I found this year to be a disappointment
Paulaner had a modest Marzen beer that reminded me a basic pilsner not unlike Elephant
Paulaner had a modest Marzen beer that reminded me a basic pilsner not unlike Elephant
with all due respect - Sam Adams albeit good - isn't quite true Oktoberfest beer nor is any USA offered microbrew- you need to get on a ship and cross the atlantic for real oktoberfest beers - for the purity rules and suchThere are countless “microbreweries” around, but I still find Samuel Adams Octoberfest to be among the best. If you like flavored beer, their Pumpkin Ale (Jack-O) is pretty good. I also like their Festbeir ?
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with all due respect - Sam Adams albeit good - isn't quite true Oktoberfest beer nor is any USA offered microbrew- you need to get on a ship and cross the atlantic for real oktoberfest beers - for the purity rules and such
The tax laws associated with beer may have created a mystique but imbued no special flavors. Honestly, the modern German/Austrian offerings have as much in common with traditional Oktoberfest bier as their cars do. I wouldn't go on about the water either as the profiles of traditional lager water have been engineered down to the micron. While it is darn hard to do so, I would say that several international microbreweries have managed a more authentic festbier than most of their teutonic counterparts.with all due respect - Sam Adams albeit good - isn't quite true Oktoberfest beer nor is any USA offered microbrew- you need to get on a ship and cross the atlantic for real oktoberfest beers - for the purity rules and such
As like many things in history, the Reinheitsgebot seems to have become grossly romanticized over the years. Yes, there was a componnen of it regarding "purity" since there were some questionable ingredients being used at the time (but not much different than today), but it was really about taxes and control (e.g., wheat was not originally considered to be allowed, but of course there were massive quantities of weissbier being brewed that only the royal family could drink even though it was not allowed by the Reinheitsgebot).with all due respect - Sam Adams albeit good - isn't quite true Oktoberfest beer nor is any USA offered microbrew- you need to get on a ship and cross the atlantic for real oktoberfest beers - for the purity rules and such
I believe that all Hofbräuhaus locations outside of Germany actually have their Oktoberfest beer shipped in from Munich; it is NOT made onsite.The Hofbräuhaus Oktoberfest brewed in Pittsburgh might disagree, and all you have to do is cross the Monongahela River ?
Depends on who you ask. In Munich, only six breweries are allowed to make "official" Oktoberfest beer for the festival. Outside of that, it's just style guidelines and preferences. Traditionally, Oktoberfest beer was a Marzen beer.So, what makes a beer an Octoberfest beer? I am curious.
Honestly, the modern German/Austrian offerings have as much in common with traditional Oktoberfest bier as their cars do. I wouldn't go on about the water either as the profiles of traditional lager water have been engineered down to the micron. While it is darn hard to do so, I would say that several international microbreweries have managed a more authentic festbier than most of their teutonic counterparts.
Yes, I would agree that water can and does make a big difference in brewing. If local water is not conducive to brewing, it needs to be treated. As a homebrewer, my local water is horrible for brewing, so I start with distilled or reverse osmosis water and add back salts/minerals as necessary to reach a target water profile. Large breweries may or may not so the same depending the needed water profile for a particular beer or style.I would vehemently deny the quip regarding water being over-engineered. I am not well-versed in the proprietary methods for processing water at these and other breweries, but I will say the water makes the difference. I've seen brewery after brewery attempt to emulate German, Belgian, and other styles and, almost invariably, produce something that tastes like an imitation. The only variable is the water chemistry, which gets quite complex rather quickly.
Beer is over 90% water. So it has to taste good, but there is much more.Yes, I would agree that water can and does make a big difference in brewing. If local water is not conducive to brewing, it needs to be treated. As a homebrewer, my local water is horrible for brewing, so I start with distilled or reverse osmosis water and add back salts/minerals as necessary to reach a target water profile. Large breweries may or may not so the same depending the needed water profile for a particular beer or style.
^^ This too!The beer mythology (read "marketing") in this thread so far is pretty typical.
In point of fact brewing is less about romance and is more a mix of microbiology and chemical engineering. Disbelieve about water replication all you want but we have had replication of the original Burton salts for several decades, since Burton upon Trent went to a different water treatment plan. The same goes for original water profiles from places such as Pilsen and Dortmund. As the science has improved, so has the ability to perfect water profiles. That's why virtually nobody can tell the difference between original brewery and contract brewery for the same product.
Also, if you believe you can tell the difference between the USA Budweiser breweries (or even a majority of first-world contract brewery versions) you are either falling victim to your own bias or you should be working as a top-level taster for them.
As to why a microbrewery magically doesn't taste like an original product is mostly down to three things. Thing one is that the experience in the traditional style is mostly not there. The average microbrewer does not have the hundreds of thousands of dollars it takes to spend years in the beer and brewery research of their target style. Second, the brewer often has to account for the tastes of their customer base which may not run in the same vein as the original style. Third, when you have Jimmy, who is the only brewer at a <15,000 bbl/year facility and has untrained assistants, Jimmy isn't going to be able to replicate the work of Paulaner on his own. In case you were wondering, Paulaner, a relatively small brewery for its type and location has a fully staffed scientific lab and produces over 2,000,000 bbl a year.