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From tomorrow until October 4 Munich will host the 2010 edition of the Oktoberfest, an event that needs no introduction. The Bavarian town will be invaded by millions of visitors, who don’t want to miss the opportunity to join the party, participating in the most largest collective revelry of the moment. Besides being the name of the festival, Oktoberfest, however, is also a specific German beer style originally brewed specially for the occasion. As craft beer geeks are usually not very interested in this party, I seize the opportunity to talk about this particular kind of beer.

The style is better known by another name: Märzen. It stands for March, when these beers are brewed. Their maturation traditionally takes place in cool cellars during the summer, in order to be ready for the autumn, just for the celebrations. Compared to the traditional Bavarian lager, Märzen are slightly darker and more alcoholic. According to the records, the original Märzen was dark brown in color and with a full body; today these “extreme” features are considerably toned down.

Even if you haven’t planned a trip to Monaco, you can still celebrate enjoying a Märzen. The most famous examples are obviously those brewed by the six breweries allowed to participate in Oktoberfest, that are not hard to find in Italy and elsewhere in Europe. The two biggest beer rating sites – Ratebeer and Beeradvocate – consider for example the Oktoberfest-Märzen of Paulaner one of the best interpretations, although it is important to remember that we are talking about an industrial product. Very appreciated is the Oktober Fest-Märzen of Aynger too, an excellent brewer even if not allowed to attend the event.

Many American brews appear in the lists of the above mentioned sites. Curiously, at the twelfth position of the Ratebeer’s there’s the Viennese 7 Stern, which I’ve tasted last December and which I found very good.

In Italy there are several examples of the style, even though they are certainly not among the most distinguished beers of the Italian brewing scenario. For a complete list, go to the always excellent Microbirrifici.org list, where you can find some established breweries as Grado Plato, Maltovivo, BiRen, Rienzbrau, etc.

In short, if in the next days you want to toast to Oktoberfest without necessarily go to Germany, you can open a bottle of Märzen or find it on tap in some of those pubs which organize their personal Oktoberfest. Well, Prost!