So listen, Oktoberfest is nearly here—officially, it's September 21 through Oct 6—and I know what you’re thinking: “How am I going to make sure everyone knows how cool I am at der Biergarten? My pink pleather lederhosen got torn last year, and the dry cleaner refuses to return my leopard-print dirndl because it’s, ‘too sexy!’”
I know. It’s rough. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? But fret not, meine liebe, there’s more to Oktoberfest than corrupting south German folk attire in the name of being hot. There's also beer. And the best way to look cool at der biergarten? Why, it’s to throw some variety into your deutsche bier consumption. A Märzen is fine and dandy, a festbier even more so if you ask me, but all the cool kids? Well, they know that’s just the start.
So, at the risk of giving away my secrets, here’s five other German-style beers to drink at der biergarten that will make you one of the cool kids—and that will taste delicious while doing it.
56 Brewing: Helles Yeah
Helles / 4.6% ABV / 16 IBU
Last year, I had the privilege to travel to Munich for a work trip. In Munich, the streets are walkable, the transit is public, and the helles flows like water. Don’t tell my boss, but I think my biggest takeaway from that trip was that helles is quite possibly the best “light” lager style ever invented. Helles Yeah by 56 Brewing is a great example of an American helles—it’s all clean biscuit and light herbal bitterness. The bitterness I perceive is probably a bit higher than a traditional helles, but that might just be due to this one being a little lower ABV than my favorite helles’ at 4.6%. However, when it comes to Oktoberfest, 4.6% ain’t a bad thing. At Oktoberfest, we’re talking about drinking an entire liter of something, so lighter is probably the more sensible choice. And, ordering a helles at Oktoberfest says, “Hey man, I know what Munich beer is actually like, get out of here with that Märzen, you poser.” Bonus points, the lettering on this can is rad as hell.
Fair State Brewing Cooperative: Strange Symmetry
Schwarzbier / 5.5% ABV / ?? IBU
In the past, I described Schwarzbier as a “skinny German goth girlfriend.” But Strange Symmetry from Fair State is less goth, and more “Nena doing that inexplicably German booty shuffle that she does in the English language music video for '99 Red Balloons,' right around the :51 mark.” You know what I mean? It’s alternative, but also poppy. Approachable, yet not reducible to just one thing. This beer’s malty, toasty, and roasty vibes are enough to make you swoon, much like Nena’s fluffy '80s mullet, but the foeder aging amps it up immeasurably—just like Nena’s leather pants. In fact, you could say that foeder-aging is the “leather pants” of the bier world, which as we all know, is the next coolest thing after leather sleeves.
In short: It would be very cool of you to drink this beer at Oktoberfest, and even cooler if you put "99 Red Balloons" on and do a Nena-esque booty shuffle while drinking it. Also, bonus points to anyone who spotted a blurry Racket owner/editor Em Cassel and Racket contributor Ian Ringgenberg in the photo above. Yes, I was working on this column while attending last month's Racket birthday party at Fair State.
Dual Citizen Brewing Company: Elbow Bender
Kölsch / 4.4% ABV / 19 IBU
This kölsch-style beer boasts an “aroma of peaches and white wine grapes,” according to its Untappd listing. I definitely picked up on the white wine note, but not the peaches. C’est la vie. I mean… so ist das leben. Like Helles Yeah, this one comes across slightly hoppier than I expected, but like our friend above, that might be due to the ABV being on the lower side, and there being somewhat less malt to balance it out. Regardless, Dual Citizen makes a great kölsch, with a strong Saaz hop character reminiscent of many of the classic beers we all know and love. You pair all that with the retro mod-inspired graphic on the can, and everyone at the biergarten will be asking how a hottie like you got to a party like this.
Modist Brewing Co.: Dampf
Dampfbier / 4.8% ABV / ?? IBU
There are few things you can do to assert your “Hey man, I know Deutsche bier” cred better than drinking a dampfbier at Oktoberfest. In fact, I’m willing to bet most of y’all don’t even know what a dampfbier is! But I do! I knew it before it was cool!
“Dampfbier,” for those who aren’t in-the-know, is German for “steam beer,” and, as you might expect, it has something in common with a California common and other American steam beers: It’s fermented at higher than normal temps for the yeast used. In this case, Weissbier yeast. However, despite using a yeast associated with wheat beers, there’s no wheat to be found here. The result is a truly unique experience getting traditional wheat beer notes in a maltier, all-barley package. For example, this one has a bit of the banana and clove you might expect from a heffeweizen, but without the body you get with wheat. I get slightly more clove than banana from this one, and it plays well with the bitterness from the hops—leaving it tasting a bit herby and spiced. Truly lovely.
P.S. I actually have another Modist beer I considered recommending here: Just You Wait is an oak-aged pilsner, and quite possibly my favorite pilsner. But, while delicious, it doesn’t have the “cool” factor of a dampfbier. So, dampf won out for this column.
Little Thistle Brewing Co.: Heffy
Hefeweizen / 4.1% ABV / XX IBU
Speaking of wheat yeasts, I’d be remiss if I didn’t highlight a hefeweizen. So, consider this an addendum to last year’s wheat beer column. I didn’t know what to expect from Heffy when I first tried it. I’m a big fan of Little Thistle's stuff, though, so when I saw they had a 4.1% ABV hefeweizen, I knew I needed to give it a shot. Heffy comes across with more clove than banana on the good old banana/clove spectrum (the two wheat beer genders 🙏🏻), but with plenty of wheat flavor. However, it’s also got a relatively light body, despite the wheat—which is often used in other beers (say hazy IPAs for one) to raise the body and creaminess of a beer. The up shot of all this is that Heffy gives you all the fun of a hefeweizen in a much more “sessionable” package. Sehr demure. Sehr mindful. Clove cigarettes may not be cool these days, but clove beers? What’s cooler than that?
