Top 10 Märzen / Oktoberfest Beer Brewed in America
This Top Ten List of the best Oktoberfest Beers is from the results of the U.S. Open Beer Championship, Great American Beer Festival, and World Beer Cup. The best Oktoberfest beers are characterized by a medium body and broad range of color. They can range from golden to reddish orange. Sweet maltiness should dominate slightly over a clean, hop bitterness. Malt character should be light-toasted rather than strongly caramel. Bread or biscuit-like malt character is acceptable in aroma and flavor. Hop aroma and flavor should be low but notable. ABV: 5.1%-6.0%. IBU: 18-25.
1. Follow the Lederhosen — Moontown Brewing Co. (IN)
A toasty, malt-forward Märzen with the classic amber color and a gentle caramel sweetness balanced by noble hops. Its back-to-back medals at both USOBC and World Beer Cup make it one of the most consistently decorated Oktoberfest beers in the country right now.
ABV: 5.3% / IBU: 20
Address: 345 S Bowers St, Whitestown, IN 46075
Website: https://www.moontownbeer.com/
2. Festbier — Littleton Brewing Company (CO)
A modern take on the “lighter” Oktoberfest style that’s become the trend at U.S. festivals — pale gold rather than amber, with a soft bready malt body and a clean, crisp finish. It leans closer to what’s actually served at the real Munich Oktoberfest tents these days than the old-school amber Märzen most Americans picture.
Address: 1201 W Littleton Blvd, Littleton, CO 80120
Website: https://www.littletonbrewco.com/
3. Oktoberfest — Lupulin Brewing Co. (MN)
Notable because it comes from a brewery best known for hop-forward IPAs — proving their brewers can pivot to a disciplined, malt-driven German lager just as well. Amber-hued with toasted bread and light toffee notes, finishing drier than most Märzens.
ABV: 5.7% / IBU: 30
Address: 570 Humboldt Dr Ste 107, Big Lake, MN 55309
Website: https://www.lupulinbrewing.com/
4. Festbier — Glenwood Canyon Brewing Co. (CO)
From one of Colorado’s oldest brewpubs (opened 1996) and the most-decorated brewery on the state’s Western Slope. This Festbier is a pale, sessionable lager with a subtle honeyed maltiness — built for drinking by the liter, not sipping.
Address: 402 7th St, Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
Website: https://www.glenwoodcanyon.com/
5. Used 8 Track — Discourse Brewing (KS)
A small Kansas City-suburb taproom punching well above its weight — this Dortmunder-style export lager is crisp, bready, and slightly sweeter than a pilsner, with a smooth, well-lagered finish that impressed judges against 70+ international entries.
ABV: 5.5%
Address: 7211 W 97th St, Overland Park, KS 66212
Website: https://www.discoursebrew.com/
6. The Cushman — Morgan Territory Brewing (CA)
Brewed by a Bay Area operation with deep GABF/World Beer Cup pedigree under longtime brewmaster Craig Cauwels. Golden and effervescent, with a light grainy sweetness — a textbook example of the “export” style that splits the difference between a Helles and a Pils.
ABV: 5.0% / IBU: 18
Address: 1885 N MacArthur Dr, Tracy, CA 95376
Website: https://www.morganterritorybrewing.com/
7. Oktoberfest — Spilled Grain Brewhouse (MN)
A repeat champion — winning USOBC gold in this category two different years running. Classic Bavarian-style amber lager: toasted Munich malt character, moderate body, and enough hop bitterness to keep it from tasting cloying.
ABV: 5.8% / IBU: 26
Address: 300 Elm St E, Annandale, MN 55302
Website: https://www.spilledgrainbrewhouse.com/
8. Skol Crusher Dortmunder — Gemüt Biergarten (OH)
World Beer Cup 2024 Gold, Dortmunder/Export or German-style Oktoberfest
Brewed in a converted 1896 firehouse-turned-biergarten in Columbus’s Olde Towne East. A true-to-style Dortmunder Export: pale gold, medium body, gently minerally water profile, and a clean malt-hop balance that’s more restrained than a Märzen.
ABV: 6.0% / IBU: 23
Address: 734 Oak St, Columbus, OH 43205
Website: https://www.gemutbiergarten.com/
9. Penn Oktoberfest — Pennsylvania Brewing Co. / Penn Brewery (PA)
GABF 2025 Bronze, Dortmunder or German-Style Oktoberfest
From one of the country’s most historically “German” breweries — founded in 1986 on the site of an 1848 brewery and still brewed under strict Reinheitsgebot practice. A reliable, old-world amber-gold lager with a firm malt backbone; a perennial medalist in this category.
ABV: 5.5% / IBU: 25
Address: 800 Vinial St, Pittsburgh, PA 15212
Website: https://www.pennbrew.com/
10. Vest Weather — Model A Brewing Company (SC)
USOBC 2023 Silver, Märzen/Oktoberfest
A newer entrant (opened just a few years ago) out of the Charlotte suburbs, already racking up national medals across styles. This Märzen brings a Carolina spin on the German classic — amber, malt-forward, with a clean lager finish suited to a Southern fall.
ABV: 6.1% / IBU: 26
Address: 1175 Stonecrest Blvd, Tega Cay, SC 29708
Website: https://www.modelabrewing.com/
History of Oktoberfest Beers
Oktoberfest, the world’s largest beer festival, began in 1810 in Munich, Germany, to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese. The event featured horse races and communal festivities, but beer quickly became a centerpiece due to Bavaria’s rich brewing tradition. Early Oktoberfest beers were likely darker, malt-heavy brews, reflecting the styles popular in the region at the time, such as Dunkels or Märzen, a robust, amber lager brewed in March and stored through summer for fall consumption. These beers were crafted by Munich’s prominent breweries, like Spaten, Augustiner, and Paulaner, which adhered to the 1516 Reinheitsgebot, ensuring purity with only water, barley, and hops (yeast was later included). By the mid-19th century, Märzen became the festival’s signature beer, valued for its balanced maltiness and drinkability during the multi-day celebration.
As Oktoberfest grew into a global phenomenon, the beer evolved to suit changing tastes and brewing innovations. By the late 20th century, the darker, heavier Märzen was largely replaced by a lighter, golden-hued style known as Festbier, pioneered by Paulaner in the 1970s. Festbier offered a crisper, more approachable flavor with a similar alcohol content (around 5-6%), making it ideal for mass consumption during the festival’s raucous atmosphere. Today, only six Munich breweries—Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräuhaus, Löwenbräu, Paulaner, and Spaten—are permitted to serve beer at Oktoberfest, each producing Festbier or Märzen-style beers that adhere to strict festival standards. These beers remain a symbol of Bavarian heritage, blending centuries-old tradition with modern brewing techniques to delight millions of festivalgoers annually.
Top 10 Beers in America – Ales Lagers Specialty Barrel Aged