hopIQ
ENDE
Build your DNASign in

Festooning

Grimm Artisanal Ales
Tap to rate
🌍 United States · Märzen · One of 85 Märzens in hopIQ

Festooning is Grimm's Oktoberfest Märzen-style lager, released once a year at the start of autumn. Like all of the brewery's continental lagers it is brewed with a traditional double decoction. German Vienna and Munich malts give an amber colour and warm notes of honey, caramel and fresh-baked seeded bread. The flavour is malty-sweet, the body crisp, and a subtle bitterness keeps the finish from turning heavy.

ABV
6%
Bitterness
Lightly bitter
Malt-forward bitterness
SRM
amber9
See all Märzen alternatives →
How it drinks· Its pace, balance and relationship to the style.
Pace
sessionsipper
Balance
malt-ledhop-led
Where this beer sits· Four axes, the same for every beer in hopIQ.
Body
Lean body.
lightfull-bodied
Sweetness
Dry finish.
drysweet
Bitterness
Soft bitterness.
mildbitter
Texture
Crisp mouthfeel.
crispcreamy

The texture leads here, with everything else held in gentle reserve.

Character· What makes this beer itself — not just another Märzen.
Malt character
malty
bready
caramel
honey
toasty
Fermentation & yeast
clean

Tasting Notes

AI-generated sensory profile for Festooning

◎ Appearance

Festooning presents a clear amber hue with excellent transparency, reflecting the Vienna and Munich malt base. A dense, off-white head forms readily and persists with fine Schaumhaftung down the glass. Carbonation is moderate and well-integrated, typical of a traditional lager conditioning.

clear amberpersistent headwell-carbonated

◌ Aroma

The nose opens with warm honey and caramel notes, underscored by the distinctive character of Central European malts. A subtle bread-crust aroma emerges—fresh-baked and slightly toasted—with no aggressive hop presence. The overall bouquet is clean and malt-forward, speaking to the traditional double decoction method.

honey, carameltoasted breadnoble malt

◐ Taste

The palate enters with restrained malty sweetness, building a soft, approachable mid-palate character. Munich and Vienna malts deliver layers of caramel and light bread notes without cloying density. A subtle, refined bitterness (22 IBU) arrives in the mid-palate and carries through, preventing the beer from becoming heavy and maintaining balance.

malty-sweetrefined bitternesscrisp body

◑ Finish

The finish is clean and relatively dry, with the noble hop bitterness lingering gently on the palate. Residual sweetness fades promptly, leaving an impression of toasted grain and bread crust.

dry finishlingering grain
78
hopIQ score
Aroma
77
Taste
79
Appearance
79
Finish
77
+ Sign in to add your tasting note

Serve & Enjoy

How to get the most out of Festooning

Serve at 7–9°C
Refrigerate, then rest 2 min

Serve at 7–9°C for the best flavour balance and aroma expression.

Stein
Recommended for this style

The sturdy German stein maintains temperature and keeps carbonation intact. Built for long, convivial drinking.

Store in a cool, dark place. Check the best-before date on the label for guidance.

Food Pairing

What to eat with Festooning

About Märzen

Style guide · what to expect · how to find alternatives

What is a Märzen?

Märzens are Bavarian lagers with 5.8–6.3% ABV. Rich toasty malt — bread, caramel, biscuit — with clean lager fermentation and low bitterness.

Finding a similar Märzen

hopIQ matches by flavor profile — not just style label. A beer with the same malty, sweet, bready character as Festooning will score highly even if brewed in a different country or under a different sub-style name.

Other Märzens in hopIQ

Compare with another beer →Explore all Märzen beers in hopIQ →Browse United States beers →