Festbier is the Life of the Party!

The history of the Festbier style and Oktoberfest celebrations dates to October 12th, 1810 when Crown Prince Ludwig I of Bavaria married Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. After the ceremony, Marzen (March) beers were imbibed. They were the drink of season, having been brewed in March and lagered through summer for consumption at harvest festivals

In 1841, Munich’s Spaten Brewery brewed an amber lager with a Viennese influence. The style quickly became popular and influenced other regional breweries to produce the new Marzen lager. The Marzen style remained relatively unchanged for 100 years until the golden festbier style was first brewed in the 1970s and then adopted as Munich’s standard Oktoberfest beer in 1990.  

When working at his previous brewery, Earth Rider’s Founder and CEO Tim Nelson was lucky to spend an afternoon at Oktoberfest in Munich celebrating with the Paulaner Brewery brewers and staff. The fellowship inspired him to pay homage to the Bavarian style and the community gathering festival. Earth Rider’s Director of Brewing, Frank Kaszuba brought his Festbier recipe to the brewing team. Head Brewer Allyson Rolph has produced our take on the style. Earth Rider’s Festbier seeks to honor the style’s tradition and impart a local relevance upon it. Festbier is a seasonal staple at Earth Rider. It’s served at the annual Earth Rider Fest in September, at Earth Rider Oktoberfest in October, and multiple fall festivals in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

If you are curious to try an Earth Rider Festbier, we invite you to attend Earth Rider Oktoberfest in Superior on Saturday, October 12th 2024. Hear polka bands, eat food, and play fest games. Or, you can use the Earth Rider beer finder to locate a retailer nearest you.  https://earthrider.beer/brewery/beer-finder 

Happy Fall!

Prost!

Festbier and Märzen – what are they?

• Flavor
  • Festbier has a medium bitterness and hop flavor, with a crisp finish. 
  • Märzen has a restrained bitterness, a dry finish, and a rich, toasty, bready malt flavor. 
• Malt
  • Festbier is made with a majority of pilsner malt, and possibly some Munich or Vienna malt. 
  • Märzen is brewed with Munich malt, which has a bread crumb flavor and aroma. 
• Origin
  • Märzen originated in the Bavarian region of Germany in the early 19th century
  • Festbier was invented in the late 20th century 
• Brewing method
  •  To preserve it during the summer, Märzen was brewed in March (Maerz) with a high ABV 
  • Festbier is brewed with modern lagering methods
• Oktoberfest beer style
  • The typical Oktoberfest brewed by American breweries is a Märzen. 
  • There is speculation that the change from Märzen to Festbier at Oktoberfest was more subtle and gradual. 
  • The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) considers Festbier to be a unique style rather than a subset of Märzen.