It was also my first beer of 2019, after moving back to MN and being thoroughly disgusted with the beer selection, I swore off beer, but free Oktoberfest beer so I thought I'd give it a go.

Schell's: I should sue them for claiming it is true to German tradition, but then I notice on the can it says Marzen style so I give them a pass, I only had one, although not what I would call a true Oktoberfest, I enjoyed it. Very effervescent, very refreshing. I had just biked 25 miles at a fairly good pace.

Sierra Nevada: If I had tasted this first, I likely would have thought the Schells was more authentic, this was the most un-authentic Oktoberfest I can remember drinking. Worse, I'd have rather ... well I guess I probably can't say it here, totally disgusting Oktoberfest. I spit it out in a urinal where it belongs.

Looks like I'll have to take a road trip into WI to pick up some Petosi, Capital Brewing, Point, ...

I'll have to keep track of what I've sampled so far. I have to question your tastes if you like Potosi products. I can't stand the stuff......Point?.....that ship has sailed also. There is a lot better stuff out there. I'll see what I can dig up. The beer frig is running low and I need to make a Woodmans beer run. Kinda nice there.....they have one whole cooler section of Wisconsin Brews. Ever had Staghorn?...the New Glarus Oktoberfest

Sam Adams Oktoberfest is pretty good, as well as the New Glarus Staghorn. If you get a chance go to a Total Wine store, they have so many varieties that it makes it very hard to choose. Sentry in Delafield also has a nice selection.

Just got a sixer of Schell's. As usual a nice Oktoberfest brew. They stick with the German tradition of good beer. Its a Marzen bier (March beer) brewed in March and traditionally stored in caves and brought out for Oktoberfest. It's an authentic Oktoberfest beer.

burrow1: " If you get a chance go to a Total Wine store they have so many variety's that it makes it very hard to choose "

Not so in MN, the selection are totally different. That's what I miss. I liked the selection at the TW&S stores in WI.

cowdoc: " I have to question your tastes if you like Potosi products. I can't stand the stuff......Point?.....that ship has sailed also. Ever had Staghorn?...the New Glarus Oktoberfest"

I never said I liked Potosi products. I said , in error, Potosi Oktoberfest. Actually, it was their Pilsner I liked.

Also in error, I said Point when I should have said Capital Brewery (Madison) which is actually brewed by Point on contract except, I believe, their kegs.

You can certainly question my taste. Anything other than Pilsner or Oktoberfest isn't worth touching my palate, although most German-style lagers will be an acceptable substitute. I'm pretty sure I made that clear in the past.

No Butterscotch Coffee Rhubarb from Screaming Dwarf Brewery for me, thank you.

Just had the definitive Octoberfest beer. Hacker Pschorr amber marzen. Munich Germany's oldest brewery. The best.

Augustiner has them beat by 100 years. They go back to the early 1300s.

With all the different beer being in vogue these days, I wonder which of them will still be around a couple hundred years from now? My guess, none.

Oops... my bad. Looks like Weihenstephan brewery has been going since 1040.

I'm a little hesitant to buy imported beer. Even Oktoberfest, which should be fresh from a date point of view, but who knows what environment it sat in and for how long?

For some reason, the selection of my favorites in Milwaukee seemed to be fresh, but here in Mpls, no, they don't seem to move as much here. Even beyond the obvious, localities have a better selection of local beer, Milwaukee seemed to have a better selection of import beer and seemed to move more of it.

Sierra Nevada did a collaboration O-fest with Bitburger that's pretty good.

Thanks for the tip Vance.

cowdoc: "have one whole cooler section of Wisconsin brews. Ever had Staghorn?... the New Glarus Oktoberfest"

I picked up a sixer of it over Labor Day when I was in Wisconsin. It's a solid Oktoberfest option. For a nationally available option, Sam Adams makes a good one.

Check out this link to an article that was in the Green Bay Press Gazette. A couple guys did a blind taste test of several Wisconsin Oktoberfest beers and rated them. A good discussion maker because everyone's tastes are different.

There are several I haven't tasted yet, but of the beers on the list that I've tried, here's how I rate them on a scale of 1-10. NOTE: I don't like bitter beers, so if they're not smooth, they typically got downgraded. I poured every beer into a glass to drink it.

Ahnapee Brewery: Not bad. I could drink another, but not as smooth as I like. Rated 6 or 7.

Milwaukee Brewing: I drank half of it and poured it out. Rated 3.

Point Brewing: I love the Point Amber. This is similar enough. Rated 8.

Capital Brewing: Going on memory, it's been a while. I liked this one. Rated 7.

New Glarus Staghorn: I really wanted to like this one, but I don't. Too bitter for my taste buds. Thought it would be smoother. Rated 4.

There are several others I'm looking forward to trying. They're in my fridge waiting for me.

A couple of my favorites:
Sam Adams: I've always said it's the Oktoberfest by which all others are measured. Rated 10.

Spaten Oktoberfest: A damn good Oktoberfest, too. One click below Sam Adams. Rated 9.

Jackfish: Spaten Oktoberfest: A damn good Oktoberfest, too. "

It better be, considering it is one of the official six.

Here is the MN version of a taste test: MN Oktoberfest taste test

Note there are two ratings, from the panel (Beaver Island won), and from the public (Indeed won). Only Tin Whiskers, Indeed, and Beaver Island made both lists.

I bought a 12 pack of Schell's, interesting that it tastes different than when I had it from a bar served in a glass. Less effervescent out of a bottle, but I actually like it better. It didn't make either of the above list.

so I figured I better grab some more Oktoberfest before it's all gone, plus I only have two Schell's left. So I picked up a six of Indeed and Beaver Paddle which were highly ranked in the above taste test

yeah, they are good, but are they the best? Seems to me it is situational, one day a beer tastes great, and the next it's just beer

plus once it gets to a certain point one isn't better than the other, they are just different, I like all three

ZaraSp00k: "I bought a 12 pack of Schell's, interesting that it tastes different than when I had it from a bar served in a glass. Less effervescent out of a bottle, but I actually like it better. It didn't make either of the above list."

I generally avoid tap beer unless it's a real good beer bar. Most bars are lax in their tapline cleaning because it's money spent on something that doesn't usually have any return. A lot of people try something on tap and are turned off by a beer when it really wasn't necessarily the fault of the beer.

mr.barley: "Most bars are lax in their tapline cleaning because it's money spent on something that doesn't usually have any return."

Well THAT's encouraging. (insert rolling eyes emoji...)

ZaraSp00k: "so I figured I better grab some more Oktoberfest before it's all gone, plus I only have two Schell's left. So I picked up a six of Indeed and Beaver Paddle which were highly ranked in the above taste test

yeah, they are good, but are they the best? Seems to me it is situational, one day a beer tastes great, and the next it's just beer

plus once it gets to a certain point one isn't better than the other, they are just different, I like all three"

Bought some of the Indeed when I was up in MN last month. Good Octoberfest, but yeah, didnt blow my socks off.

mr.barley: " generally avoid tap beer unless it's a real good beer bar. Most bars are lax in their tapline cleaning because it's money spent on something that doesn't usually have any return. A lot of people try something on tap and are turned off by a beer when it really wasn't necessarily the fault of the beer."

I was at some random small bar in Wisconsin that had Spotted Cow on tap. They didn't have much else worth drinking so I went with it as it never disappoints...or so I thought. It was awful. Couldn't even drink it. Clearly the place hadn't cleaned the tapline since the Carter administration.

that place in WI wouldn't happen to have been in Ellsworth was it? had a tap in a bar there and it smelled like a skunk.
Long before the boutique brewery fad hit and people who fancy themselves con-sewers, WI was a can state, and a place with good tap beer were few and far between, at least in the western part of the state, which was quite different than the places I was used to in the TC metro area

mr.barley: "Sierra Nevada did a collaboration O-fest with Bitburger that's pretty good."

I had the Bitburger collaboration. Good, but seemed a little more expensive then some other craft beers.