Welcome to the return of the greatest annual Katie’s Beer School tradition- the Blind Oktoberfest Tasting!
We enjoyed the unseasonably warm October weather to its fullest advantage today with nearly 9 hours of Marzens and Festbiers as all together we tasted 39 different beers, all blinded until the very end of the event, rating and taking notes as we went.
Each member brought a mixed six pack of beers falling under the Oktoberfest umbrella of styles. Doing it this way maximizes unique beers while allowing for the random duplicates to keep enough volume for tasting samples for each attendee without everyone lugging home their leftover beer at the end of the night. Recall in the past, this event has averaged around 40 beers each time, though last year we did hit our record of 64 different beers sampled! This may sound like an impossible amount of beer to drink blindly without exhausting the palate, but every year our members are in awe at how unique every beer continues to be across the style- each one still being noticeably different even in the wee hours of the tasting. Marzens for the win.
Our Lineup:
| Oktoberfest | Toppling Goliath |
| Oktoberfest | Lena |
| Oktoberfest | Jacob Leinenkugel |
| Festbier | Wellspent |
| Oktoberfest | Yuengling |
| Marzen Oktoberfest | Destihl |
| Oktoberfest | Athletic |
| Oaktoberfest | Firestone Walker |
| Afterburner Oktoberfest | Metropolitan |
| Oktoberfest Marzen | Hacker-Pschorr |
| Oktoberfest | Civil Life |
| Awwtoberfest | Bluewood |
| Oktoberfest | Sun King |
| Oktoberfestus | Main and Mill |
| Hofbrau Oktoberfest (2022) | Hofbrauhaus |
| Franz | Rheingeist |
| Oktoberfest: Gemutlichkeit | Wiseacre |
| BA Krostoberfest | Kros Strain |
| Hoss | Great Divide |
| Aries Marzen Oktoberfest | Emperian |
| Oktoberfest Lager | Central Waters |
| Ludwig | Shared |
| Oktoberfest | 2nd Shift |
| Oktoberfest | Hopping Gnome |
| Octoberfest | Samuel Adams |
| Oktoberfest | Riggs |
| Oachkatzlschwoaf | Urban Chestnut |
| Oktoberfest (2022) | Brickway |
| Creekfestbier Lager | Neshaminy Creek |
| Oktoberfest | Old Bakery |
| Oktoberfest | Blind Pig |
| Oktoberfest Marzen | Paulaner |
| Festbier | Maplewood |
| Oktoberfest | Revolution |
| Oktoberfest | Mother’s |
| Rise and Fall | Broadway |
| Warsteiner Marzen | Warsteiner |
| Oktoberfest | Left Hand |
| Octoberfest | Free State |
| The Great’er Pumpkin | Heavy Seas |
As a special note, this year our OG winner from Sun King Brewing made its first appearance ever since winning in our inaugural year to face off against two-time back-to-back winner Oktoberfestus from Main and Mill.
For hours we sampled and talked, interspersing German food and chugs from a mini Das Boot to keep it lively- all to a backdrop of Polka music driving home the theme of the day.
Beer brats, spent grain bread and beer cheese, potato dumplings, sauerkraut, potato pancakes and applesauce, and dessert charcuterie board along with a ton of cups for the tasting.
When all was said and done, before the beer lineup was revealed to us, each of us cast a vote for our favorite beer of the evening- identifying it by number alone thanks to our meticulous and in-depth notes.
Finally, Derek- our unblinded beer wench for the evening- unveiled the lineup and we learned who had won the title of Best Oktoberfest of 2022.
And you won’t believe it…
…
…
Despite Ludwig from Shared Brewing taking a close second place, for the THIRD YEAR in a row, Main and Mill’s Oktoberfestus rose to the top of our blind tasting, taking 44% of the votes. I’m honestly still stunned but damn if this doesn’t 1) showcase that Oktoberfestus is truly a delicious representation of the style and 2) really drive home how well the blind tasting works.
For bringing the winning beer this year Laura received her own can of Ludwig and an adorable coozie shaped like lederhosen! Congrats!
So cheers to another wonderful Oktoberfest event, and here’s to Oktoberfestus defending its throne once more in 2023. Prost!
Katie's Beer School 