Michelob Marzen: Give That Beer a....Gold Medal?
Written: Oct 25 '05 (Updated Dec 14 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Some good complexity; Clean, smooth taste
Cons: Weaker than other Marzen beers; Only sold as part of a large sample pack
The Bottom Line: This is an ok beer, but it isn't the best Marzen and I have no idea how it took home the Gold.
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Michelob Marzen |
Autumn is upon us, and with it we can expect to see shorter days, cooler weather, and the brilliant colors of nature that one normally associates with this season. And with this, we can also expect to find some seasonal brews. For the most part, craft breweries supply the bulk of the nation’s season beer but every now and then one of the big brewers will come forward with a seasonal brew of its own. Such is the case with this beer, Michelob Marzen, an Octoberfest- style lager and member of the Michelob specialty line of beers.
Basic Characteristics of This Beer:
This beer has an amber/orange color and a good pour results in a nice level of foam. The nose of this beer is one of sweet malt. It is pleasant enough, but not very strong.
Tasting this beer, the flavors I noticed included caramel malt, a faint amount of toffee, baked/toasted malt, and a touch of green apple both in the body and the finish. Speaking of the finish, it is clean and without much excitement, except for a small amount of nuttiness at the end.
Michelob doesn’t disclose many facts about this beer. It claims it’s an all malt beer made only with water, hops, barley malt, and yeast. This means there are no adjuncts, like the rice normally present in other Anheuser- Busch products. The alcohol level level is 5.2 percent by volume and there are 172 calories and 16.2 grams of carbs in each 12 oz. serving.
Food Compatibility:
With a taste like this, Michelob Marzen seems like a beer tailor- made for sausages. The small amount of nuttiness and the caramel malt make this beer most suitable for drinking with smoked sausage. It could also be consumed with certain beef or chicken dishes, but not much else.
Final Thoughts:
Michelob Marzen is a respectable attempt by the folks at Anheuser- Busch to create an Octoberfest style brew. This beer was first introduced in 2002 as part of the Michelob Specialty Beers- a collection of malt beverages that tries to mimic the quality and success of the better craft beers brewed in the USA and around the world.
With this beer, A-B has succeeded at some levels. I like the complex mixture of flavors and the brewers at A-B deserve credit for at least trying to make a craft beer- a feat that seems simple enough, especially when you consider the economic clout of these large brewers, but that isn’t attempted as often as it should be. I also appreciate the fact that A-B doesn’t use rice in this product. Rice is Anheuser Busch’s common “cheapening” ingredient. It is responsible for giving most A-B beers their distinctly snappy taste and bite, along with helping to lower the overall cost, since rice is less expensive than barley malt. This, and other Michelob specialty products, is brewed with an all- malt recipe, the way beer was intended to be made.
On the negative side, however, this beer isn’t nearly as rich and full- bodied as the best Octoberfest beers. Typical of A-B, they made this beer to be easier on the taste buds, less rich, and less meaty. They didn’t want to scare off potential drinkers, so the brewers at A-B decided to play it safe and leave out a large portion of the malt. The result is a beer that is ok, but doesn’t come even close to the better Marzen beers on the market. In fact, if I didn’t already know this was Marzen, I wouldn’t have guessed it at first. It just doesn’t have the character of a great marzen.
One real shock about Michelob Marzen is that, in spite of its average quality and taste, it actually won the Gold Medal at the 2005 Great American Beer Festival in the German- style Marzen category!!! What does this tell us about the Great American Beer Festival? I don’t think the fest has completely sold itself out and it can generally be counted on to hand out awards to beers that really deserve them. But a Gold Medal for Michelob Marzen?! I don’t know what the judges were thinking. But it’s obvious that the economic clout of Anheuser- Busch is being used to do more than just purchase advertising time during football games.
Michelob markets this product only as part of the Holiday 18- pack sampler: A large package of beer that includes three bottles each of six different styles. There is no other way to purchase it at this time. If it grows in popularity, we might see the day when Michelob sells it in its own six packs. Until that time, this will be a specialty release exclusively, available only during designated times of the year.
Overall, Michelob Marzen is an ok beer from the standpoint of a malt beverage. Is it worthy of the Marzen label? Barely, but it is smooth, easy to drink, and complex enough that I find it an agreeable beer. It never should have won its Gold Medal at the GABF, but it is a decent beer making effort- better than the majority of A-B products and pleasant enough that most everyone will find it at least likeable.
Be sure to Click the Links Below to Read Reviews of Other Anheuser- Busch Products:
Budweiser:
Budweiser
Bud Light
Bud Ice
Bud Ice Light
Budweiser Select
Michelob Products:
Michelob
Michelob Light
Michelob Ultra
Michelob Amber Bock
Michelob Black & Tan
Michelob Honey Lager
Michelob Pale Ale
Michelob Pumpkin Spice
Other Anheuser- Busch Beers:
Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale
Busch
Busch Light
Natural Light
Natural Ice
Anheuser World Select
Recommended:
Yes
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