Finishing off the case of HB now. IMO it's got an almost chocolate note, ever so slight, at the very finish.

Going to turn to the Weihenstephaner OktoberFestbier after the HB is done, in the week ahead.

I'm really loving all that we've tried. My only "complaint" (LOL) is that with the Hacker-Pschorr, I wish the bottle had more of a neck. For me, I love nursing em with a longer neck, to maybe keep it a tiny bit colder as it's sipped.

ETA, here's my little rundown - all totally subjective - on the ones we've nabbed. Yeppers, my opinion is like assholes, and I only really get into beer this time of the year.

The HB (Hofbrau Munchen) Oktoberfest gives me the best buzz. It's the highest ABV of the lot we've tried, yet it maybe gives me a little more of a hangover than the others. IMO it starts light but finishes with a moderate but beautiful bread/chocolate Marzin vibe - maybe more bread than chocolate. Delicious, and easy to drink IMO.

The Hacker-Pschorr is IMO pure Marzen delight, with pronounced, decadent, light chocolate, from start to finish. For me, can't overstate the silky chocolate I get. IMO a pleasure to drink. Not a fan of the bottle though, with a tiny short neck.

The Weihenstephaner Festbier is light start to finish, with just a little, wee bit of Marzen bread vibe throughout the whole taste. But Lordy does it drink fast and easy, at least for me.

As mentioned earlier, I did not try the Spaten Oktoberfest since, at least on the bottles at our store, it's marked as Malt Liquor and I didn't see any statement about production according to the Bavarian brewing laws. It may be the very best in the world, but I'm trying to go old school traditional at this time.

I'm still waiting for my local store to get some Warsteiner Oktoberfest in bottles. IMHO it's got very little traditional Marzen vibe to it, but it's really light and easy drinking, and I love it even though folks dump on it in reviews.

Oof! I gotta try the Paulaner Oktoberfest too - I keep forgetting that one. I'm not a super big fan of their other brews, but I gotta give their fest beer a try while it's available.

Most of em at our store have "best by something/2025" dates, so I'm thinking I'm gonna bite the bullet soon and neck beard/ammo fort em to last through the new year.

Thank you Sir - I did not know that.