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Märzen is a traditional bottom fermented Austrian Lager based on the Schwechater Lagerbier developed in the 1830's by Anton Dreher. The name was coined by Josef Sedlmayr, and the style was later popularized in Bavaria and by North American German immigrants.

German Märzen, though usually thought of as an amber beer, comes in pale, amber and dark varieties. The most famous modern variation, Oktoberfestbier, is now almost exclusively pale in colour. The German style is commonly characterized by a medium to full body, a malty flavor balance and a clean dry finish. They are usually brewed to a gravity of 13.5-14° Plato and 5.5-6% ABV.

The North American version normally exhibits a stronger, though not agressive, hop aroma and bitterness balance. The ABV and original gravity are generally similar to the German versions. Some breweries make stronger examples of 7% ABV or more, which in Germany would be classified as Bock.

In Austria Märzen is the most popular beer style, though it is very different from the German version, resembling more a Helles in character and strength (12° Plato 5% ABV).

Various Oktoberfest Beers are marketed in the United States, and carry this designation for marketing purposes. Authentic Oktoberfestbier is brewed in Munich, Germany specifically for the München Oktoberfest.

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier (Original Shenkerla Smokebier), dark Märzen, is notable for its use of smoked malt.

  What Dreher achieved by the end of the 1830s was a beer that combined the clean palate and crispness of a lager with the paler hues he had admired in English ales. His marriage and adaptation of techniques produced a new style of beer-methodically bottom fermented and a copper-reddish-brown color. The precise recipe and flavor is not recorded and, in any case, he may have refined his new beer over several years. For instance, it is unclear whether he isolated a particular yeast at the beginning.

Dreher called his new beer Schwechater Lagerbier, after the Vienna suburb home of his brewery, and its popularity grew rapidly-giving him the last laugh over those ridiculing rivals. Generically, Dreher's beer may for a time have been dubbed Wiener Typ (Vienna style) after his malting process, which produced a reddish caramelized crystal malt, but the enduring name for his style is Märzen.

Ironically, the name was coined 30 years later by Josef Sedlmayr, younger brother of Gabriel. Although bottom-fermenting techniques had swept across Europe by 1870, beer color in Bavaria had remained dark (Dunkel). But in 1871 Josef Sedlmayr, who had separated his brewing activities from Gabriel years earlier, decided to produce a slightly paler beer. Perhaps because of the old Sedlmayr-Dreher link, he chose to brew a reddish "Vienna style" beer.

He called it Märzenbier because he had brewed it in March, although it was September before he broached the first barrels for public judgment. Traditionally, Bavarian brewers had produced large batches of beer in March and April before the weather got too warm for brewing and then stored it in cool places to use during summer. But by the 1870s this practice was becoming obsolete with the development of mechanized refrigeration.

This was also a time of railroad development, which enabled tens of thousands of Bavarians to travel to the Munich Oktoberfest. Whether Josef intended his new Märzenbier for the festival is unclear, but it became the Oktoberfest beer style for the next 100 years and its popularity spread. The style faded in Vienna after World War I. Sadly, Märzen has in recent years been supplanted at the Oktoberfest by a paler, less robust "Oktoberfestbier" to suit broader international tastes. But even this beer still retains a deeper amber color than the average lager beer.

—Graham Lees, All About Beer

Common Names

• Maerzen
• Märzenbier
• Festbier
• Oktoberfestbier
• Wiener Märzen

Related Styles

• Vienna lager

German Breweries Brewing Märzen

• Ayinger Brewery Fest-Märzen - seasonally available
• Paulaner München Märzen - seasonally available
• Spaten-Bräu Ur Märzen - seasonally available

American Breweries Brewing Märzen

• Triumph Brewing Company Märzen - seasonally available
• Victory Brewing Company Festbier - seasonally available

References

Lees, Graham (March 1996). "Stylistically Speaking". Märzen. All About Beer Online. Retrieved 2006-9-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

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