The party began in October 1810, when a great horse race was organized to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Everyone had so much fun that it was held again, and eventually became an annual event, dubbed “Oktoberfest” in 1872. It has since evolved into a 16-day Munich blowout in late September and early October. Oh, to be in that great mass of humanity, dancing to the throbbing polka beats, scarfing down sausage, kraut, and strudel, and most of all, imbibing from the holy grail … er, stein. … You see before refrigeration, fermentation in warmer months was unpredictable, and brewing in the summer was more likely to yield an impure beer. In 1553, a Bavarian law was passed that banned summer beer production altogether. The result? Brewers ramped up in March, brewing a strong, malty lager that could last through the beerless summer months. That style became known as Märzen, from the German word for March. Stored in cool caves and allowed to slowly ferment, the crisp yet robust beer became a perfect transition into the colder fall months, eventually fueling raucous Oktoberfest celebrations around the world. These days, a true Märzen is hard to find. But plenty of brewers take a crack at similar styles, including festbiers, maibocks and dunkels. Whatever the name, a pint of malty, dark lager is the perfect accompaniment for the changing seasons, and Peaks and Pints will keep them on tap through September. Today, we’re taking it a step further offering a flight of the beer celebration that we call Craft Beer Crosscut 9.5.17: A Flight of Oktoberfest.
Spaten Oktoberfest Ur-Märzen
5.9% ABV, 23 IBU
Spaten Oktoberfest pours autumn — a beautiful copper color like a tree explosion of fall color. This Munich beer also sports lively carbonation. It’s easy to drink and enjoyable, though perhaps a little hoppier and slightly less balanced than the other German beers. Spaten Oktoberfest is a lager, and the nose is accordingly very clean with only the slightest hint of earthy/lemon esters. On the tongue, it’s all malt, though it’s less like toffee/caramel and more like a toasted biscuit, and the aftertaste is dominated by the higher alcohol content as well as some muted, earthy hop bitterness.
Leavenworth Oktoberfest Ale
5.5% ABV, 25 IBU
In 2001, Fish Brewing Company merged with Leavenworth Biers, one of the Northwest’s original German-style craft brewers, based in the Bavarian village of Leavenworth, Washington. Fish Brewing moved Leavenworth Biers to its downtown Olympia brewery where it continues to brew Leavenworth Biers, including the annual Leavenworth Oktoberfest Ale, a medium-bodied beer crafted in the Leavenworth tradition. This richly amber, sweet seasonal owes its smooth, malty flavor to a large percentage of Munich malt. In the classic German tradition, brewers add both noble Tettnanger and imported Tradition hops for an authentic Oktoberfest hop aroma.
Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest – Brauhaus Miltenberger (2017)
6.1% ABV, 30 IBU
For the third straight year, Sierra Nevada Brewing has collaborated with a German brewery on its fall-seasonal Oktoberfest beer. This year, second-generation brewer Brian Grossman, of Sierra Nevada, and fourth-generation Brewmaster Cornelius Faus of Miltenberg, Germany’s Brauhaus Miltenberger, have joined forces. “We tried to re-create a classic Oktoberfest beer in the true German tradition,” says Cornelius Faust, fourth-generation brewmaster for Brauhaus Miltenberger, in pre-Oktoberfest hype. “We used traditional techniques to create layers of rich malt notes that remain light and crisp to the taste. That’s the secret of an authentic fest beer — complex malt flavor in a lager that remains easy to drink while you are celebrating the Oktoberfest season.” Sierra Nevada’s Oktoberfest is a festbier, sometimes called wiesn, festibiere or Oktoberfestbier — a name that can only be used by Breweries in Munich — rather than a Marzën, which is the original style of Oktoberfest. (The Beer Judge Certification Program added Festbier to their guidelines in 2015 under the category “Pale Malty European Lager.”) Brewed with Tettnager, Spalter, German Select and German Magnum hops, this year’s Oktoberfest’s flavor is sweet grasses and caramel, brown leaves, lightly bitter grasses and a little bread with a quick, crisp finish.
Great Divide Hoss Oktoberfest Lager
6.2% ABV
Last year, Great Divide changed the name of its Hoss Rye lager (2009 Great American Beer Festival bronze, 2010 World Beer Cup bronze and 2010 Australian International Beer Awards gold) to the more market-savvy Hoss Oktoberfest Lager because the beer was based on the Märzen style and moved to a fall seasonal. The rye adds a spicy, earthy character to the dominating rich, layered malt notes, with hints of cherry and dark fruits. The finish is dry and crisp despite the bigger 6.2 percent ABV.
Ninkasi Oktoberfest Festbier Lager
5.5% ABV, 40 IBU
Crafted with Sterling, Crystal, Willamette and Mt. Hood hops, Ninkasi Brewing’s Oktoberfest marries Northwest ingredients with a traditional German style. “Our Oktoberfest is a Northwest take on a classic Bavarian-style lager,” says Jamie Floyd, Ninkasi co-founder and founding brewer, in pre-Oktoberfest Festbier hype. “Featuring four Oregon-grown hop varieties, we dry hop this beer and let it condition for two months; this allows it to reach the perfect balance of a light-bodied lager with a subtle toasted malt complexity on par with the beers you’ll find at traditional Oktoberfest celebrations.” The flavor doesn’t scream Oktoberfest’ it’s not especially sweet or have any Munich malt quality to it. It’s lightly toasty and a bit grainy with a hoppy finish.
