We get it. The end of the summer and its seemingly endless sunny days is kind of a bummer. Lucky for you, there’s a lot to look forward to in autumn. And we’re not talking about pumpkin spice. The end of summer means that Oktoberfest is right around the corner.
Regardless of whether you celebrate at the official site in Munich, Germany, or your local celebration, Oktoberfest is a giant party featuring traditional clothing, lively music, dancing, and mouthwatering foods like schnitzel, bratwurst, sauerkraut, and more. It’s also a great event for beer fans.
The traditional German Oktoberfest beer style is the marzen. Also referred to as festbier or simple Oktoberfest beer, it’s known for its reddish, copper hue and toasted malt, caramel, and balanced flavor profile featuring a gentle floral hop bitterness at the finish.
Oktoberfest beers from the 6 Munich breweries
If you didn’t know it already, not just any German beer is welcome at the official Oktoberfest celebration in Bavaria. Six breweries in Munich are known as official participants. These are the breweries you’ll find in the various tents at the event. They include Löwenbräu, Spaten, Hofbräu, Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, and Paulaner.
If you want to pay tribute to the real event in the comfort of your own home (or at your local event), you’ll drink an Oktoberfest beer from one of these breweries. Keep scrolling to learn a little bit about each of these iconic beers.
Paulaner Oktoberfest
One of the most popular Oktoberfest beers on the market, Paulaner Oktoberfest is made with water, pilsner malt, and Munich malt. It gets its hop presence from the liberal use of Herkules and Hallertau hops. This creates a refreshing, crisp, malty fall beer loaded with notes of bready malts, caramel, citrus peels, and floral, lightly bitter hops. It’s a well-balanced beer you’ll want to drink all autumn long (and well into the winter).
Hacker Pschorr Oktoberfest
Another one of the big six breweries, Hacker Pschorr is a beloved Bavarian beer brand. Its Oktoberfest is brewed with Alpine spring water and Bavarian-grown light and dark malts as well as 2-row barley. It gets its hop balance from the use of Hallertau hops. This beer is highlighted by notes of bready malts, toasted grains, toffee, raisins, citrus peels, and floral hops. It’s a perfectly balanced fall beer that you’ll go back to again and again.
Löwenbräu Oktoberfestbier
The biggest downfall of Löwenbräu Oktoberfestbier is the fact that it isn’t available in the U.S. If you find yourself in Germany or in another country where it’s available, you’ll be treated to a 6.1% festive memorable beer. Brewed simply with water, barley, and hops, it’s known for its golden hue and bready, sweet, malty body that moves into citrus peels and gentle spices before finishing with a final kick of floral, lightly bitter hops. If you can find this beer, grab it.
Spaten Oktoberfest Ur Marzen
If you’re only going to try one of the “big six” brewery’s takes on the classic Oktoberfest style, make it Spaten. This 5.9% ABV marzen is the first-ever Oktoberfest beer. Brewed with Pilsner, Munich, Vienna, Caramunich, and Aromatic malts, it gets its hop presence from Northern Brewer and Hersbrucker hops. This darker, malty, beer is filled with notes of bready malts, caramel, cereal grains, and grassy, herbal, floral hops. The finish is malty, crisp, and highly memorable.
Hofbrau Oktoberfestbier
One of the most readily available traditional German Oktoberfest beers, Hofbrau Oktoberfestbier is brewed with water from the Alps, caramel malt, Munich malt, and light barley malt as well as bottom-fermenting yeast. It’s loaded with hops including Hercules, Magnum, Hallertauer Perle, and Select hops. The result is a flavorful, complex, well-balanced beer that begins with a nose of toasted malts, caramel, fresh-cut grass, honey, and cereal grains. Sipping it reveals a palate of caramel malts, toasted barley, citrus peels, honey, and floral, earthy, grassy hops. The finish is crisp, lightly bitter, and leaves you wanting more.
Augustiner Brau Edelstoff
Augustiner is one of the “big six” breweries, but you have to travel to Munich to try its Festhalle beer that’s poured directly from taps in giant wooden barrels. You can, however, purchase a bottle of its popular Augustiner Brau Edelstoff. This 5.7% ABV Helles-style lager is also a great choice for the fall. It’s known for its crisp, refreshing, balanced palate loaded with notes of bready malts, citrus peels, and floral, grassy, earthy hops. The finish is dry, lightly bitter, and effortlessly refreshing. There’s a reason this is such a popular German beer.
