Beer of the Weekend #1,137: Erdinger Oktoberfest

Since Friday was German Unity Day, I decided to do something I have not done in a long time: buy German beer. So the beer of the weekend was Oktoberfest, brewed by Erdinger Weißbrau of Erding, Germany.

Serving type: 16.9-ounce (500-ml) can. “PRD: 24.04.2025 BBD: 25.05.26” is printed on the bottom. Oh, day-month-year…

Appearance: Poured into a stange. An aggressive straight pour produced a lot of thick, off-white, bubbly, meringue-like, buttery head. It was all foam at first; I needed to wait a while before its cloudy dirty gold color revealed itself.

Smell: More hefe than märzen. It was muted and faint. Grass, clover, banana, bubble gum, and a touch of caramel. It was more like a wheat märzen.

Taste: Light and a hybrid. Caramel, wheat, grass, banana, honey, a tough of chocolate, and bubble gum. A tough of hops tickled the taste buds. It was a little weird. It did not have much punch but was inoffensive.

Fun facts about Erdinger Oktoberfest:

• Style: BA classifies it as “Festbier / Wiesnbier.”

• Price: $10.99 for a 4-pack of 16.9-ounce cans at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.

• Alcohol content: 5.7 percent ABV.

• Erdinger does wheat beer, which I had forgotten. I expected a märzen, but that is not what Erdinger does. I should have use a weizen glass as well.

• The beer’s webpage is pretty informative and impressive.

• It has been forever since I bought an imported beer. Not only do they not interest me right now, probably because I have tried so many that are available, I don’t want to buy beer that sat in a container on a ship and in ports for weeks and weeks. That is the reason why I bought cans instead of bottles.

The Quiet Man’s grade: C.