Brewery: Brauerei Aying
Beer: Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen
Style: Märzen/Oktoberfest
ABV: 5.8%
Character: The soft dryness comes from long maturation.
Metal Connection: WARLOCK – Homicide Rocker
I moved this one up a bit on my back log of reviewed beers to be posted to the site, since October has already came and went, and we have now moved on. So I didn’t want to wait any longer to put up reviews of Oktoberfest or Märzen style beers. There is a lot of history behind this style of beer, dating back to 1818 where Märzens were introduced to the German Festival, Oktoberfest.
A Märzen is brewed in March and fermented slowly during the summer months and then served in October at the annual festival. This style has been duplicated throughout the world, including here in the States. We even get some good beers imported to the states, including this little gem of a beer. I had heard that this beer was an excellent Oktoberfest, and that I would enjoy it a lot, so I caved and bought a bottle to try.
Using a Ranger Creek Brewing pint glass, it poured a translucent copper color which looked real nice after the chill haze on the glass went away. There was a thick and frothy off white colored head, which remained in tact throughout the session, and left a very sticky full lacing down the glass. Very impressive.
The main scent I can get is sweet and fruity. This over layers an aroma of the malts, which has some caramel, sweet toffee, and bready tones. The lingering aroma in my nose is a bit dusty, or chalky but nothing too off putting. Definitely smells like a German beer!
The taste of this Oktoberfest is amazing. I was told correctly, and I am glad I tried this beer. A lot of the same character s that are in the aroma show up in the taste as well. I got hit right up front with a sweet sugar like flavor, caramel malts, and a bit of nuttiness. The bread profile is there as well on the back end. After taking a good sized drink, my throat is left with a slight dry chalkiness, but like the aroma, the flavors mask this very well, making it not a bad quality, but rather compliments the other flavors going on here.
The body is a good medium thickness which helps make this beer an easy drinkable beer, as it does not make you feel full after each drink. The mouthfeel is smooth, creamy, not overly carbonated, and it does leave a crisp dryness at the end, helping the flavors stand out and linger a while.
Overall, I will have to honestly say that this is my favorite Märzen/Oktoberfest style beer. I know a lot of American breweries have tried to duplicate the style, and some have even made their own version, but you can’t argue with the Germans here. They know how to brew a good Märzen. I’m sure this beer is easily available throughout the US, so I recommend picking this one up as soon as possible, and enjoy this bad boy as I did.
Metal Connection: I had to go with a German classic here. Let me re-introduce to you the band Warlock, which features the lovely Doro Pesch on vocals. This song I chose is one that will get your head bangin’ for sure! I chose the song “Homicide Rocker” from the band’s classic debut full length album, Burning the Witches, which was released in 1984. I hadn’t hard a song from Warlock or from Doro (Doro Pesch’s solo band) in a very long time until I was asked to design a flyer and help book local bands for Doro when she played a gig here in San Antonio back in 2008. Since then, both bands discographies have made their way to rotations on my computer at home and on my mp3 player. Do yourself a favor, and click the link to the video and crank up your speakers to 11, and get ready to bang your head until your head rolls off! Oh, and yes, enjoy a good beer like Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen while doing so!
\m/ Metal \m/
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