The air temperature begins to dip slightly. 
The sun rises just a bit later, and begins to set a bit earlier.
My weekend thoughts turn to grilling and sitting 'round a fire with my family and friends more often. And I take in a deep breath of that crisp air and a sip of a malty brew. It fortifies my soul for the forthcoming cold winter.

Yup...it's Autumn! And one of the greatest things that happens during Autumn, every, single, year is Oktoberfest beers. I just LOVE 'em! And here with all of my compadres at NoCoast Beer... same.

In thinking about Oktoberfest beers my mind wandered to Bavaria. What should we brew that would pay tribute to the beer and German breweries that we hold in such high esteem? We could brew a Festbier! A golden brew, modern and pale. Clean, hoppy and sessionable. On the other hand, we could walk the more traditional road and brew Marzen Bier! A little more Amber than its younger brother. A beer with deeper and richer flavors with a more complex malt character.

Here at NoCoast, we decided on Marzen. In our mind, Marzen is the copper-colored King of Autumn beer. Ours is brewed with copious amounts of rich Vienna and Munich malted barley and deftly hopped with German Perle hops. Oh... and of course, the most important ingredients: Lager Yeast and Patience. NoCoast's Oktoberfest Marzen isn't something that could be rushed. "NEIN!" We let our House Lager yeast take its time fermenting this beer.

And our patience was rewarded with a super drinkable, Amber elixir that has notes of toasted bread crust, light caramel notes and just a hint of biscuit. A subtle hop bitterness rounds out the sweetness, leaving a clean, crisp finish that makes it almost too easy to go back for another. It kind of makes me want to put on my lederhosen. Maybe I'll do just that once upon a time called RIGHT NOW!

How do YOU enjoy the Autumn season and NoCoast Oktoberfest Marzen? Let us know!

Prosit!