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06-10-2021, 19:26
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Now, if you are an Oktoberfest purist, then I suggest you look away as I write about the 13 German märzens and festbiers that I tried as part of my mass tasting. While 11 of the beers were from Bavaria, only 5 on those were from official Oktoberfest breweries, the remainder were from Rhineland-Pfalz, Nordrhein-Westfalen, and Baden-Württemburg.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A26bVsMBskI/YV3qsIBfI7I/AAAAAAAAEVo/cYzy3XsEBMAGZQZhVnFSBZDxnJdegPpsgCLcBGAsYHQ/w113-h200/20210918_155924.jpg (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A26bVsMBskI/YV3qsIBfI7I/AAAAAAAAEVo/cYzy3XsEBMAGZQZhVnFSBZDxnJdegPpsgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20210918_155924.jpg) https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QmkEUQOb4VQ/YV3qsZ2VvVI/AAAAAAAAEVw/XchEDNa8YxkYHJ7IHA5GNcL3IxyV1qDqwCLcBGAsYHQ/w113-h200/20211003_183100.jpg (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QmkEUQOb4VQ/YV3qsZ2VvVI/AAAAAAAAEVw/XchEDNa8YxkYHJ7IHA5GNcL3IxyV1qDqwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20211003_183100.jpg) https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UsYM27aMm9U/YV3qsV-0SqI/AAAAAAAAEVs/T8JhlDl9o90mbdo64_vCvEX3cBwE5U-hQCLcBGAsYHQ/w113-h200/20211006_141832.jpg (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UsYM27aMm9U/YV3qsV-0SqI/AAAAAAAAEVs/T8JhlDl9o90mbdo64_vCvEX3cBwE5U-hQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20211006_141832.jpg)
In terms of "style", 8 were pale "festbiers", 4 were darker "märzens", and one was a weizen festbier. The spread of scores ranged from 23 to a frankly awesome 36/40, with the average being 29/40. A reminder that the overall average from the 46 beers I tried was 28/40, so generally the German beers were at or above average, with only 3 brews failing to reach the magic 28. As ever, here is a reminder of my scoring criteria:
Appearance - 3 points
Aroma - 10 points
Taste - 15 points
Balance of bitter to sweet - 2 points
Personal preference - 10 point
Just as with yesterday's list of Virginia Oktoberfest (http://www.fuggled.net/2021/10/oktoberfests-of-virginia.html) lagers, I am not going to produce a massive great list of tasting notes with key phrases repeated ad nauseum, you know "bready" for the märzens, "grainy pils malt character" for the festbiers, but I will hit some highlights.
Firstly, I didn't even know that Baden-Württemburg's Rothaus made a festbier, which they label as a märzen given its starting gravity, as the law requires in their state, which makes something of a mockery of the Anglophone world's attempts to define styles. I mentioned earlier that one of the beers I tried was Erdinger Oktoberfest, a weizen festbier that weighing in at 5.7% makes it just a touch stronger than their regular weißbier, and it was a lovely, refreshing change from the other beers in the tasting, if a little difficult to decide how to judge.
Anyway, on to the final rankings for Germany's representatives...
1. Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen (https://www.merchantduvin.com/brew-ayinger-oktober-fest-marzen.php) - 36/40
2. Rothaus Eiszäpfle (https://www.rothaus.de/biere/eiszaepfle) - 32/40
3. Spaten Ur-Märzen (https://spatenbraeu.de/) - 31/40
3. Erdinger Oktoberfest (https://us.erdinger.de/beer/oktoberfestbier.html) - 31/40
4. Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Märzen (https://www.hacker-pschorr.com/us/beers/oktoberfest-maerzen) - 30/40
4. Warsteiner Oktoberfest (https://www.warsteiner.us/unser-bier/oktoberfest-special-edition/) - 30/40
5. Benediktiner Festbie (https://www.bitburger-international.com/en/distribution-partners/benediktiner-beers/our-products/benediktiner-festbier)r- 29/40
5. Tucher Festbier (http://www.tucher.de/) - 29/40
6. Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier (https://www.paulaner.com/us/our-products/oktoberfest-bier/) - 28/40
6. Bitburger Festbier (https://www.bitburger-international.com/en/our-brands/bitburger/our-products/bitburger-festbier) - 28/40
7. Weihenstephaner Festbier (https://www.weihenstephaner.de/en/our-beers/festbier/) - 27/40
8. Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier (https://www.hofbraeu-muenchen.de/en/beer/hofbrau-oktoberfestbier) - 26/40
9. Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen (https://www.paulaner.com/us/our-products/oktoberfest-maerzen/) - 23/40
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ktu1aYUCA9U/YV3r4XRH1QI/AAAAAAAAEWA/7nlDGaj_GD86mRLoKU9FUKtwNlRyNmX0ACLcBGAsYHQ/w113-h200/20211006_141812.jpg (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ktu1aYUCA9U/YV3r4XRH1QI/AAAAAAAAEWA/7nlDGaj_GD86mRLoKU9FUKtwNlRyNmX0ACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20211006_141812.jpg)
At one point it looked as though it was going to be a fairly close run thing for the Germans in this tasting, but then along came Ayinger like a bull in a china shop to blow everyone else out of the water. Such an immense beast of a complex lager, it is one of the seasonal lagers that I look forward to each autumn, regardless of the whole Oktoberfest thing, it is just the perfect beer for dreich days watching the leaves turn.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Fuggled/~4/rD4ynUMg4fw
More... (http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Fuggled/~3/rD4ynUMg4fw/festbierzeit.html)
Now, if you are an Oktoberfest purist, then I suggest you look away as I write about the 13 German märzens and festbiers that I tried as part of my mass tasting. While 11 of the beers were from Bavaria, only 5 on those were from official Oktoberfest breweries, the remainder were from Rhineland-Pfalz, Nordrhein-Westfalen, and Baden-Württemburg.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A26bVsMBskI/YV3qsIBfI7I/AAAAAAAAEVo/cYzy3XsEBMAGZQZhVnFSBZDxnJdegPpsgCLcBGAsYHQ/w113-h200/20210918_155924.jpg (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A26bVsMBskI/YV3qsIBfI7I/AAAAAAAAEVo/cYzy3XsEBMAGZQZhVnFSBZDxnJdegPpsgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20210918_155924.jpg) https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QmkEUQOb4VQ/YV3qsZ2VvVI/AAAAAAAAEVw/XchEDNa8YxkYHJ7IHA5GNcL3IxyV1qDqwCLcBGAsYHQ/w113-h200/20211003_183100.jpg (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QmkEUQOb4VQ/YV3qsZ2VvVI/AAAAAAAAEVw/XchEDNa8YxkYHJ7IHA5GNcL3IxyV1qDqwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20211003_183100.jpg) https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UsYM27aMm9U/YV3qsV-0SqI/AAAAAAAAEVs/T8JhlDl9o90mbdo64_vCvEX3cBwE5U-hQCLcBGAsYHQ/w113-h200/20211006_141832.jpg (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UsYM27aMm9U/YV3qsV-0SqI/AAAAAAAAEVs/T8JhlDl9o90mbdo64_vCvEX3cBwE5U-hQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20211006_141832.jpg)
In terms of "style", 8 were pale "festbiers", 4 were darker "märzens", and one was a weizen festbier. The spread of scores ranged from 23 to a frankly awesome 36/40, with the average being 29/40. A reminder that the overall average from the 46 beers I tried was 28/40, so generally the German beers were at or above average, with only 3 brews failing to reach the magic 28. As ever, here is a reminder of my scoring criteria:
Appearance - 3 points
Aroma - 10 points
Taste - 15 points
Balance of bitter to sweet - 2 points
Personal preference - 10 point
Just as with yesterday's list of Virginia Oktoberfest (http://www.fuggled.net/2021/10/oktoberfests-of-virginia.html) lagers, I am not going to produce a massive great list of tasting notes with key phrases repeated ad nauseum, you know "bready" for the märzens, "grainy pils malt character" for the festbiers, but I will hit some highlights.
Firstly, I didn't even know that Baden-Württemburg's Rothaus made a festbier, which they label as a märzen given its starting gravity, as the law requires in their state, which makes something of a mockery of the Anglophone world's attempts to define styles. I mentioned earlier that one of the beers I tried was Erdinger Oktoberfest, a weizen festbier that weighing in at 5.7% makes it just a touch stronger than their regular weißbier, and it was a lovely, refreshing change from the other beers in the tasting, if a little difficult to decide how to judge.
Anyway, on to the final rankings for Germany's representatives...
1. Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen (https://www.merchantduvin.com/brew-ayinger-oktober-fest-marzen.php) - 36/40
2. Rothaus Eiszäpfle (https://www.rothaus.de/biere/eiszaepfle) - 32/40
3. Spaten Ur-Märzen (https://spatenbraeu.de/) - 31/40
3. Erdinger Oktoberfest (https://us.erdinger.de/beer/oktoberfestbier.html) - 31/40
4. Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Märzen (https://www.hacker-pschorr.com/us/beers/oktoberfest-maerzen) - 30/40
4. Warsteiner Oktoberfest (https://www.warsteiner.us/unser-bier/oktoberfest-special-edition/) - 30/40
5. Benediktiner Festbie (https://www.bitburger-international.com/en/distribution-partners/benediktiner-beers/our-products/benediktiner-festbier)r- 29/40
5. Tucher Festbier (http://www.tucher.de/) - 29/40
6. Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier (https://www.paulaner.com/us/our-products/oktoberfest-bier/) - 28/40
6. Bitburger Festbier (https://www.bitburger-international.com/en/our-brands/bitburger/our-products/bitburger-festbier) - 28/40
7. Weihenstephaner Festbier (https://www.weihenstephaner.de/en/our-beers/festbier/) - 27/40
8. Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier (https://www.hofbraeu-muenchen.de/en/beer/hofbrau-oktoberfestbier) - 26/40
9. Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen (https://www.paulaner.com/us/our-products/oktoberfest-maerzen/) - 23/40
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ktu1aYUCA9U/YV3r4XRH1QI/AAAAAAAAEWA/7nlDGaj_GD86mRLoKU9FUKtwNlRyNmX0ACLcBGAsYHQ/w113-h200/20211006_141812.jpg (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ktu1aYUCA9U/YV3r4XRH1QI/AAAAAAAAEWA/7nlDGaj_GD86mRLoKU9FUKtwNlRyNmX0ACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/20211006_141812.jpg)
At one point it looked as though it was going to be a fairly close run thing for the Germans in this tasting, but then along came Ayinger like a bull in a china shop to blow everyone else out of the water. Such an immense beast of a complex lager, it is one of the seasonal lagers that I look forward to each autumn, regardless of the whole Oktoberfest thing, it is just the perfect beer for dreich days watching the leaves turn.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Fuggled/~4/rD4ynUMg4fw
More... (http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Fuggled/~3/rD4ynUMg4fw/festbierzeit.html)