The Styles

There are only six breweries, all within Munich city limits, that are allowed to call their autumn beer “Oktoberfest” in Germany. The breweries worldwide that imitate this Bavarian classic are generally crafting one of two distinct styles: a Märzen or a festbier.

Märzen (make sure to pronounce it MARE-zten, so everyone knows you’re insufferable) is the more common style for American breweries. These are the malty, amber lagers that most people think of as “Oktoberfest.” They’re so-named because they were traditionally brewed in the month of March, left to lager in cool underground cellars, and drunk during the hot summer months when brewers weren’t legally allowed to brew beer until the brewing season reopened in fall. It became a staple of Oktoberfest in 1841 and dominated the beer tents for more than a century.

But if you were to go drinking under the big tent in Munich today, you’d be served a festbier: a lighter, breadier lager, that features more hop character and a crispier finish. Festbier, also known as Weisn in Munich, is a modern derivation of the classic Vienna lager style that, no surprise, showcases the pale, snappy flavor of Vienna malt. Märzens often lean more heavily on the darker, richer Munich malt—though many use both types, and the exact recipes vary at a brewers’ discretion.

The Field

Our 15 judges—including BJCP-certified beer judges and the Growler’s editorial staff—convened to assess 48 Oktoberfest beers using the BJCP style guidelines for Märzen (category 6A, 37 entries) and Festbier (4B, 12 entries). As always, the tasting was double-blind and curated by Jeff Merriman, instructor of Dakota County Technical College’s Brewing and Beer Steward Technology program.

These same beers were also tasted by legions of our readers and friends at Unlabeled No.2: Oktoberfest, the latest in The Growler’s series of blind tasting events, which was held Friday, September 20 at Upper Landing Park in St. Paul. Their cumulative ratings submitted through the Unlabeled app crowned a people’s choice winner (see the end of the article for the public results).