Oktoberfest, Vienna, Marzen (Classic Beer Style) [Paperback]

George Fix (Author), Laurie Fix (Author)

Book Description

Series: Classic Beer Style | Publication Date: January 26, 1998

George and Laurie Fix have written this well-researched profile of an enjoyable beer style to both drink and brew.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David Miller

Product Details

• Paperback: 117 pages
• Publisher: Brewers Publications (January 26, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0937381276
• ISBN-13: 978-0937381274
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #491,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Filled with ill-advised shortcuts, yeilding mediocre results, August 19, 2007

By 

Darby - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oktoberfest, Vienna, Marzen (Classic Beer Style) (Paperback)

My chief complaint about this book is that it was written by George Fix, rather than Darryl Richman. Unlike this book, Richman's book on Bock is a gem. This book however (written about a closely related style), is a disappointment by comparison.

The author built his recipes around Belgian pale and pilsner malts (wrong country, wrong lovibond, wrong flavor), and achieved the requisite color in his recipes with the addition of varying amounts of crystal malt. In other words, he cheated in his recipes by using color malts in order to take advantage of simple infusion mashing. That is *NOT*, the way to make authentic tasting Oktoberfest !

The CORRECT way is brewing with real German vienna & munich malts (correct country, lovibond and flavor), and the correct technique (labor, energy, and time intensive triple decoction mashing, and subsequent long wort boils that generate the distinctive melanoid and caramelization flavors).

Fix also recommends using the wrong yeast strains.

This book is basically a bunch of ill-advised shortcuts and poor recipe decisions, rather than a serious treatise on how to make real authentic Oktoberfest, Marzen, and Vienna style Lagers. This book is a glaring example of why authentic German brewmasters look down their nose and laugh at Americanized versions of their native beer styles.

Speaking as an experienced homebrewer, I was VERY disappointed with this book. Interested readers would do much better to buy Richman's book on Bock instead, and simply adjust the recipes slightly to lower the desired gravity, color, and caramel/melanoid profile.

Not recommended.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not nearly what I expected, August 31, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Oktoberfest, Vienna, Marzen (Classic Beer Style) (Paperback)

This book could have been so much better. This is one of the most popular German lager styles to brew, yet the authors suggest the use of Belgian and crystal malts in place of the standard Munich malt which is used by all Bavarian breweries. Definitely the most disappointing book in the series.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This is the least useful of the Classic Beer Style series., September 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Oktoberfest, Vienna, Marzen (Classic Beer Style) (Paperback)

It is difficult to read and make sense of the facts in this book. The history of the beer style is hard to follow. Information is presented in a scattered fashion, and ranges from extreme detail in some areas to glossing over other points.