We consider ourselves somewhat of experts when it comes to Octoberfest. We know how to serve up brats, party all day & night, and raise our liters of beer in celebration. We may even go as far as to consider ourselves experts on the Oktoberfest beer style, even though we are both a bit of hop heads.

The Oktoberfest style of beer is a medium bodied beer that is sweet yet balanced out with Noble hops. The sweet malt should be the dominant flavor. It comes in a variety of color ranges, from light orange to dark copper. You will find light toasty notes in the malt. Caramel/toffee flavors are also acceptable for the style. Additionally, bread or biscuit like flavors may be present. The aroma will be notable, but low to medium, and clean.

There is also an American Oktoberfest style where the only difference is a slightly stronger hop presence, but sweetness remains the predominant characteristic of the beer.

We’ve had several bake-offs and Brooklyn’s Oktoberfest remains the champion of champions when it comes to this style. It fits the American Oktoberfest description which is how I like it

Leinenkugel’s Oktoberfest is their autumn seasonal offering and is new to me. The new label design looks great and I hope it tastes as good as it looks. It pours super clean and is amber, or light copper, in color. There is a light hops presence as the frothy head stands up and hangs on to the glass.

The beer is very light in body and barely sweet, but there is light hop character to it. The best word I can come up with to describe it is dry. I would say this beer adheres to the original German definition of the style quite accurately and is balanced if a tad light on sweetness. It is definitely a high quality product with no off flavors; 5.1% ABV & 20 IBUs.

I enjoyed this beer, but it is certainly not my favorite for Oktoberfest. It just doesn’t have enough malt sweetness and elevated bitterness for my tastes. If you like Paulaner Oktoberfest but find it too sweet, you may want to give this a try.

One last thing… while I was on their website, I found Peg’s Kitchen and there were some nice looking recipes.