Oktoberfest is one of the more obscure beer styles. It can be tough to categorize them amongst all the others. But are Oktoberfest beers only for Oktoberfest? You might ask logically, and you’d be correct. Herein lies the problem. Oktoberfest beers are not tied to one particular characteristic, unlike other styles.
Let’s first go over what we know. Oktoberfest can be described as both beer explicitly brewed for serving and the beer done at Oktoberfest in Munich. This festival takes place every year in September (September 16th this year). This means these beers are usually consumed in September and not October, as the name implies.
Oktoberfest beers almost always contain lagers. You can brew your Oktoberfest beer, and no one will stop you. But, you would be breaking with tradition. Unsurprisingly, the types of lagers vary greatly, which is what causes our most significant confusion.
Goose Island R&D Manager Mike Siegel explains what he considers the most common misconception about Oktoberfest. Siegel worked recently with Spaten Brauerei in Munich, one of the festival’s official beer breweries, to create a new Oktoberfest beer. American Oktoberfests are typically red-colored, sweeter beers called Marzen. The festival features pale beers similar to a Dortmunder, which is what most people associate with a German Lager.
Siegel explains that the beer of Munich was Dunkel in 1810. This was a dark lager. By 1872, the Amber beer (aka Marzen) was introduced. It became lighter over the 20th century because it was made with paler malts. The Munich festival beer is now golden. It’s slightly darker than Helles, a sickly German lager style. However, it’s brewed to a higher gravity and has a higher alcohol level. These beers are not the amber brews American brewers used today. They contain a lot of Munich and Caramel Malts for color and full flavor.
Let’s summarize the Oktoberfest questions: Oktoberfest beers made in America sometimes differ from those at the German Oktoberfest. These beers are often based upon an older style.
They don’t have to be. Some American brewers make Oktoberfest beers more in line with modern German styles, conscious of this discrepancy. Some German breweries export American-style Oktoberfest beer to the U.S., but they are also aware of American perceptions.
