Spaten Oktoberfest Ur-Märzen

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

Dark amber pour sweet caramel aroma and taste with a slight bitter finish malty earthy roasted taste. A quality oktoberfest out of the bunch.

Deep amber color with some brown notes and sparse tan lacing. Spice and dark malts in nose. Medium body with a clean aftertaste. Very mild bitterness. Easy to drink.

Good Marzen but tends to get a bit sweet and lacks the depth of better version. I’m trying this beer against Ayinger’s version. This beer pours a darkish brown-amber, completely clear with a small, white head. Bubbles stick around nicely, though. The aroma is malty and clean but quite light. There’s no off note that can creep into lighter German imports. There’s a touch of apples and grapes detectable, as well. The flavor comes through more strongly vinous with a light but fruity malt. It gets just a bit too sweet in the finish, but I’m sure that I’d lose sight of that quickly if I were drinking it any quantity. While both this beer and the Ayinger would be easy to drink all night, I have to give the nod to Ayinger. Still, Spaten puts out a nice marzen with a relatively low price tag.

(draft). Clear amber color. Small white head. Light malty aroma. Light roasted malt flavor. Avg duration. Smooth finish. Slick texture. Soft carbonation. Spare lacing.

12 oz. bottle. Pours a light brown with an off-white head. Aroma was a little skunk and a little malt, bread. Taste like a cross between a Heineken and an Octoberfest. Not bad but not high on my list.

Tap at Old Chicago Uptown. Reddish brown pour, malty aroma. Tangy malty flavor with a sweet finish.

12 oz. bottle from Arnold’s in Cincinnati. Pours orange brown, slightly cloudy, with a small off-white head. Aroma of caramel, bread, grass, earth, generic German beer funk. Flavor is more of the same. Sweet, earthy, grassy, slightly bitter, with funk and metallic notes. Might be all right in the right environment, but this one doesn’t do much for me.

Copper color with a malty aroma. Complex rich flavors that echo the aroma. Sweet, but not in a caramelly/toffee way like so many other Octoberfests. Well balanced and fairly light, though the richness would not make this one for all day drinking. Finishes cleanly. You can almost taste the pretzels.........