Long time brewer, first time.... well not really. Anyway, trying not to turn this into a life story, but suffice to say I had the best beer of my life a few years ago and I've been desperately trying to find it again. I know it was a Marzen, and I know I had too much of it, but it was fresh as hell and didn't have that sticky sweetness to it that most of these other Octoberfest beers seem to pick up. I have bought every single Octoberfest I ever come across looking for this and only a few even approach what I had - one was Sierra Nevada Octoberfest and the other was maybe leinenkugels (sp?) This was a fairly yellow color clear beer, wheatey, very fresh, and certainly not a spicey mess.
I've been digging around here and some other places and wondering if what I had was actually a Festbier - I think Mtn had mentioned it in an old post. Anyone have an idea?
I'm rebuilding my home brewery next month (been out of commission for years due to some moving) and I am going to mad-scientist this recipe if it kills me, but since Octoberfest ranges so much, I'm trying to identify a few elements to recreate before I go tweaking things. Any help would be greatly appreciated.