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It’s Oktoberfest season, which means it’s time to break out the Märzens, Festbiers, oversized mugs, questionable German pronunciations, and our annual blind tasting.
This week we put 12 Oktoberfest beers to the test with the labels hidden and our preconceived notions tossed out the window. We’ve got German classics, American staples, local favorites, and a few beers that have been through this particular gauntlet before.
Before we start drinking, we talk about what you should expect from Märzen and Festbier, look back at previous years’ rankings, introduce this year’s cast of characters, and dig into some stats from our past Oktoberfest battles.
Then the beers start flowing.
The lineup includes Hacker-Pschorr, Paulaner, Ayinger, Warsteiner, Sierra Nevada and Hoppebräu, Hofbräu, Six Bridges, Weihenstephaner, Tucher, Creature Comforts, Samuel Adams, and Highland.
Some favorites rise to the top. Some big names don’t land where we expected. And, as always, blind tasting has a way of making you question everything you thought you knew.
Along the way we also dig into the history of Oktoberfest beer styles, learn a few German drinking phrases that you absolutely should not trust us to pronounce correctly, and discover some truly ridiculous Oktoberfest playlist selections.
Finally, we tally the scores, crown our 2026 winners, compare the results with previous years, and see whether the numbers confirm our impeccable beer expertise or expose us as complete frauds.
Prost!
The Beers
- Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest MärzenPaulaner Oktoberfest MärzenAyinger Fest-MärzenWarsteiner OktoberfestSierra Nevada / Hoppebräu Oktoberfest FestbierHofbräu OktoberfestbierSix Bridges FeierabendWeihenstephaner FestbierBeer 9: Tucher FestbierCreature Comforts FallSamuel Adams OctoberfestHighland Clawhammer
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