30 Best Oktoberfest Beers to Drink Now
For those who get to enjoy the change of seasons, fall is spectacular. Football season is underway and nobody’s out of the playoffs yet. Crisp, clear mornings call for boots and flannels, and chilly nights are best enjoyed with a warming dram of whiskey. Lest we forget the greatest beer arrivals of all time: malty and crisp Oktoberfest beers.
Oktoberfest beers originated in Germany to accompany the biggest beer-soaked festival in the world—a tradition held strong since 1810. There are very specific rules related to the beer served at Oktoberfest. Only six Munich breweries—including Spaten, Paulaner, and Löwenbräu—are allowed to produce what's called Oktoberfestbier. That beer must be above 6% ABV and must be made with only water, barley, hops, yeast, wheat malt and/or sugar.
Until the 1970s, this Oktoberfestbier was märzen, a full-bodied amber lager that's rich in malt and mildly bitter. Then it was replaced by festbier, which is basically a paler, golden, more drinkable version of märzen similar to an export lager.
In America, we're a bit more lax about rules when it comes to Oktoberfest beers. American breweries make festbiers, märzens, and variations of the two in all colors of the gold-to-red rainbow. They're not around for long, though.
Related: The Best Pumpkin Beers, Ranked
Break out the steins and pretzels, here are some of our favorite märzens and festbiers you can find across the country. Prost!
Framingham, Massachusetts
Style: Festbier Lager
Designed to honor the golden (not amber) lagers served amid the massive tents of Munich's Oktoberfest celebration, this crisp and easy-drinking beer is the next best thing to a plane ticket to Bavaria. While it's lighter-bodied than many American Oktoberfests, it's no less complex with a layered toasted barley character complemented by a kiss of spicy hops.
ABV: 5.4%
Chico, California
Style: Festbier
For the better part of the last decade Sierra Nevada has been releasing new collaboration Oktoberfests annually, and it's always one of our most anticipated beers of the year. For 2023, the Chico brewers partnered with the similarly family-run Kehrwieder Kreativbrauerei from Hamburg, German. Their joint effort is a copper-colored treat that pairs rich, yet crisp malts with both American and traditional German hops. And it's delicious.
ABV: 6%
Lincoln, Nebraska
Style: German-style lager
Last year, Zipline’s Festbier took home bronze at the Great American Beer Festival for Dortumunder or German-Style Oktoberfest. It comes out of the can a lemony gold with plenty of carbonation. It has a complex aroma of light, malted grains, floral hops, and yeast. There's a classic malty kick to start, followed by sweet biscuit dough, and a mild bitterness to finish.
ABV: 6%
Boston, Massachusetts
Style: Märzen
Samuel Adams calls Oktoberfest a “brief moment of fall beer drinking beauty.” The brewery's seasonal beer is copper-amber in color with a nice set of foam on its shoulders. The brewery makes its own malt blend for the beer and you can smell that and toasted bread when you take a sniff. It has flavors of sweet bread dough and caramel with a bit of funkiness.
ABV: 5.3%
Longmont, Colorado
Style: Märzen lager
The gold ring on Left Hand’s Oktoberfest can is a tribute to the 1810 wedding of a Bavarian prince that inspired every Oktoberfest since. The beer comes out of the can a clear, light copper with foam lacing. It has aromas of caramel and roasted malt. Tasting notes include roasted malts and toffee with some hops.
ABV: 6.6%
Portland, Oregon
Style: Lager
Ecliptic’s Oktoberfest is part of its Moon Room Series that focuses on lagers. The beer is a slightly hazy orange-amber color. It smells of hops, light malt, and sweet bread dough. On the palate, there’s a bright citrusy start, a malty middle, and a toasted cereal finish.
ABV: 6.0%
New Ulm, Minnesota
Style: Märzen-style Festbier
Schell’s Oktoberfest is a three-time award winner (one bronze, two silvers) at the Great American Beer Festival. It's pours a handsome light copper with white foam, and has a mellow aroma of mildly sweet malted grains. Tasing notes include floral hops, spiced malt, and cake.
ABV: 6.5%
Hawley, Pennsylvania
Style: Märzen
Wallenpaupack’s Oktoberfest was a 2021 gold winner at the Brewski awards. Out of the can, it’s a light brown amber with effervescence. It has a bright malt aroma with mild sweetness. Take a drink and you’ll taste toasted breads, cocoa, and caramel with a clean finish.
ABV: 5.9%
Portland, Oregon
Style: Ale
Widmer calls its Oktoberfest entry a “not-too-bitter, not-too-sweet brew.” It's like fall in a glass: clear, bright yellow-amber in color with foam lacing. It has a slightly bitter aroma of malted grains and citrus hops. Caramel notes are nicely balanced with lemon and a mildly bitter back end.
ABV: 5.5%
Hershey, Pennsylvania
Style: Lager
Oktoberfest is a new beer from Tröegs and, according to the brewery, the result is “toasty, crisp, festive.” The beer comes out of the bottle a warm sienna color. It has a clean, crisp, malty aroma. Drinking it, you get malted grains, caramel in the middle, and a dry finish.
ABV: 6.1%
Hood River, Oregon
Style: Lager
According to pFriem, the brewery’s Oktoberfest is an “easy-drinking tribute” to the German original. The beer pours clear gold with nice foam and effervescence. It has a hoppy, yeasty, bread dough scent. It begins mildly spicy and floral, leading to a sweet dough finish.
ABV: 6.1%
Paso Robles, California
Style: Oak-aged lager
Firestone Walker takes its seasonal brew in a different direction by maturing the beer in French oak barrels. The result is Oaktoberfest. It pours a clear yellow-orange with tongue-tingling carbonation. It has aromas of bright grains and mellow hops. Anticipate a bright start with earthy hops, maltiness, and mild lemon.
ABV: 5.2%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Style: Oktoberfest Lager
The art on the can celebrates the “underdog” masks that some Philadelphia Eagles wore on their way to winning the 2018 Super Bowl. The beer is a light cedar color with plenty of white foam. It has aromas of malt, fresh grasses, and grapes. Take a sip and you get a mild taste of grains as well as yeasty pretzel dough.
ABV: 5.6%
McMinnville, Oregon
Style: Oktoberfest lager
Heater Allen says that if you can’t make it to Munich, Bobtoberfest “is the next best thing.” It’s a reddish sienna with good foam and nice carbonation. Aroma of sweet malted grains mimics the tasting notes. It's a clean, crisp beer with a light floral start, mild malted grains, and a light hop finish.
ABV: 5.6%
Davis, California
Style: Festbier
Sudwerk has been brewing California lagers since 1989 and the Davis brewery just released its Festbier, complete with sweet dachshund art. Out of the can, the beer is a clear gold color with light aromas of malted grains and honey. You get clean flavors of sweet malted grains and toasted bread.
ABV: 6.0%
Chicago, Illinois
Style: German-style Märzen
Goose Island sums their Oktoberfest up in three words: “Traditional. Malty. Festive.” The beer is a bright cedar in color with plenty of effervescence. It has aromas of malt and stone fruit. Traditional maltiness ends with a butterscotch finish.
Portland, Oregon
Style: Festbier
The crew at Wayfinder are among our favorite lager nerds on the West Coast and we'll gladly hoist a pint of any and every seasonal beer they produce. Freiheit, modeled on the paler, lighter-bodied festbiers served at the flagship Oktoberfest in Munich, is smooth and satisfying but will still leave you with plenty of appetite for wurst and giant pretzels.
ABV: 5.7%
Cheshire, Connecticut
Style: German Festbier
Counterweight says its traditional fest beer is “lighter, drier, and less sweet” than a traditional märzen. It pours bright yellow-gold with plenty of foam. Floral aromas mingle with bright malts and a bit of hoppiness. On the palate, enjoy fall spices like cinnamon and clove (chai-like) with grains and light hoppiness.
ABV: 5.9%
Lexington, Virginia
Style: Lager
Devil’s Backbone claims you’ll love O’Fest whether it’s “October or Oktober.” The beer pours a light golden amber in color. It has aromas of fruit, cereal grains, and warm malt. Take a taste and you get flavors of toasted cereal, light maltiness, and caramel.
ABV: 5.9%
Boston, Massachusetts
Style: American-style Märzen
Harpoon has been brewing this seasonally since 1989. It’s deep red-amber in color with aromas of sweet baked apples and grain. Flavors of malted grains and mild cherry tanginess end with a bitter note.
ABV: 5.3%
San Diego, California
Style: German-style Märzen lager
AleSmith changes its name to fit the season with AleSchmidt Oktoberfest. This beer pours a slightly hazy, very light amber color. It has aromas of malted grains and bread dougn. Taste it and you get flavors of caramel and a toasted malt finish.
ABV: 5.5%
Bremerton, Washington
Style: Oktoberfest lager
According to Silver City, a few sips of this Oktoberfest and you’ll be transported to the “great beer halls of Bavaria.” The beer is a clear, bright pale autumnal gold with an aroma of mildly sweet malted grain along with some sweet yeastiness. The taste is not overly sweet. There's mellow cereal and maltiness at the end.
ABV: 6.2%
Cleveland, Ohio
Style: Märzen-style lager
Great Lakes’ Oktoberfest is a deep gold in color with foam. It has aromas of fermented bread dough and grains with a tiny bit of funkiness. Drinking it, you taste cereals and toasted grains with a light bitter finish. “Lederhosen not included,” says Great Lakes.
ABV: 6.5%
Breckenridge, Colorado
Style: Märzen lager
If you enjoy Breckenridge’s Oktoberfest, good news, you can always go back and get the 5-liter mini keg. It pours the color of a copper penny with aromas of toasted malted grains and breads. Your palate enjoys toasted grains and tanginess with a nice pretzel finish.
ABV: 6.0%
Winchester, Ohio
Style: Bavarian Helles
According to Brewdog, its take on a Festbier is “one helles of a beer.” Out of the can, it's wheat in color with some foam lacing. There are aromas of grasses, grains, and some mellow hoppiness. Bright grains and spices are balanced with a small bit of bitterness at the end.
ABV: 6.0%
Denver, Colorado
Style: Session Oktoberfest
While the very nature of Oktoberfest beers make them easy to drink one after another, Call to Arms made its recipe super sessionable. The beer pours a light copper amber color with aromas of malted grain and caramel. Its flavor profile includes toasted whole grain bread with lingering toastiness.
ABV: 4.4%
Davis, California
Style: Märzen
Unlike most of the other beers on this list, Sudwerk’s Märzen is part of the brewery’s core lineup. That means you can drink it in October, December, and July. The beer pours a brownish amber with decent bubbles. There are mild aromas of grains, pretzel dough, and honey. The beer has a classic German lager taste to start, then ends with flavors of pancakes and milk.
ABV: 5.7%
Portland, Oregon
Style: German-style Lager
Portland’s Zoiglhaus mixes malts and yeast from Germany with freshly picked U.S. hops. The winner of a gold medal at the Oregon Beer Awards in the Other Fresh Hop Beers category, Oktoberfresh pours a hazy light amber with generous foam. It has aromas of bread dough, malted grains, and caramel. Drinking it, you get tastes of mild grains and sweet dough with a floral hop finish.
ABV: 5.5%
Seattle, Washington
Style: Festbier
Located in the White Center neighborhood of Seattle, Future Primitive makes it clear what goes into the brewery’s Festbier: “100% German malts, 100% German hops, 98% German sensibility.” The beer comes out of the can a very light amber color with bread dough and malt aromas. Drinking it, you get crisp biscuity flavors and malted grains with a bitter finish.
ABV: 5.3%
Boston, Massachusetts
Style: Lager
According to Sam Adams, the brewery’s Festbier has a higher ABV to “get the cheers a little bigger.” The beer is a clear gold color with foam that lingers on the side of the glass. It has aromas of biscuit dough, light malted grains, and honey. Festbier has flavors of malt and caramel with some light hoppy notes at the end.
ABV: 5.8%
