Before anyone says otherwise, I am doing a Märzen this Oktoberfest season. Hell, that's this post is about! See? Last time I said I was more of a Märzen guy, so here it is. Märzen.

The specific Märzen we're looking at today is Wolf's Ridge's Oktoberfest. It's been a few years since they've graced the blog. I know they can do great stouts. How do they handle this fall staple?

Because it's been a bit since I've talked about Wolf's Ridge, let me direct you to their "About" page. The Columbus, OH brewery was opened by father and son Alan and Bob Szuter back in 2013. The duo brought a love of craft beer and fine dining to their venture. Since, Wolf's Ridge has won numerous awards and received accolades for what they've made.

Oktoberfest is, as mentioned previously, a Märzen, one that clocks in at 5.4% ABV (so the strongest lager of the season thus far). The beer's touted as having a bouquet of toasted bread and flavors of sweet malt and "...a hint of noble hops." Seems par for the Oktoberfest course.

Right off the bat (yeah, we're doing mixed sports metaphors today), Oktoberfest's bouquet hits me with good malt sweetness. That means I'm finding honey, biscuit, and caramel, but there's an unexpected note to its nose: red wine, rich and deep. I can't find any hops here--this is a malt-forward lager. The longer I spend with my can, the less the individual notes that make up its aroma are distinct, instead they all meld perfectly together. It's a bummer that Purrl, who gave the Märzen two whiffs, doesn't like Oktoberfest's aroma as much as I do.

Would you believe that there's a noticeable grape flavor in the beer? It's there, standing beside the honey, biscuit, and caramel. This is something I expect from a stout or a Belgian-style ale, not a Märzen (note: this isn't a complaint). The finish is incredibly sweet but the hops come through at the end, earthy and a little dank, to keep the whole thing from being too cloyingly sweet. Still, I don't find that the flavors added by the hops match with the rest of what Oktoberfest has going for it. They make it disjointed.

I have no complaints about the mouthfeel. This drinks like how any good Märzen should: frothy, full, crushable. Everything you'd want.

Michelle and I (with help from her family) made our own wine for our wedding. Her dad imported grapes from South America that gave the finished product a peppery complexity. We betrothed stomped the grapes ourselves, while her dad took care of the fermentation process. It was something fun to do in the hectic lead-up to the big day. Blame it on Oktoberfest's unexpected winey-ness for my being reminded of our wedding wine.

Wolf's Ridge malt-forward Oktoberfest is the sole Märzen I'm doing this season. I'm glad to have had it and for the unexpected grape notes. I'm happily giving it an 8.5/10. That score'd be higher if the hops in the lager didn't clash with the rest of its flavor.