Festbier

ABV 5.8-6.3% · IBU 18-25 · SRM 4-6 · Serve 45-48F · Glass Mass or mug

Identify

Deep yellow to deep gold, with no amber in it at all. Bright and clear, under a thick creamy white head that stays put. The smell is toasty bread dough with a suggestion of sweetness, and a low floral or spicy hop note behind it. Medium bodied and smooth, close to creamy. Malty at the front with an impression of sweetness that never turns sugary. The finish is soft and dry rather than sharp, and the alcohol stays hidden.

Place

Munich. Created by Paulaner in the mid 1970s, and the main beer at Oktoberfest since 1990

Cause

The grain bill is mostly pilsner malt, the palest kind, with some Vienna or Munich malt added for the toasty bread dough note. There is more grain in total than in a Helles, which is where the extra strength and the fuller body come from. What is not in there matters more. No caramel malt and no amber malt.

Confused with

Marzen, which is amber and richer. Munich Helles, which is lighter and about one percent weaker. Helles Bock, which is stronger again. German Helles Exportbier, which is drier and more bitter.

Numbers

A Festbier is a Munich Helles made about one percent stronger, for drinking by the litre at a festival. It is golden. If the beer in your hand is amber, it is a different style, and that beer is taught in full in Module 2. Hold it against a light. You should see deep gold with no red or copper in it.

Will you like it, Order and Try

Fresh bread, especially the soft inside of a warm loaf. That is the main flavour in the glass. Malt loaf, malted milk biscuits, or the smell of a bakery in the morning. Same family of flavour. A drink that tastes generous without tasting sweet. This one manages both. Beer you can keep drinking.

Pair, Judge, Myth and Remember

What does not work: very hot chilli, oily fish, and sharp goat cheese. The malt sweetness fights all three. Hop forward beers handle chilli far better, because bitterness and heat pass each other rather than collide. Deep gold and bright, with a thick creamy white head.