Every year in the middle of September, over six million people gather in Munich, Germany for The Oktoberfest. The festival began in 1810 when Bavaria's Prince Ludwig married Theresa of Saxony. In celebration of the union, the townspeople held a party in the fields surrounding the city. It was such a success that they held it the following year and eventually, it turned into a tradition. Today, the festival is still held in the same fields as it was almost two hundred years ago. Although originally held in the middle/end of October, the festival's start date was moved to mid September in 1872 to take advantage of better weather. Next year's Oktoberfest, which starts on September 18th, will mark the festival's 200th anniversary.
In recognition of this time-honered German tradition, Ted Perez + Associates has decided to taste test twenty hand selected German and Oktoberfest brews to determine which one (or couple) is worthy of the Ted Perez seal of approval.
Labels we tested over the last two weeks range from traditional American breweries like Samuel Adams [spoiler: rubbish] and Brooklyn Brewery to authentic German brews like Spaten-Franziskaner-Brau and Paulaner Salavtor Thomasbrau.
This week, we are posting the first nine beers we sampled with their accompanying reviews that include details on appearance, smell, taste, drinkability and overall impression. All of these aspects will play evenly into our ranking of our favorite German/Oktoberfest brews.
The Kaiser: Imperial Oktoberfest [Avery Brewing Company]
Appearance: Rustic amber color with a thick head that dwindles quickly.
Taste: Fruity with a firm start and nice, settling finish. Medium body with a faint syrupy, caramel malt sweetness. There was also a distinctive boozy taste.
Overall: This brew offered a solid medium body with an excellent distribution of flavors. Great beer overall.
Brooklyn Oktoberfest [Brooklyn Brewery]
Appearance: Bright amber color. Very small head (1/3 inch).
Taste: Smooth, crisp taste with an average amount of carbonation. Sweet malt, yeast and a light roasted malt detected and a slight caramel finish. Certainly not a full bodied beer. Slight, quick bitter finish.
Overall: The drinkability was moderate since the brew is light, however, it had weak flavor overall and didn't have much body.
Rogue Maierfest Lager [Ales Brewery/Brewer's of the Bay]
Appearance: Pours a light orange color with a small head.
Taste: Starts with a sweet touch, quickly introducing a touch of caramel, sour malt and citrus. Light on hops.
Overall: The Maierfest was very light and almost watery. It finished clean, but with no hoppy flavor. Not worth a second thought.
Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse [Franziskaner Weissbier]
Appearance: Distinct brown.
Taste: Opens with a banana scent which leads into a very smooth, lightly carbonated sip with same light citrus notes and fruit. Light with not much of an aftertaste. Medium body.
Overall: Good light beer, but the lack of full flavor keeps this beer from the top of the list.
Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock [Privatbrauerei Franz Inselkammer KG/Brauerei Aying]
Appearance: Pours a dark brown almost black color. Large volume of head.
Taste: Malty and sweet. Caramel taste with a small amount of smoke. Medium/heavy body with a good amount of carbonation.
Overall: Strong flavor, but still maintained good drinkability. Good overall.
Reutberger Export Hell [Klosterbrauerei Reutberg]
Appearance: Yellow with an off-white creamy head. Malty odor detected.
Taste: Bitter with a bread/corn type taste. Dry and crisp finish with medium carbonation.
Overall: This was an easy brew to drink, but the bitterness and odd taste keeps this in the mediocre range.
Spaten Oktoberfest Ur-Marzen [Spaten-Franziskaner-Brau]
Appearance: Dark brown pour. Larger amount of head with off-white bubbles.
Taste: Nice crisp taste. Maltiness throughout. Moderate body with some light hop bitterness at the end.
Overall: Very drinkable, refreshing brew. Good combination of lightness with full body flavor. Just a great overall German Beer.
Paulaner Oktoberfest-Marzen [Paulaner Salavtor Thomasbraeu AG]
Appearance: Pours a copper brown color with moderate head.
Taste: One word, malty. Strong malt base led into sweet caramel and a flowery hop finish.
Overall: This medium bodied brew was excellent, full-mouth taste that didn't sacrifice on drinkability. Certainly not a chore to digest - might prove dangerous on a warm, Indian Summer evening.
Samuel Adams Octoberfest [Boston Beer Company]
Appearance: Dark amber pour with moderate head.
Taste: Taste of roasted malt with no aftertaste and virtually no hoppiness. Very little in terms of flavor.
Overall: Drinkable, but not enjoyable.
VERDICT:
For week 1 of our beer tasting, the favorites were:
- Spaten Oktoberfest Ur-Marzen [Spaten-Franziskaner-Brau]
- The Kaiser: Imperial Oktoberfest [Avery Brewing Company]
Overall these two beers tended to have more full-bodied flavor with slightly more complex flavors that didn't consist of a single flavor like malt or caramel. Also, they both had a perfect level of carbonation and also had good color/body/head volume. Between the favorites, the Spaten was slightly crisper and the Kaiser had fuller flavor.
Next week, we will be posting the eleven remaining reviews along with our picks for week 2 and our favorites overall.