-styles together make up the world of Oktoberfest, but not everyone agrees on differences between these autumnal lagers—or if there even is one.
Let’s Get Technical
First, let’s look at how the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style descriptions (which are used nationally for judging homebrew contests) differentiate the styles.
According to the BJCP, Märzen is “an elegant, malty German amber lager with clean, rich, toasty and bready malt flavor, restrained bitterness, and a dry finish that encourages another drink.” Festbier, by comparison, is described as “less intense and less richly toasted than a Märzen.”
Classic Märzen should be a little darker, a little richer, a little heavier, and a little higher in alcohol than Festbier. Basically, Märzen is just a little “more.” The switch to the lighter Festbier occurred specifically to allow Oktoberfest attendees to drink more beer.
So that settles everything, right? Not so fast.
If you’ve been around many American brewers, you know they like to bend the rules a little bit. I asked some respected brewers around the country about what distinguishes these two styles, and their responses didn’t exactly follow the rigid guidelines above.
Autumn in Chicago
“I’m going to give you the honest answer,” said Hagen Dost, owner and brewer at Chicago’s Dovetail Brewery. “Sometimes we don’t give a damn about styles.”
His own Oktoberfest lager, which is sold under the name Festbier, pushes the upper limits of the BJCP’s description of a Märzen.
“In the case of our Oktoberfest, what we really wanted was the feeling of fall, and to us that means it lands between light amber and light brown, and it’s got kind of an off-white head and very durable foam. It’s got to look good in the glass,” he explains.
Dovetail Festbier is brewed in March (as the original Märzens would have been; the word is German for “March”) and uses a complicated double decoction mash. The beer rests in horizontal lagering tanks for a long slumber through the summer months.
“It’s got a really good amount of body and a generous caramel note,” says Dost, describing a flavor profile most Americans have come to associate with Oktoberfest. At 6.3% ABV, Dovetail Festbier is a heartier take on the style, and it sits a little darker in the glass than most. Dost doesn’t sweat the minutiae of style distinctions though.
“Everybody has their take on it,” he says. “In my mind, Festbier and Märzen is the same category.”
October in Ohio
That’s a sentiment echoed by John Haggerty, brewmaster at Warped Wing Brewing Company in Dayton, Ohio. Lagerstadt, his brewery’s Oktoberfest lager, sits somewhere in between the BJCP style descriptions for Festbier and Märzen, though it’s not a distinction he makes.
“Knowing how Germans think in general, I think they would say they’re the same,” says Haggerty, who began his brewing career over twenty-five years ago by training in Germany.
Haggerty brews Lagerstadt with about equal amounts of Pilsner and Vienna malt, eschewing the darker and richer Munich malt. He wants the nuttiness and toasty breadiness the Vienna provides while maintaining crisp drinkability.
“These beers can’t be too heavy,” he says, with some wise reasoning: “You’re still drinking a sh*tload of it.”
Subtle Distinctions
Two accomplished brewers, two Oktoberfest lagers, two very different interpretations. Both beers are excellent. Neither brewer is wrong. But neither answer fully clarifies the potential confusion between Märzen and Festbier.
Luckily, a brewer who brews both substyles every year reached out to me to weigh in on what makes these close cousins distinct.
Michael Toomes is the head brewer at Chuckanut Brewery in Bellingham, Washington, a highly respected lager-focused brewery. After detailing the history of these two styles (summarized above), he described how he sets both beers apart at Chuckanut.
“The focus of a Märzen is the malt bill,” he explains. “Hops are there in order to keep the beer from being overly sweet and cloying. Although Festbier is also a malt-focused beer, the hops have more of a presence and the malt bill is way more simple.”
Toomes says he brews both in order to educate drinkers about the separate styles and how they came about.
Let’s Just Drink Some Beer
In the end, Oktoberfest is what a brewer wants it to be. There are stylistic distinctions as laid out above, but not every brewer agrees on them. In the end, if you want to find out what your local brewer means when they slap “Oktoberfest” on a label, you’ll have to taste it to find out for yourself. It should be crisp and easy to drink, but the malt profile and the balance of malt and hops can change quite a bit from brewery to brewery. If you ask the brewer to clarify, you’ll probably be able to get through a few bottles while she explains what “Oktoberfest,” “Märzen,” and “Festbier” mean to her.
So which ones should you try? Oktoberfest is one of the most popular seasonal beer traditions, and most craft breweries release a seasonal lager to celebrate. Definitely check out your local craft breweries to see if they have one on draft or in cans or bottles. Here are a few of my favorite widely-available examples:
5 Oktoberfest Lagers to Check Out this Fall
Great Lakes Oktoberfest - This revered Ohio brewery releases a fairly strong Oktoberfest lager at 6.5% ABV, and it leans hard in the classic malty amber direction, with notes of caramel and toasty malt. Brewmaster Mark Hunger poured this beer at his own wedding in 2009, a fitting tribute to the original Munich party.
Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Märzen - While slightly lower in strength than the Great Lakes at 5.8% ABV, Hacker-Pschorr’s Oktoberfest Märzen out of Munich is still a hearty entry with rich, toasty, bready malt and notes of caramel balanced by moderate hop bitterness.
Weihenstephaner Festbier - The world’s oldest commercial brewery (maybe—that’s a story for another time) is a more modern interpretation of the style, shining a clear gold and offering pale malt flavors of pale bread with just a touch of sweetness, though the hoppy finish on this 5.8% ABV beer is crisp and perfect for a sunny fall afternoon.
Hi Wire Zirkusfest - This 6.0% ABV charmer from North Carolina won Gold in the category at the Great American Beer Festival in 2016, and it sits right in the middle of the style, with an easy-drinking balance of malt and hops.
Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest - One of the country’s oldest and largest craft breweries partners with a different German brewery for their Oktoberfest every year, so every vintage is just a bit different. This year’s version is 5.5% ABV and as smooth as they come.
