Spaten Oktoberfest, baby!

One of these days I'm going to go to Germany during Oktoberfest. Unfortunately, my life is dictated by an October 15th deadline, so maybe I just need to go on the 16th. Anyway, I've had a few Spaten beers and figured if there was one that they would get right, it would be the Oktoberfest one.

I had this beer twice - Zinc down in Nob Hill and at Fat Squirrel in Rio Rancho. Be warned - the Zinc one wasn't all that good. Go for Fat Squirrel.

This beer really hit the spot with some Jagersnitzel. The light orange color was appropriate for the season. There is some definite malt flavor and smell in here. The brew has a little bit of an apple cider crispness to it, which was nice. A pretty smooth beer, can't say that I noticed any aftertaste at all. If you were having a Oktoberfest (or any fiesta for that matter), this beer would likely go over very well with a mixed crowd.

Appearance - 3.0/5.0 - light pumpkin color (orange, with hint of red) transparent
Smell - 3.5/5.0 - malty with sweet afterscent, almost apple cider-esqe, little head
Taste - 4.0/5.0 - malt with bit of sweetness, really smooth with little aftertaste, bready
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - extremely smooth, little to no aftertaste
Drinkability - 3.5/5.0 - would be good for mixed crowd, balanced and enjoyable

Know Your Beer - Märzen/Oktoberfest

Ach ja, baby! Oktoberfest time! In the spirit of this annual goodness, let's take a look at the beer that is best associated with the festival of brews - the Märzen/Oktoberfest style.

Back in the old days, when you would walk uphill, both ways, in the snow, it was nigh impossible to brew beer in the summer months because there wasn't really a way to keep it cool. As such, beers were brewed in March (hey, that sounds very similar to Märzen...) and stored in caves that were surrounded by ice until about September.

This lager is a full bodied, rich, malty beer. Depending on where the beer is from, you may get some different flavor profiles. Austrian/German beers will be more malty and lighter in color (almost pale ale coloring). North American Marzens will be a bit hoppy and bitter, but not aggresively so. Coloring may be a bit darker as well.

This style will range from 4% - 7% ABV, with most falling near mid 5%...

There are all sorts of these beers around the place - Spaten Oktoberfest, Flying Dog Dogtoberfest, Paulaner München Märzen, Gordon Biersch Märzen, Left Hand Oktoberfest Märzen and Sam Adams Octoberfest. Some of Albuquerque and Santa Fe's breweries do Oktoberfest beers.