3B - Oktoberfest Beers

Oktoberfest beers are no longer only brewed in the spring. Today, they can be brewed any time the brewer wants. They are no longer aged for 6 months like they once were. To age a beer that long would be an expensive proposition for a brewery these days. If the beer has the name "Oktoberfest" on the label, it is now aged for 12-16 weeks. If the beer is only called a Märzen, it only has to be aged for 6-8 weeks.

There are other amber lagers that have their own style designation and aren't grouped in the European Amber Lager category, the bocks for example. Oktoberfestbiers are similar but not as malty or malty-sweet as a traditional bock. Its hallmark is its balance. Even though it is a malty beer, it still has enough hops and a dry finish so it can be drank in quantity. It's all about the drinkability.

• Aroma: Oktoberfestbiers have a rich, complex German malt aroma from the Vienna and Munich malts. The malt bill includes more Munich than the Vienna lager. Very similar to the Vienna lager in almost all aspects of aroma. Clean lager characteristics with no caramel, diacetyl, or hop aromas present. You will however get the toasted malt aroma typical of beers brewed with Munich and/or Vienna.
• Appearance: This beer is dark golden to a deep orange-red color. Its clarity is brilliant with a good firm off-white head.
• Flavor: This is a bigger beer than the Vienna lager with more sweetness. The initial flavors are malty sweet but the finish is medium dry. Malt flavors are complex and include a bready, toasted malt flavor. You will not notice any caramel or roasted malt flavors in this beer. Caramel malts are added only for a little sweetness and should not be noticeable. The hop bitterness is balanced to keep the beer from being too sweet. In the end, this is a clean lager so those characteristics should apply. No fruity esters and no diacetyl at all.
• Mouthfeel: Oktoberfest beers have a medium body with smooth texture. The beers are well attenuated so the finish is dry not sweet. Carbonation is medium as well.
• Overall Impression: Oktoberfestbiers are clean and smooth with just enough noble hop bitterness to balance the big bready malt complexity. The beer should be slightly sweet but never so sweet that it becomes cloying.
• Comments: The beers we get from Germany labeled Oktoberfestbier are not quite the same as the ones made for the German market. Theirs is more like a strong Helles bock with lots of bready pilsner derived notes. The export versions we get here are like the guidelines describe, orange-amber in color with the distinctive toasty malt notes from the Munich malt. American versioins of this beer may be stronger than the German versions because the Germans are limited to 14°P (about 1.057 OG). To get this beer to finish dry, pitch plenty of healthy yeast and oxygenate well. Pay close attention to fermentation temps to keep esters down and if needed, perform a diacetyl rest to allow the yeast to clean up the byproducts of fermentation.
• Ingredients: There are many different ways to brew a good Oktoberfestbier. The grain bill should include continental pilsner malts, Vienna and Munich malts. Sometimes the percentage of Munich malt is more than Vienna in the recipe. You may add some crystal malt for a little sweetness but not so much that you taste the caramel notes. Authentic Oktoberfest beers use noble hops. The water may be high in alkalinity and carbonates. In Germany, these beers are typically decoction mashed and this regime will develop nice malt complexities that should help you score well in competition.
• Vital Statistics: OG: 1.050-1.057 FG: 1.012-1.016 IBUs: 20-28 SRM: 7-14 ABV: 4.8 - 5.7%.
• Commercial Examples: Paulaner Oktoberfest, Ayinger Oktoberfest-Märzen, Hacker-Pschorr Original Oktoberfest, Hofbräu Oktoberfest, Victory Festbier, Great Lakes Oktoberfest, Spaten Oktoberfest, Capital Oktoberfest, Gordon Biersch Märzen, Goose Island Oktoberfest, Samuel Adams Oktoberfest (a bit unusual in its late hopping).

References: Information for this page was adapted from the 2008 BJCP Style Guidelines, the page on Oktoberfestbier from The German Beer Institute, The German Beer Portal for North America, and Brewing Classic Styles, 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew, by Jamil Zainasheff and John J. Palmer.

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