Pale lager
Festbier
What is actually served at Oktoberfest now: gold rather than amber, stronger than a helles, and engineered to be drunk by the litre without fatiguing the palate.
Vital statistics
Each bar is drawn against the full range of all 98 styles
Original gravity
1.054 - 1.057
1.054 - 1.057
Final gravity
1.010 - 1.012
1.010 - 1.012
Bitterness
18 IBU - 25 IBU
18 IBU - 25 IBU
Colour
4 SRM - 7 SRM
4 SRM - 7 SRM
Alcohol
5.8% - 6.3%
5.8% - 6.3%
Colour also 8-14 EBC
What goes wrong
Brewing a Marzen instead. The modern festival beer is pale, and the amber version is a different entry.
Commercial examples
Reference examples of the style, as listed in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Availability varies by market and year.
Vital statistics as published in the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines. Not yet checked against the published guidelines: treat these ranges as a planning aid and read the source at bjcp.org before entering a competition.
The rest of the pale lager family
American Light Lager
2.8-4.2% · 8-12 IBU
1BAmerican Lager
4.2-5.3% · 8-18 IBU
1CCream Ale
4.2-5.6% · 8-20 IBU
2AInternational Pale Lager
4.6-6% · 18-25 IBU
3ACzech Pale Lager
3-4.1% · 20-35 IBU
3BCzech Premium Pale Lager
4.2-5.8% · 30-45 IBU
4AMunich Helles
4.7-5.4% · 16-22 IBU
5AGerman Leichtbier
2.4-3.6% · 15-28 IBU
5BKolsch
4.4-5.2% · 18-30 IBU
5CGerman Helles Exportbier
4.8-6% · 20-30 IBU
5DGerman Pils
4.4-5.2% · 22-40 IBU
Plan a batch to these numbers.