Prost Marzen
Denver is home to some of the nation’s top German breweries (hallo, Bierstadt Lagerhaus!) including Prost, which recently began distributing in KC. Their traditional Marzen has perfect balance and manages to be both interesting and crushable.
Free State Octoberfest
The second beer ever brewed by the grand-daddy of Kansas breweries, this amber lager with Reagan-era Hersbrucker hops is a reliable classic with a bright, floral nose.
Logboat Brewing Knot Hole Oktoberfest
Columbia’s Logboat Brewing has grown by leaps in the last few years, and this crisp, clean lager is a tad boozier than others here.
Martin City Oktoberfest
Martin City is more known for their hoppy IPAs, and you’ll notice a nice bite to this spicy, bready beer.
Boulevard Bob’s ’47 Oktoberfest
This dark amber lager is a local classic, a Munich-style Marzen that’s been brewed every year for a quarter century.
Public House Bierleichen Marzen-Style Lager
Public House hails from Rolla, in the foothills of the Missouri Ozarks. Brewer Matt Burkhardt is a German-trained lagerhead who made this with a grain bill that leaves it round and earthy.
Surly Hell
This offering from the beloved Minneapolis brewery is a limited release in KC, so nab this pale lager on sight. Surly is known for their IPAS—and this beer is layered with luscious hops—but the founder’s mother comes from Germany and asked her son to make a Helles like home.
KC Bier Co. Festbier
This large Waldo brewery had to put its big downtown festival on hold this fall, but you can still enjoy a glass of this malty Vienna-style lager made with yeast from Bavaria’s Andechs brewery.
