Since 2018, Kansas City Bier Company has released Festbier, a Vienna-Style Lager, as a fall seasonal for Oktoberfest season. Since then, it’s become one of our most popular bier releases, but we still get asked why Festbier  is a Vienna-Style Lager instead of a Märzen, a style descriptor used commonly for biers marketed as “Oktoberfest” biers during the fall season. To clear up the confusion, we sat down with Steve Holle, founder of KC Bier Co and self-described “huge bier nerd” to talk about the history of these styles, modern Oktoberfest celebrations, and why he chose to make Festbier a Vienna-Style Lager.

Vienna Lager vs. Märzen

“The Viennas and Märzen are closely related, but my understanding has always been that Vienna-lagers are typically a bit lighter in color, a bit lower in alcohol, and a bit more bitter than Märzen,” said Holle. “And I think our Festbier is lighter in color, a bit more bitter, and lower in ABV than most Märzen-Oktoberfest biers”.  The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) states that “Vienna (Lager) has a lighter malt character, slightly less body, and is slightly more bitter in the balance than a Märzen, yet with many of the same malt-derived flavors. The malt character is similar to a Märzen, but less intense and more balanced. Lower in alcohol than Märzen..”

While Vienna-lager is a “style” of amber-colored lager bier, Märzen is technically not a “style”- rather, a brewing method by which the bier is brewed in March (Maerz) with a higher ABV than standard versions of the bier. Why? The answer is simple: preservation.

Before Refrigeration

Before the invention of refrigeration, Bavarians traditionally did not brew bier during the hot summer season for fear of infection from heat-loving, bier-spoiling bacteria. All brewing ceased by April 23rd (St. George’s Day) and could not commence again until September 29th (St. Michael’s Day). So, Märzen bier was typically brewed in March with a higher ABV in order to help preserve it while in storage in the summer. In the fall, brewers wanted to begin brewing new bier, so they wanted their Märzen barrels emptied by the end of September- right around the time of the Oktoberfest celebration.

Dreher and Siedelmayer

In the mid 1800s in Munich,  Gabriel Siedelmayer (sometimes spelled Sedlmayr) went on an extensive tour of notable European brewing centers. On one of this trips, he met another brewer named Anton Dreher, whose mother owned a small brewery outside of Vienna. The two became friends and business associates, and the next year, they traveled together to Great Britain to learn more about fermentation. After this trip (during which they secretly gathered wort and bier samples for analysis) Dreher developed a new type of malt, Vienna Malt, and a new bier style: Vienna-Lager. Dreher’s new lager was darker than Pils but lighter than Dunkel, and quickly became popular with brewers in Munich, who found it well-suited for the “Märzen” production method.

Around this time, Siedelmayer and Dreher also pioneered the use of mechanical refrigeration in brewing. Steve remarks that this led to better microbial stability of the bier, and “probably led to the lowering of ABV with the Vienna-Style bier”, while the Märzen style remained unchanged.

Then What is an “Oktoberfest” Bier?

Part of the confusion surrounding what an “Oktoberfest” bier is is the fact that the original rich, amber/brown Märzen lager style is no longer served in Munich at the official Oktoberfest. For about 35 years, the majority of beer served at Oktoberfest in Munich has been a pale Export Helles/Wies’n lager around 6% ABV, slightly higher than the common Helles Lager. However, export bier specifically brewed for the United States is mainly the traditional amber style, as are many US-brewed Oktoberfest biers.

The BJPC breaks down the evolution of Oktoberfest bier as follows:

Since 1990, the majority of bier served at Oktoberfest in Munich has been this style (i.e., 6% golden lager). Export beer specifically made for the United States is still mainly of the traditional amber style, as are US-produced interpretations. Paulaner first created the golden version in the mid 1970s because they thought the traditional Oktoberfest was too filling. So, they developed a lighter, more drinkable but still malty version that they wanted to be “more poundable” (according to the head brewer at Paulaner). But the actual type of beer served at Oktoberfest is set by a Munich city committee.

KC Bier Co’s Festbier

In deciding how to brew KC Bier’s take on Oktoberfest bier, founder Steve Holle first considered doing the Wies’n bier style and brewing a 6% golden Export Helles Lager, but feared it would be too similar to the Helles Lager they already produced. He also worried that American drinkers familiar with dark, malty Oktoberfest bier would not see the authenticity. Additionally, KC Bier Co brewed a 6.25% ABV Maibock with rich amber color, and he didn’t want to make a bier too similar to that either. “So,” Steve says, “we made a bier that fit midway between Helles and Maibock that still qualified as a bier style for Oktoberfest”.

So, the next time you’re enjoying a Festbier with some friends, impress them with some bier history and raise a toast to all of the technological innovation that got us to where we are today. Don’t forget to check out KC Bier Co’s KC Oktoberfest, the largest Oktoberfest celebration in Kansas City, happening October 3rd and 4th! Prost!