It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Beer: Memminger Gold Märzen

Today's selection is the Gold Märzen from Memminger Brauerei in Memmingen, Germany, which is located in Bavaria, about 70 miles west of Munich -- and more importantly, about the same distance northeast of Liechtenstein.  Basically, what I'm suggesting is that the Memminger brewery is the perfect midway stopping point for a liter between Oktoberfest and Vaduz.  But I digress. Märzen is a traditional Bavarian lager, and it is the type of beer that is typically served at Oktoberfest (and they are also sometimes called festbiers, like the one I had yesterday).  Here comes your history lesson.  Back in the 16th Century, there was a law in Bavaria that beer could only be brewed between September 29 and April 23.  Märzens were brewed in March (or März in German), and they were brewed with more hops and more alcohol, so that the beer would last until the end of September, when brewing was allowed again.  The Memminger Gold Märzen is a pretty good one, and the first sip reminded me of being in the tents at Oktoberfest.  It tastes like Oktoberfest, although I'm not yet seeing triple or buying cheap snuff from the roving Bavarian candy striper -- which is not to say I won't be crushing up and snorting an Altoid later just to make me feel alive again.

Name:  Gold Märzen
Brewery:  Memminger Brauerei
Location:  Memmingen, Germany
ABV:  5.1%
IBU:  N/A
Good for drinking if:  You find yourself rooting for teams that you normally loathe simply because they are playing against teams from a different conference in a "challenge," even though you will never root for Purdue.
Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  4