Spaten Oktoberfest Ur-Märzen

12oz. Bottle: Aroma of hops, malts, wet basement, horse blanket, skunk, and corn. Poured copper/amber in color with a small, off-white head that disappeared immediately. Clear. Lightly sparkling. Flavor is light to medium sweet. Tastes of malts, caramel, hops, bread, herbs, and corn. Medium body. Thin, watery texture. Average carbonation. Sweet, malty finish.

Poured from tap a darker-amber with small head. Aroma is mildly spicy with something like cinnamon and anise, bready malt, and some wet cardboard. Flavor is slightly sweet with lightly toasted bread, malt, caramel, a touch of cinnamon, and some dry hay. Overall, I enjoyed this beer with my food, it was good. I could drink more.

The aroma was like a bad lager, but the flavor is really nice. A crisp, malty sweetness with a rich creamy palate. The sweetness is cut with just a touch of hops to keep it balanced, but this is all about the caramelly malt.

caramel colored pour. Darker than I expected. Very mild aroma, not very distinct. Light coffee and spice taste.

Light malt flavor. Not to much to the taste though. I wonder if this just might be a lot better when fresh?

On draft at the Asgaard in Cambridge, MA. I think this one suffered from poor handling and poor storage. Nice deep amber/brown color. Head was a bit thin. Had some funk in the aroma - again probably not the fault of the good folks at Spaten. Some roasty and sweet malty flavors, but it was a little bit out of balance. Made me want to hop on a plane to Munich and have the real thing!

A good Märzen. Very clear dark amber color. Bready toasted malt/hop flavor with caramel and just a hint of licorice and honey in the back. Pleasantly bitter hoppy palate.

Pours a clear, semi-dark amber, with a nice big head. Aroma is light (wheat) but fresh. Flavor balanced, with a bit of hops and spice, but is mainly bread and yeast. Palate is slick and medium bodied, but finishes far too dry for my tastes. A good, highly drinkable Marzen.