It’s almost Oktoberfest season…time to dust off the Lederhosen and set your Pandora to polka. And, oh yeah, you’re gonna need the best seasonal lagers – and we can help you with that.

So here are 5 Oktoberfest beers that you need to check out before you kick it…Prost!

Ninkasi Oktoberfest (Eugene, OR) – If you read us regularly you already know that big fans of Ninkasi Brewing and their “Festbier” is a favorite. A bit stronger than many lagers brewed in this tradition, Ninkasi’s Oktoberfest is a 5.9% ABV Pacific Northwest-style Märzen, with a more pronounced hoppiness than most and a deep, rich copper color.

Firestone Walker OAKtoberfest (Paso Robles, CA) – We’re also enormous fans of Firestone Walker – we write about them enough – and  we can’t help it if they’ve one of the best Oktoberfest beers around. Named to honor their hometown, Paso Robles, which is Spanish for “Pass of The Oaks, Firestone Walker’s OAKtoberfest 5% ABV “Paso Märzen Bier” that both respects the tradition and redefines it at the same time.

Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest (Munich, Germany) – It would be wrong to not include one of Germany’s original Oktoberfest beers.  And Hacker-Pschorr is one of only six Munich-based breweries that are allowed to serve their beers at the city’s legendary Oktoberfest celebration. Taking its lead from the natural spring water that it’s brewed with, Hacker-Pschorr Original Oktoberfest is a 5.8% Märzen with a much lighter mouthfeel than many of its American craft beer variations

Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest (Chico, CA) – We like Sierra Nevada’s Oktoberfest concept as much as we appreciate how it changes every year. Smartly partnering with a different German brewer every fall season, 2016’s Sierra Nevada’s Oktoberfest is a 6% Märzen brewed with the Bamberg, Germany-based Mahrs Bräu – a small private brewery that’s been in the family for more than four decades.

Great Lakes Oktoberfest (Cleveland, OH) – The Great Lakes region is home to one of America’s largest German immigrant populations, so it should come as no surprise that Great Lakes Brewing is home to an exceptional award-winning Märzen. Uber smooth, with an almost silken mouthfeel, Great Lakes Oktoberfest is a BIG, 6.5% ABV, malt-forward celebration that has already taken four medals, both gold and silver, at the World Beer Championships.

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