Featuring Charlotte’s oldest biergarten.
It’s spooky season, it’s October, and that mean it’s officially time for breweries to whip out their Oktoberfest-style beers. But what exactly is Oktoberfest beer? In America, Oktoberfest-style beers are often lagers, considered Märzen’s, a malty, amber, European-style lager that is in opposition to the darker, maltier beers served at the original Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. Here in Charlotte, known for its awesome brewery scene, we wanted to highlight some of our favorite German-inspired beers, so without further ado, here’s 5 of our favorite fall-flavored craft beers.
1. Fonta Floral
Head over to Morganton to try one of Fonta Flora’s beers if you haven’t already. They’ve got a pretty delicious looking Märzen that they released last month. From their Instagram, they’ve given the details of the beer, “…a 9% a strong ale blended with 75% märzen lagerbier and 25% bourbon barrel-aged barleywine,” which is “not for the weak” and “boasts an intense sweet bourbon aroma that follows into the the first sip, this is our interpretation of a Vienna lager beer.” Wow, sounds delicious.
2. Protagonist
Protgaonist is a local favorite and had to be included on this list for their Festbier, brewed in honor of the beer served at the annual Oktoberfest in Germany. Enjoy this nutty, toffee-flavored beer alongside one of Protagonist’s made-from-scratch pizzas on the NoDa taproom and pretend you’re in Germany while in the South.
3. Amor Artis
Not exactly here in Charlotte, but a great contender nonetheless. Not only do they have a medium bodied, toasty Bavarian-style Märsen, but they also have a few other German beers as well, from their Fort Millsner, their take on a traditional German Pilsner to their Hefeweizen.
4. The Old Mecklenburg Brewery
Charlotte’s oldest craft brewery with the biggest biergarten, we couldn’t exclude them from this list. Not to mention, they’ve got award-winning Germany style lagers and ales that are so good, you’ll need a whole dang boot of it. If you heard over on Friday and Saturday, you can also catch live music at 6pm. We’d recommend their Mecktoberfest, a Märzen Lager that won the gold at the Great American Beer Festival for great Eurpean beer twice!
5. Gilde 1546
Gilde 1546 is a 16th century Germany Brewery who is moving its roots for the first time on American soil, and where are they building their new brick and mortar? In Charlotte, and we couldn’t be more stoked. This fall, Gilde will be opening in the Lowe South End, but until then, you can still enjoy their great Oktoberfest-style beers. In a couple more weeks you can enjoy some of their authentic German pilsners and lagers at Romare Bearden Park for Charlotte’s biggest Oktoberfest.
[Featured image by Louis Hansel on Unsplash]