Ballast Point Dead Ringer, a 6% ABV Oktoberfest Lager
| Appearance | Reddish brown. |
| Aroma | Sweet sugar, toasted malts, biscuity, and subtle spice. |
| Taste | Caramel, toffee sweetness balanced by earthy, herbal hop bitterness. |
| Mouthfeel | Medium-bodied. Moderate carbonation. |
| Overall | Zicke zacke, zicke zacke, hoi hoi hoi! Prost! |
Ballast Point’s fresh take on a traditional festival beer, Dead Ringer Oktoberfest is inspired by the old-style Märzen beers typically enjoyed during Bavaria’s Oktoberfest celebration in Munich.
First, a pronunciation lesson. Märzen is pronounced “Maer-tsen”. Pronounce the “ae” in the first syllable like the “a” in “bad”. It is not pronounced like the planet Mars with an “en” at the end.
Brewing ended with the coming of spring prior to refrigeration, so most Märzens were brewed in March and kept in cold storage over the spring and summer months. Märzen is German for March, so the beer came to be known for the month in which it was brewed.
Märzens were brewed extra strong and were well-hopped so they would keep for a long time. This beer also gave brewers good-tasting, non-infected saleable beer for the summer months, but eventually the March beer turned into an October beer since the brewers needed to empty their kegs when they could safely brew again in the fall.
Ballast Point’s take on the cold fermented lager is brewed with an abundance of toasted malt including Caramunich Crystal Malt and Munich Malt, as well as German Noble Hops with lower bitterness. This dark reddish brown lager offers sweet, caramel toffee flavors and aromas.
This limited beer is available in 6-packs of 12-ounce bottles, 22-ounce bomber bottles, and on draft. Try pairing this brew with bratwurst, butternut squash soup, or beer cheese. Or make it a full meal and pair it with all of the above!
Ballast Point promises, “All the taste and celebration of Oktoberfest packed into one bottle; no lederhosen required.” Whether you enjoy wearing the lederhosen or not, this is certainly a great beer to enjoy during a crisp, cool fall evening. Perhaps by a fire pit. Prost!
Wanna pick this one up? Check out Ballast Point’s online store.
Check out… this video of the Munich mayor tapping the first keg of beer at Oktoberfest 2015!
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