Spaten Oktoberfest Ur-Märzen

Brewed by Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu (InBev)
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
Munich, Germany

On draught : Pours a copper amber color, semi-clear, with finger wide offwhite head. A spicey aroma with some malts. Taste is malty with spices, much like th aroma. Palate is thin to medium bodied, goes down smooth with a nice aftertaste.

No date on bottle. Pours copper color with sub-par head. Aroma is malty and maybe a little spicy. I think it’s a bit over-carbonated. Flavor is a bit on the dry side, which is fine with me. Maybe a little too simple. I wonder if my bottle wasn’t fresh enough; I’d love to try this on tap in Munich.

Pours medium amber with a small head. Aroma is a tad skunky at first but settles down pretty quick (thanks for using a green bottle). After the skunk goes away it is a nice sweet malt. Flavor is also quite malty with touches of grains and corn.

Grainy malt nose on the golden body. Lightly malted body that went down quite smooth.

Bottle. Body is a brownish amber and has a two finger high head when I get done pouring. Aromas are a little on the skunky side (think Becks) but not unsettling. Flavor is malt heavy and thin, at the same time. The caramel and bready malt dominates the palate with the hops picking up the finish with a slightly skunky and bitter note. Not bad, but a little thinner than my tastes would dictate.

Pours a two-finger white head that fades slowly to a thin layer leaving some lace. Crystal clear amber color. Sweet malty nose. Medium carbonation and medium bodied. Flavor is sweet but balanced, smooth, good oktoberfest. Not skunky as some reviewers have noted. 12oz bottle $1.50 from Capitol Convenience Concord, NH.

Pours a clear amber-orange with a frothy beige head that leaves patchy lacing behind. Another green bottle. Green glass must be running at a discount, in Germany, these days. This is the third German Märzen that I’ve tried this week that has come from a green bottle. Like the other two, I wasn’t terribly surprised to find this one skunked, only not quite to the extent of its predecessors. Given time to "air out", the aroma reveals a solid nose of bready malt and little else. Medium-bodied and almost creamy with a dry, almost astringent finish. The flavor is of toasted bread, light nuttiness and a dry finish that just barely hints at earthy hops. Aside from the initial skunk, this one is pretty nice. InBev, please switch back to the brown bottle!

Draft at The Sanctuary, 9/25/07. Copper amber with a one finger off-white head, fair retention. Aroma of some fruity and caramel notes. Flavor added a bid of juicy raisins, but not in the imperial stout or barley wine type of way. They were moderately sweet and not boozy. Minimal bitterness. Moderate carbonation with a light to medium body. A good Oktoberfest bier.