For the past few years I’ve taken on the challenge of determining what my favorite Oktoberfest/Märzen bier for the year is. Most of those past years I’ve focused on the German big three — Späten, Paulaner, and Hacker-Pschorr, but this year thanks to Max’s German Beer Fest, and a better understanding of what’s going on, I’ve come to some new conclusions. I know more about the beer this year than I did in the past — yes — but the real proof with this ranking still comes down to my preference even if I’m doing my best to judge things all BJCP-style.
The rankings for 2009:
While definitely NOT purely BJCP, Kantian “subjective but universal” judging style, the below is what I think is a fairly good representation of the best Oktoberfest beers I tried this year. I’d bought a bevy of American Oktoberfests before my in-laws’ fire, but lost them all when the house went up, so that section is a little less thorough. If I find one that I think is amazing, I’ll update that section later.
The Germans:
- Hofstetten 1810 Hochzeitsbier — This beer was amazing. It was rich, malty, complex, absolutely the best beer I’ve tasted in my favorite style this year. This is as close to the Platonic Ideal of an Oktoberfest beer I’ve tried. The maltiness of this beer was incredibly complex, the bitterness of the hopping displayed no aroma but still gave the beer the crisp counterpoint to the sweetness of the prominent malt to keep it from entering cloying, bock bier territory. I love this beer.
- Paulaner Oktoberfest — The best of the big three. While not as impressive as the Hofstetten, it’s a great beer. The malt is at the forefront, the bitterness is absolutely spot on, with no hop aroma. It’s a great beer… just not as good as #1.
- Hacker-Pschorr — Just a bit less rich, a little more grainy in its maltiness than the two above. Still a fine beer.
- Späten — The one I got in the bottle was ligh-struck — green bottles — but the one I tried at Max’s German Beer Fest was not. Still, this one was just a little less of all the things said above, and a little more grainy but still not vegetal like some of the Americans I tried.
The Americans:
I generally feel like the American versions are just inferior by nature. We do beer so differently, and we’ve been doing it for so much less time. This isn’t to say that these beers aren’t worth drinking. At some point, American brewers are going to get it right, and it’s going to be as good as the German stuff out there. So instead of putting up a ranking here, I’m asking you readers to try them out yourselves and tell me which ones you like best. I’ve tried Lancaster’s and thought it was OK, I’ve had März-Hon and I think it’s fine, but I can’t say I’ve had one that even came close to the German big three.
Still working up my “Imperial Oktoberfest” list, but I’ve tried Clipper City’s Prosit Imperial on draft and in bottles and can say that the bottled version is infinitely superior to the draft. I think it just needed more time to condition. It’s hefty and definitely its own style, but it’s quite good. Very complex in its maltiness to the point where it approaches the Hofstetten or the Paulaner in terms of flavor, it’s just also VERY alcoholic. I have a bottle of Avery’s “the Kaiser” ready to be drunk at my friend’s house for Sunday’s late game NFL matchups.
So yeah… I absolutely love this time of year. Who can argue with the merits of a festival centered around drinking incredible beers and eating delicious food. But take my advice, don’t start with the big stein, much less das boot!
