Founders Brewing Co. Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest

 

Founders Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States 🇺🇸

  Lager - Märzen / Festbier Autumn
Score
6.91
ABV: 6.0% IBU: 20 Ticks: 65
German-Style Märzen

Blink and you’ll think you’re in Bavaria. We went all in on tradition with our Oktoberfest, using imported German malts and hops with a beautiful lager yeast for the finish. Pours a gorgeous copper hue with a rich, malty and slightly sweet backbone. Our version is akin to the beer poured in the early days of Oktoberfest and, yes, it adheres to the Reinheitsgebot. Prost!
 

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7

Tried on 06 Sep 2025 at 03:18


7.3
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Can. Deep golden orange with a low head. Malty, biscuit nose. With honey and lots of stone fruit. Malty, fruity flavor. Sweet and slightly strong. Definitely an American take on the new Munich style. Not much caramel, but a little. Full body. Fun stuff.

Tried on 06 Sep 2025 at 01:42


7.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5

Can. One of the best American style Oktoberfest beers I've had. Copper in color with a three finger head. Aroma has nice notes of lightly roasted grains and caramel. Taste is a nice pleasant malty taste that is just right.

Tried from Can on 10 Mar 2025 at 05:00


6.5
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Can from Beer Republic. Aroma is sweetish toasted malt with caramel and notes of toffee. Flavour is on the sweet side with a mild bitterness. Medium body. Sweet Festbier, nice.

Tried from Can on 01 Feb 2025 at 07:07


7.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

A very good American Oktoberfest. Dry hop and malt aroma. Malt, a little sweetness and a dry grain and hop finish. Good.

Tried from Can on 24 Dec 2024 at 05:29


6.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

12oz can - shared with a friend. Classic Marzen/Festbier - true to form, pretty all around

Tried from Can on 04 Nov 2024 at 13:21


6.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

12 oz. can. Pours a clear, orange color, with a big, foamy, beige head. The aroma is caramel, hay, bright pine, and grapefruit peel. Sweet and malty, with a mild, citrusy bitterness. Light to medium body, crisp, and clean. Interesting and tasty enough.

Tried from Can on 08 Oct 2024 at 12:50


7.1
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

12oz can pours out copper color topped with a small sand head. Nose is nice sweet caramel malts some biscuit and grass. Taste is more of the nice sweet malts bread and grass.

Tried from Can on 28 Sep 2024 at 05:13


6.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

12 oz can
6.0% ABV
20 IBU
Canned on: 07.01.24
$21.29 12-pk @ Publix

AROMA: Moderate scents of malt, brown sugar, and caramel which is then followed by subtle hints of lemon. The scent-level was a little lower than I would have preferred, even after it had warmed to (almost) room temperature.

APPEARANCE: Pours a clear golden copper color with a 2-finger, white, medium-frothy head, that dissipates somewhat slowly with moderate lacing. I would have preferred the head to last a little longer, but it stayed around long enough that I'm not going to gripe about it. With a full head, the bear looks incredibly inviting. Without the head it looks like a glass of iced tea, sans ice.

TASTE: I'm first hit with moderate sweetness and light flavors of malt, caramel, and honey. Which is then followed by light sourness and finishes with a hint of toasted biscuit. For me, I wish there was just a touch more sweetness and that the malt and caramel flavors were amplified a bit more. As it is, I find the flavor a bit flat, but not totally lacking.

MOUTHFEEL: The body is right on the edge of the thin/medium bodied border, with a somewhat smooth texture and below average carbonation.

OVERALL: I have tried a handful of other beers from Founders, and I have to say that this is the "worst" that I've had. That doesn't mean that this is a bad beer (it's not), just that it doesn't seem to match the high-quality level of their other beers.

Would I buy this again? Maybe not, but only because there are other Märzen beers that I've tried that I like better, and are readily available. Am I unhappy that I bought a 12-pack? Absolutely not. I enjoy trying new beers and, in this case, I found it to be a nice beer that has a nice flavor. Its only fault is that it just didn't beat out other beers that I've tried. Granted, you may not want to go "all in" on a 12-pack, like I did, but if you are a true beer adventurer then I would certainly urge you to at least try a single ... you won't regret it. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to go and crack open another one.

Tried from Can on 15 Aug 2024 at 18:48


6.5
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Dark honey color with a medium sized white head. Sweet and tangy with caramel, malt and faint fruit. long finish. Medium body.

Tried on 11 Nov 2023 at 16:24