(Courtesy Paulaner)

American brewers have long embraced Oktoberfest season, producing everything from traditional amber Märzens to the lighter golden Festbiers that now dominate Munich’s legendary celebration.

And with the world’s biggest beer party about to get underway this weekend, we’ve a number of Oktoberfest offerings that demand your attention.

Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen (Munich, Germany) – If you’re going to talk Oktoberfest beer, Munich is the place to start.

Paulaner has been brewing beer in Munich since 1634 and is one of only six breweries permitted to serve beer at the city’s Oktoberfest. And while the beer flowing in its festival tents today is the lighter Festbier style, Paulaner still sends Americans something closer to Oktoberfest’s maltier past.

Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen is a 5.8% ABV amber lager brewed according to Germany’s Reinheitsgebot purity law, with a rich malt character, subtle caramel and toffee notes, and the kind of smooth finish that makes fall beer season worth waiting for.

And if you want the beer Munich is drinking now, Paulaner has that covered too.

Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier (Munich, Germany) – Brewed only once a year, this is essentially Munich Oktoberfest in a glass. The same style of beer served in Paulaner’s Oktoberfest tents, this 6% ABV deep-golden Festbier is lighter in color and more drinkable than a traditional Märzen, while retaining the sturdy malt backbone that defines a serious Oktoberfest lager.

But some serious Oktoberfest beers are being brewed here in the States too.

(Courtesy Tröegs Independent Brewing)

Tröegs Oktoberfest Lager (Hershey, PA) – Pennsylvania’s deep German brewing roots make it natural territory for Oktoberfest beer, and Tröegs Independent Brewing takes the tradition seriously.

Part of the brewery’s Long Live Lagers series, Tröegs Oktoberfest is a 6.1% ABV seasonal lager built with just two malts and brewed using decoction, an old-school technique in which a portion of the mash is removed, boiled and returned to the main mash.

That extra effort helps develop the beer’s bright, dry malt character and layers of fresh-baked bread, caramel and subtle herbal notes.

“It starts with a base of pilsner malt, then we add a touch of Munich to impart a bready flavor,” said Tröegs brewmaster and co-founder John Trogner. “By boiling a portion of the mash, we create a bright, dry maltiness.”

Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest Festbier (Chico, CA) – Sierra Nevada has turned its annual Oktoberfest release into something of an international brewing exchange, regularly teaming up with German breweries to reinterpret one of fall’s defining beer styles.

For 2026, the Chico, California-based craft beer legend partnered with Hoppebräu, a modern Bavarian brewery based in Waakirchen, Germany.

The result is Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest, a 6% ABV golden Festbier built on Munich, Pilsner and Two-row Pale malts and lightly dry-hopped for a touch of floral character.

Crisp, biscuity and decidedly drinkable, it brings traditional Bavarian lager brewing together with just enough American craft beer attitude to keep things interesting.

And with Munich Oktoberfest opening this weekend, the timing couldn’t be better.

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