Image property of www.hofbraeu-muenchen.de

Type: Beer – Oktoberfest/ Märzen
Name: Hofbräuhaus München – Oktoberfest
Price: Free – Got a free sample from my mother @(^_^)@
Made: Munich, Germany
Alc/Vol: 6.3%

I had the pleasure of trying this foreign beauty thanks to my mother, I love how she supports my habit. Err, umm I mean my job.

So what did this bier have to say for itself?

“An absolutely natural product, brewed from pure water, best quality malt and exquisite hops. This brew offers, the real oktoberfest experience.”

I like the sound of that, the real oktoberfest. Yeah, it just said that, it basically said all those American brewed German style oktoberfest beers, are just that knock offs.

The beer pours a golden yellow color, much different than most oktoberfest that I’ve had before. It has a light, semi-sweet taste with a bit of a grassy aftertaste. This beer is a little more hops than your typical American style oktoberfest. It leaves a slightly dry finish, which compared to the light refreshing initial taste gives a bit of a contrast.

To be honest, this beer reminds me more of a pilsner style beer, except a bit more of a slightly sweet twist comparatively. I give this beer 3 and a half out of 5 bananas, it is a good beer but there wasn’t anything too outstanding about it.  This may be a “real oktoberfest experience” but its difference from what I was expecting through me off. I would order and enjoy this beer again but it didn’t blow me away to the point that I’m ready to crown this beer an OktoberKing.

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Image property of ThirstyDog.com

Type: Beer – Oktoberfest/ Märzen
Name: Thirsty Dog Brewing Company – Oktoberfest
Price: $1.99
Made: Akron, OH
Alc/Vol: 6%

First I had Dogtoberfest, now Barktoberfest? I’m not sure why dog themed breweries like märzen style beers but as long as they keep producing brew, we’re cool.

Now I had a bad experience with another Akron brewery‘s beer, but in defense of Hoppin’ Frog Brewery I learned that I wasn’t a fan of winter ales. Now, it has been some years since I’ve been to Akron but I’m always down to support a local brewery, even if they value all the other weird animals over monkeys. Either way…onto the beer!

The scent is light with a touch of sweetness to it that is typical of oktoberfest style beers. This beer has a bit more orange than amber color to it.

The taste however is a pleasant surprise. I was expecting something a bit more sweet but instead got a bit more malts and nutty flavorings. There is a strong carbonation mouth feel along with a wheaty taste. The mix of malts, nuts and wheat gives you a good taste all the way through. This is a mark of a good beer, you want to initial taste all the way through to the finish to leave you smiling and thirsting for more. In reality this process is over in a second or two but that is all you need to know if this is the right beer for you.

I would warn you though, it is a bit less sweet and more malts then your typical oktoberfest and that switch gives it a different flavoring than you would expect. Overall, I give this brew 4 out of 5 bananas. Keep doing what you do Thirsty Dog Brew, but your next creation should be a drunken monkey @(^_^)@

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Image property of www.SamuelAdams.com

Type: Beer – Oktoberfest/ Märzen
Name: Samuel Adams – Oktoberfest
Price: $2 (an on-tap happy hour special)
Made: Boston, MA
Alc/Vol: 5.3%

Yes, I know that oktoberfest beers should be served up with the likes of cheese soup and sausage but those weren’t on the menu, and instead I was digging my paws into delicious chicken wings. I’ve found an alternative, local, place to enjoy my weekly wing night. Which if I time it right, according to their allotted time of happiness, costs me about half what I usually spend. Besides wings and beer have a special bond, and then before bed a nice banana will help with heartburn and hangovers. But more importantly….onto the beer!

I like Sam Adams, they are what many of the other micro-brews aspire to be, plus the bearded brewer guy seems badass.

This brew, not too surprisingly, reminded me of last weeks Flying Dog Dogtoberfest, but then again it should being they are the same style of beer. It has a light nose to it, I couldn’t pull any strong scents from this beer even before the wings were served. What you do notice however, is the nice red amber tint to the glass. It makes you all warm inside and if I was the sentimental type I’d tell you how it made me think of the fall foliage.

This märzen has a nice flavor, a good blend of sweetness with a touch of hops to give it a subtle bitter undertone. It isn’t an overly sweet but fits in with the style of beer, with caramel tones coming through. After a while I was starting to notice a smokey oakiness to it but then again that is when my bbq wings came out so I think it sent my taste buds on a false hunt. However, a bourbon barreled twist does sound like it would give this beer some deeper character to it.

Overall, this was a good beer that had drinkability and goes along with my favorite holiday beer season. Fall beers, in my perspective tend to be my favorite. I give this beer 4 out of 5 bananas and would recommend someone to try this as an introduction/baseline for a good oktoberfest style beer.

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Image property of FlyingDogAles.com

Type: Beer – Oktoberfest/ Märzen
Name: Flying Dog Brewery – Dogtoberfest Märzen
Price: $1.99
Made: Frederick, MD
Alc/Vol: 5.6%

“If you put back as many steins as the Germans do in October, lederhosen and polka dancing would seem like a good idea to you, too. Our Dogtoberfest Märzen has a caramel finish and was crafted by a guy who studied brewing in Deutschland. And yes, he does like to strap on some lederhosen when he’s feeling saucy.”

The beer has an amazing color to it, a nice copper hue with a bit of a red tint.  There is a light scent to it, I don’t really get much off the nose although to be honest it’s been a rainy sinus rocking kind of day. So I wouldn’t put it past my snoz to miss some subtleties but my wife wasn’t recognizing much of anything either. Maybe it takes a k-9 kind of nose?

The taste is malty with a hint of bitterness to it mixed in with the light carbonation. My first thought was, sweet but then there is a hint of bitterness in the aftertaste. Light flavoring, not overdone but a good combination of flavors. It has drinkability and I could see pounding these down in a beer stein although overall it seems like it is missing something or could be a little bit strong in its flavoring but I’m not sure what aspect. A hint more of something should be brought out to leave a lasting impression that makes you say, “I vant Dogtoberfest because it kanoodles my stroodle.”

I like this beer and give it a solid 4 out of 5 banana rating. I like it but as I said it just tastes like it is lacking something, just the smallest hint of whatever that missing component is would pump this up, but it has enough character so that it isn’t a watered down light beer. Overall I’ve had mostly positive experiences with Flying Dog Brewery. What are your thoughts?

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