For more details on how to celebrate Oktoberfest at home, including limited edition kegs and candles, alongside insightful videos, visit the Oktoberfest Hub on Beer Hawk here. The official 188th Oktoberfest celebration, starts on Saturday, September 16, 2023, so with the party is just getting started let’s toast with the best Oktoberfest beers. This year was the second time since the global pandemic that the annual festival that attracts millions of visitors to Munich, Germany, to imbibe a very specific style of beer, returned in person. Truth be told, we didn’t get many floral or herbaceous hoppiness here. Instead, this one is all about the malt. While other lagers will be available as a part of its “lager service,” Small-Tober will be the main feature.

But then, Firestone Walker injects its own DNA, partially lagering Oaktoberfest in neutral oak barrels. After all, Co-Founders Adam Firestone and David Walker started the twenty-seven-year-old brewery as an exclusively barrel-fermented business!Small-Tober started last year when Founder Brandon Capps wanted to make a low-alcohol version of a Oktoberfest beer. Märzen— One of the best lager-focused breweries in the entire country does the ultimate justice with its version of an Oktoberfest. As a result, the finished beer has a soft caress of French oak that makes this one of the most approachable, balanced Märzens on the market.

Oktoberfest Lager— With Oaktoberfest, Firestone Walker takes the threads of traditions and weaves in its own heritage. So yes, you’ll find all that caramelly goodness you love in Oktoberfests from Weyerman Pils, Vienna, Munich, Cara Hell, and Cara Red malts. Märzen— Barrique Brewing and Blending takes tradition to heart with its Märzen. The Nashville-based brewery starts with floor-malted Bohemian dark malt and pilsner malt from the German maltster Weyermann, double decocting for a 5.8% ABV Märzen with lovely layers of robust maltiness. This is the perfect fall beer, and it is easy to see why it makes it into the top ten beers on Untappd’s All-Time Top-Rated Märzens. Firestone Walker Brewing Company – Paso Robles, CA Photography courtesy of Firestone Walker Brewing Company If you consider yourself to be a passionate beer drinker and have the space in your home, then yes, we'd say they're worth it. Even though I’m not a huge beer drinker, I sure do love a glass stein and this one is from the lovely team at Beer Hawk. Even though I might not be in Germany, I do feel part of the celebrations with one of these glasses in hand and as you can see, Gareth looks right at home. It wasn’t until 1892 that beer was served in glass mugs as they were traditionally made out of stone, followed by metal and more commonly these days, the huge glass steins.Augustiner Oktoberfest: This beer is one of the oldest and most popular Oktoberfest beers. It is a traditional Bavarian beer brewed in Munich and known for its smooth, malty flavour. We liked it for its fizzy aroma of cream soda of all things. On the sip it’s much toastier and less sweet. Kind of like the charred ends of buttered toast. We actually like that this one is a bit more bitter than some of the other versions on this list. There is a complex depth to the bitterness that rounds out the whole beer, giving it a robust mouthfeel and body. Smooth and rich from the plethora of malts, Whisper also includes just a…well…whisper of Noble hop character.

Festbier— Considered the authentic and original Oktoberfest Bier, Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier, falls under the Festbier category, served at the actual Oktoberfest celebration in Munich. Actually, during the first sixty or so years the darker Bavarian dunkel dominated. But by 1872 Spaten brewery introduced the more amber-hued Märzen, which became the official beer of the fest. And in the mid 1960s Paulaner’s golden-colored Oktoberfest Bier, considered a Festbier, began to take over. Märzen— Developed over 200 years ago to celebrate the original Munich Oktoberfest, this amber full-bodied bier has a rich malt flavor and dark toffee notes with an underlying fruitiness and masterful hop balance. Drink Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen to instantly turn your home into an Oktoberfest celebration. Prost! All in all, this is a celebratory beer, first brewed for a celebration, and now continually brewed for Oktoberfest celebrations.There are some wine and champagne options available within the tents if that is more your vibe or if you’re looking for a change instead of drinking beer all day. Just to point out as well that the legal drinking age at Oktoberfest is 16 but for spirits you would need to be 18. Are There Any Food Options? Oktoberfest Lager— Normally, when we’re mentioning New Image it’s because of an innovative new IPA— like one with Phantasm. But you may not know that this Colorado-based brewery also kills it with their lager program. Between you and me, I’m not a huge of fan of beer but there a few different ones that I can stomach, especially a fruity beer, I’m all over that! I thought I would put together a few fun facts about Oktoberfest because who doesn’t want to learn more about the most celebrated beer festival in the world that happens each year in Munich. Non-Alcoholic Festbier— Because who says you can only drink non-alcoholic beer during Dry January? We’ll admit this is the first non-alcoholic version of a Festbier we’ve tried, and we wholly enjoyed it.

Best known for farmhouse ales—such as Spotted Cow—and fruited sours, New Glarus puts its own spin on the autumnal German beer with Staghorn Octoberfest. Essentially a lesson in German royalty, Oktoberfest started with a wedding. Bavarian Crown Prince Louis (later King Louis I of Bavaria) married Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen on Oct. 12th, 1810. Like the kegs, need a machine? PerfectDraft kegs only work with our PerfectDraft Machine. Be the envy of your friends; get one now! Basically, the Oktoberfest-style beers brewed in America are actually nothing like the Festbiers made for the real Oktoberfest in Germany. Instead, they align more closely with the original styles served in the 1870s.Some might argue that it’s worth visiting Denver in late September / early October for something other than the Great American Beer Festival. And if you do happen to be there for GABF, maybe consider making a side trip to Bierstadt Lagerhaus to snag a stein of their Oktoberfest (oh, and also this Slow Pour Pilsner is a can’t-miss). And that’s what this beer is all about. Released just this past week, Bierstadt’s version stays true to the Märzen style. Tröegs Independent Brewing – Hershey, PA Photography courtesy of @troegsbeer | Tröegs Independent Brewing Funny story, just as the original Oktoberfest started with a wedding, Waddle similarly began with the wedding of one Off Color employee.