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Not quite, but the festbier is here! Let me explain.

The beers most Americans know by the name of Oktoberfest are actually two similar but distinct styles.

The most common (from American brewers at least) is märzen, a malty but balanced copper lager with a medium to full body that was served for decades at Munich’s original Oktoberfest.

In 1990, though, the brewers of Munich shifted gears and began supplying the festival with what’s come to be known as festbier: Somewhat lighter in color, alcohol content and body, it’s essentially märzen with the volume turned down. While some of the Oktoberfests made by Munich brewers for sale in America remain märzen, the kegs tapped at the festival grounds and those millions of liter steins clinked each year all contain festbier.

Another great beer city that knows a thing or two about festivals is Milwaukee, so it’s fitting that a lager-forward brewery from that neck of the woods would turn to festbier for a new seasonal beer.

It’s a bit unusual that it’s a summer seasonal.

There are two constants for Sprecher Brewery and just about any other that makes an Oktoberfest: It will be its best seasonal seller and it will hear requests from fans to make it year-round.

This year, Sprecher decided to oblige those request by releasing a festbier — a recipe from the archive that sales rep Jesse Mix said had never been made in significant amounts — ahead of its usual fall märzen.

“We do a lot of German-style beers, a lot of Euro-style beers. We were going down a list of all the beers we’ve never done, and we found we’d never done a fest,” Mix said. “We wanted to showcase it and give it a chance to not get lost in the flow of the Oktoberfest season.”

Turning to a seasonal that’s new but still directly in the Sprecher wheelhouse is a clever approach to innovation for the venerable brewery now a few months into its third year with new ownership.

Drinkers should expect new seasonals in the quarterly rotation, Mix said, though stalwarts like Mai Bock and Oktoberfest won’t be going anywhere. A new tier of seasonals will feature beers like a West Coast IPA later this year and Russian imperial stout and doppelbock next year.

A new one-barrel pilot system has dramatically lowered the cost of trying new things, Mix said, and new beers should be coming at a faster clip. (Stagnation in Sprecher’s beer portfolio had been a major problem in the years leading up to its sale.)

“Getting those creative juices flowing will help everyone out in the long run,” Mix said. “We want to stay true to the heritage but be able to branch out, too.”

Brewed by: Sprecher Brewery, Glendale

What it’s like: Capital Brewery, a peer with Sprecher in the old guard of Wisconsin craft brewers, had a festbier as its summer seasonal for many years, but it’s been gone for many years as well. Sorry, even a Beer Baron doesn’t have tasting notes that old. It does strike me as somewhat similar to the fest-iest of Wisconsin Oktoberfests, Ale Asylum’s very nice Oktillion.

Where, how much: Your best bet for this one in the Madison area is larger shops like Steve’s or Woodman’s. Six-packs of cans — Sprecher has officially phased out its bottling line — will run you around $9.

Booze factor: Sprecher Festbier’s 5.3% ABV is nicely tuned to summer drinking.

Up close: As you pour Sprecher Festbier, I’ll forgive you for thinking about a hearty, malty Oktoberfest. This beer is a clear, brilliant amber that may be a touch lighter than your favorite fall märzen but is several touches darker than just about every summer seasonal you’ll find.

But hold that glass up to your face and you’ll discover this isn’t that kind of fest. The aroma is only gently malty, with just a touch of that caramel-toast character that defines märzen and a spicy hop character from the noble Tettnang and Saaz varieties.

Two words that Mix used multiple times to describe Festbier were “crisp” and “clean,” and no lies are detected here. This is no sledgehammer of flavor, with general malty notes and some bitterness that lingers into the finish and sets this beer apart from its märzen cousins, and its light body makes it exceptionally easy-drinking.

A fest is an unusual swing from a craft brewer in today’s landscape, and it should be well received by the legions of lager lovers who can’t wait for their Oktoberfests to arrive in late summer.

Bottom line: 3½ stars (out of five)

Got a beer you'd like the Beer Baron or Draft Queen to pop the cap on? Contact Chris Drosner at chrisdrosner@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @WIbeerbaron. Contact Katie Herrera at cellaredkatie@gmail.com or on Twitter @CellaredKatie.

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