Amber and dark lager
Marzen
The older Oktoberfest beer. Munich malt gives bread crust and a light toastiness, the finish is drier than the aroma promises, and the hops are there only to balance.
Vital statistics
Each bar is drawn against the full range of all 98 styles
Original gravity
1.054 - 1.060
1.054 - 1.060
Final gravity
1.010 - 1.014
1.010 - 1.014
Bitterness
18 IBU - 24 IBU
18 IBU - 24 IBU
Colour
8 SRM - 17 SRM
8 SRM - 17 SRM
Alcohol
5.6% - 6.3%
5.6% - 6.3%
Colour also 16-33 EBC
What goes wrong
Reaching for crystal malt to get the colour. The colour and the flavour should both come from Munich and Vienna malt; crystal makes it cloying.
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. Checked against the published guidelines.
Brew it
A recipe on this site brewed to this style
Every figure below is computed from the ingredients and checked against the ranges above before the page is built.
The rest of the amber and dark lager family
International Amber Lager
4.6-6% · 8-25 IBU
2CInternational Dark Lager
4.2-6% · 8-20 IBU
3CCzech Amber Lager
4.4-5.8% · 20-35 IBU
3DCzech Dark Lager
4.4-5.8% · 18-34 IBU
6BRauchbier
4.8-6% · 18-30 IBU
7AVienna Lager
4.7-5.5% · 18-30 IBU
7BAltbier
4.3-5.5% · 25-50 IBU
8AMunich Dunkel
4.5-5.6% · 18-28 IBU
8BSchwarzbier
4.4-5.4% · 20-35 IBU
Plan a batch to these numbers.