We Tasted and Ranked 10 Oktoberfest Beers — the Best Wasn’t From Germany

While there are many seasonal styles of beer, few are as well-known as Oktoberfest. The annual gathering in Munich usually attracts 6 million to 7 million passionate beer drinkers, and its reach has gone global, with Oktoberfest-style beers brewed across the world, from Germany to New Zealand.

Oktoberfest didn’t begin as a beer festival but rather as five days of festivities celebrating the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen in 1810. The event proved popular and became an annual tradition, eventually overseen by the Bavarian Agricultural Association (Landwirtschaftlicher Verein in Bayern). 

Oktoberfestbier is an EU Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), which requires that production takes place entirely within the City of Munich. Separately, Munich Oktoberfest currently only permits beer from six traditional breweries located within Munich: Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner, and Spaten. Outside of Germany, many breweries make similar beers, either calling their brews “Oktoberfest-style” or simply “Oktoberfest” in places where European Union protections don’t apply.

What is an Oktoberfest-style beer?

There are two primary styles of Oktoberfest beer — märzen and festbier. Märzen translates, somewhat ironically, to “March beer,” which is when these beers were traditionally brewed before being stored and lagered in cold caves, to be enjoyed over the summer and finished by October. These beers are generally dark amber to amber in appearance, rich and malty with a slight sweetness, and generally come in at about 5.5% to 6.5% ABV, which was considered strong by historical standards (in the modern era of double imperial IPAs, not so much). By the 1870s, as beer became more heavily entwined in the culture of Oktoberfest, märzen was established as the predominant style.

Festbier came much later, pioneered by Paulaner in the mid-1970s. The producer sought to create a lighter, golden beer that retained märzen’s signature malt-forward characteristics but was less filling and could be more easily consumed in larger quantities over a longer period. Since the 1990s, it’s become the dominant style of beer at Munich’s Oktoberfest.

How we selected the beers

For our taste test, we aimed for accessibility and range. The selections had to have a sizable enough presence on U.S. shelves to be available to most consumers. The beers consisted of a mix of both märzen and festbier-style brews, with selections from some of the six permitted Munich Oktoberfest brewers, as well as American-made Oktoberfest-style beers. We were curious to see, in a sight-unseen tasting, how modern U.S. takes on the centuries-old style stood up to the Bavarian originals on taste alone.

How we tested

Beers were opened and poured into unmarked cups for our tasters to evaluate based on aroma, texture, and taste. Scores were tallied and then averaged on a weighted scale to determine the winner.

This time, our panel consisted of nine Food & Wine editors, including our editorial director of special projects, Melanie Hansche, a native of “the heartland of the Bavarian Alps, Garmisch-Partenkirchen.” When pressed for her credentials, she assured us, “My uncles and cousins wear lederhosen to weddings and holiday events like Christmas and Easter. Also, my uncle [Friedl Ostler] was a delivery driver for Löwenbräu for over 20 years in my hometown. Because he worked for them for so long, he has an allowance of three cases of beer per month.” A picture of her grandfather, Johann Ostler, wearing lederhosen, was also submitted for authenticity.

The rest of the panel included editors with a range of experience, from those new to the Oktoberfest style to a former beer hall manager. Per standard Food & Wine taste test procedure, crosstalk and commentary about the beers while tasting was underway were strictly prohibited. Allowances were made for Hansche to tell entertaining stories about her homeland when they were deemed not likely to influence the objectivity of the tasting.

Best Overall: Shiner Oktoberfest

Surprising everyone, Texas-based Shiner beat out all other beers, both American and German, to be crowned our favorite Oktoberfest-style brew. 

Multiple editors called Shiner one of the “easiest drinking” beers tasted, highlighting aromas of warm bread and the well-handled balance of hop and malt. Shiner keeps things traditional with this märzen, using two-row barley, Munich and caramel malts, and a combination of German Hallertau and Hersbrucker hops. Audrey Morgan, senior editor, remarked, “It tastes so exactly [like] what I’d expect of an Oktoberfest beer that I’m suspicious it’s actually American.” Hansche, our resident Bavarian, complimented the toasty, cereal-like nose. However, she was critical of the short finish, saying the flavor “drops off a cliff” after leaving the palate.

Still, Shiner was considered to strike the perfect middle ground between light and malty, making it an approachable crowd-pleaser in the märzen tradition and our top Oktoberfest-style beer. It’s available seasonally from August through October.

Best festbier: Weihenstephaner Festbier

Our No. 2 pick comes from the world’s oldest continuously operating brewery, Weihenstephan, founded in 1040 as a Benedictine monastery brewery. The vibrant gold hue of its seasonal festbier implies a lighter profile than a classic märzen, but don’t let that fool you — Weihenstephaner Festbier offers a rich flavor and a robust texture. Associate Editorial Director Ashley Day remarked that it “smelled like a light beer, then had a delightfully unexpected viscosity and mouthfeel.”

Notably, Weihenstephaner is not an official Oktoberfest beer, as the brewery is in Freising, about 40 minutes north of Munich. Official Oktoberfest beers must be produced within Munich city limits, so Weihenstephaner is instead touted as an all-purpose Volksfest (“people’s festival”) beer. 

Hansche complimented the beer’s “honeyed notes and kiss of bitterness,” remarking that “of the paler style festbiers, this is the most sessionable and a clear winner.”

A third-place tie: Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen and Sam Adams Octoberfest

Our final picks split evenly across both sides of the Atlantic: Boston-based Samuel Adams and Paulaner, one of Munich’s six officially recognized Oktoberfest breweries.

Both beers were celebrated for their quality and faithfulness to the classic amber, märzen style. Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen had a nice, round mouthfeel that didn’t come across as excessively creamy and offered what one of our editors called “dignified restraint.” Sam Adams Octoberfest took a similar approach but was a little heavier on the caramel notes and brought a sweeter finish. Whether our tasters favored one over the other just came down to subjective preference for the American style or the Munich style of brewing.

Paulaner was noted as having the more bitter-forward profile of the two while remaining comparatively light and day-drinkable. Restaurant Editor Erika Adams remarked that it offered “more spicy than sweet” notes, which appealed to her more than Sam Adams’ offering. Others, like Morgan, favored the sweeter, malt-forward style, calling Sam Adams Octoberfest “the pumpkin spice of beers, meant as a compliment.” 

However, all our testers agreed — you can’t go wrong with either of these choices.

The full ranking, from best to worst

1. Shiner Oktoberfest 
2. Weihenstephaner Festbier
3. Paulaner Oktoberfest and Samuel Adams Octoberfest
4. Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest 
5. Spaten Oktoberfest 
6. Sixpoint Oktoberfest 
7. Hofbräu Oktoberfest
8. Brooklyn Brewery Oktoberfest 
9. Yuengling Oktoberfest