10 Best Oktoberfest Beers to choose from!
10 Best Oktoberfest Beers!
“Hopfen und Malz, Gott erhalt’s” meaning “God save hop and malt”. Find the 10 best Oktoberfest beers to celebrate. Three beers are imported from Germany, seven beers are brewed in the United States. Serve the beer with Oma’s original German food recipes and play German Music.
Unless you’re one of the 16 million people from around the world lucky enough to be spending Oktoberfest in Munich this year, chances are you may not have access to all the officially credited Oktoberfest beers. These include: Augustiner-Brau, Hacker-Pschorr-Bräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner, Spatenbräu, and Staatliches Hofbräu-München. Each brand conforms to the Reinheitsgebot (purity law from 1516), at a minimum of 13.5% Stammwürze (approximately 6% alcohol by volume) and are brewed within Munich’s city limits.
1. Paulaner Oktoberfest Beer | Märzen / Oktoberfest | 5.8% ABV
2. Spaten Oktoberfest Beer | Ur-Märzen / Oktoberfest | 5.9% ABV
3. Hofbräu Oktoberfest Beer | Märzen / Oktoberfest | 6.3% ABV
are imported from Germany and available in the United States.
I added seven more very good, reasonably priced German-inspired beers made in the U.S.A to the list of the 10 best Oktoberfest beers. All are relatively easy to find at your local beer and wine retailer. “Prost!”
4. Dominion Octoberfest
Dover, DE | Märzen / Oktoberfest | 5.5% ABV
- Rich copper color. Light head.
- Starts out bready with a very slight sweetnes at the end.
- Eight types of imported German malts and four hop varieties
- Sweet toasted barley malt character, grass and grains with some bitter notes on the end
- Overall a good drinking brew
5. Yuengling Oktoberfest
Pottsville, PA | Märzen / Oktoberfest | 5.4% ABV
- Copper-colored, medium bodied German-style beer
- Toasted bread and light fruity notes form the initial aroma
- Hop presence is minimal, zero bitterness, slightly floral in nature
- Good malt character, slightly sweet, finish is nutty and dry
- A very smooth and drinkable seasonable brew
6. Saranac Octoberfest Lager
Utica, NY | German-style lager | 5.4% ABV
- Rich and flavorful, pleasantly bitter
- Two rows of imported crystal malts
- Sharp and spicy with Saaz and Tettang hops
- Slight lemon-peel bite at the end
- Hazy amber-copper color, light head
7. Samuel Adams Octoberfest
Boston, Mass | Märzen / Oktoberfest |5.3% ABV
- Well-balanced blend of creamy, hearty Munich malts
- Smooth toffee-, caramel-, toasted-bread notes
- Bottom-fermenting lager, nice carbonation and body
- Deep red-amber appearance; floral, earthy aroma
- Bavarian Noble hops give a nice authentic finish
8. Shiner Oktoberfest
Shiner, TX | Märzen / Oktoberfest | 5.7% ABV
- Brewed with fresh German-grown hops
- Highest quality two-row barley, Munich and caramel malts
- Traditional Oktoberfest toastiness, pleasantly sweet and light
- Less bitter than most beers in its class
- Rusty, amber pour with a cream-color head
9. Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest
Chico, CA | Amber Lager / Oktoberfet | 6.0% ABV
- Deep golden in color and rich with complex malt flavor from the use of traditional German Steffi barley
- Rich, wide range of flavors
- Finishes dry and crisp with a balance of hop bitterness and malt sweetness
- Created hand in hand with a Brewery in Augsburg/Germany
10. Brooklyn Oktoberfest
Brooklyn, NY | Märzen / Oktoberfest | 5.5% ABV
- Pours copper-burnt orange with a thin tan head which fades to just a little lacing
- Fullbodied and malty, with a bready aroma and light, brisk hop bitterness
- Malts: Bavarian Heirloom Munich and Pilsner Malts
- Hops: Hallertauer Perle, Hallertauer Mittelfrueh
Whatever beer you will pick from the list of the 10 best Oktoberfest beers, they all are worth tasting to find your personal best.