Imagine you’re standing in the Augustiner-Festhalle at das Wiesn — that’s what the Munichers call the Das Oktoberfest, meine friend. The tent is enormous, we mean big son. Thousands of people around you, all singing, all swaying, all holding one-liter Biers high above their heads – and maybe standing on tables. But here’s “da-thang” sets this tent apart from every other tent on the fairgrounds: you’re drinking from ein wooden barrel. Not a keg. Not a steel tank. A genuine oak cask, tapped by hand. Augustiner is the only brewery at Oktoberfest that still exclusively pours from Holzfasser — wooden barrels — and has since forever. Das ist Alles und Immer auf Deutsch. And when that golden liquid hits your lips Potna, you understand why they don’t need to modernize… So “Fa-Getta Bout It, Son!” Some things are already Perfekt 👌.
Rating: 96
Style: Festbier / Oktoberfestbier
ABV: 6.0%
A Brewery Founded by Monks (1328)
Let’s go way back in time, like Back to the Future back. The year is 1328, and Augustinian monks in Munich establish a brewery near their main cathedral. Think about that — 1328, medieval times my good son. That makes nearly 700 years of continuous Catholic brewing experience. When Augustiner started making beer, the Black Plague hadn’t even swept through Europe yet. The Reinheitsgebot (German Beer Purity Law) wouldn’t be written for another 188 years. These monks were brewing before most of the rules even existed.
Even after secularization in the early 1800s, when the Bavarian state dissolved the monasteries and seized their assets, Augustiner survived. The brewery passed into private hands and eventually to the Wagner family (Vag-Ner), who have stewarded it with a reverence that the monks themselves would respect.
The Wagner Family and the Charitable Foundation
Here’s where Augustiner gets even more special, believe it or not. The brewery is privately held — no public shareholders, no corporate parent company, no hedge fund overlords. It’s owned and operated through a family structure tied to the Wagner family, and a significant portion of its profits flow through a charitable foundation.
Let that sink in. In an era where every major brewery is being gobbled up by AB InBev or Heineken or some multinational conglomerate, Augustiner just… isn’t. They don’t advertise, and Brah they don’t need to Ya-heard! They barely market. They don’t sponsor flashy events or plaster their logo on Yo-momma’s favorite TV show. They just brew very exceptional beer, take care of their people, and their community. It’s the most Augustinian thing a brewery could possibly do — honoring the monks’ original mission of service, almost 700 years later.
This is why Augustiner is Munich’s brewery and more Munichers Drink Augustiner in Munich. Not Hofbrau (which is tourist-famous), not Paulaner (which is our favorite export-famous). Augustiner is Munich. Walk into any neighborhood Gaststatte (Pub) in Munich and see what they are drinking and it’s Augustiner.
The Holzfass Tradition
Now, about those wooden barrels. Every other brewery at Oktoberfest pours from modern steel kegs — it’s faster, more efficient, easier to manage. Augustiner? No Sir! They roll in genuine oak Holzfasser, each one holding 200 liters, and they tap them the old way. When you hear that mallet strike the tap and the beer starts flowing, that’s a glorious sound that has echoed through Munich for centuries.
Why does it matter? Because the wood breathes and it’s from a living organic thing. It interacts with the beer in a way that steel simply cannot (Kann Nicht!) The carbonation is slightly softer, the mouthfeel is slightly rounder, and there’s a subtlety to the flavor — a whisper of something warm and organic — that you just can’t replicate any other way. Maybe a placebo or Hype? Is it tradition making it taste better? Maybe all of the above. But if you have the chance to pour an Augustiner from a Holzfass next to one from a standard keg, give us your take…
Official Review: Augustiner Oktoberfestbier
Alright, let’s get into this as Beer Nerds but NOT snobby. And I’ll tell you right now, just drink it if you can (might need a trip to Munich).
Appearance: Pours a brilliant, deep gold with exceptional clarity — like liquid amber held up to candlelight. The head is dense, white, creamy, and persistent. It clings to the glass in thick lacing that tells you this beer was brewed with care and patience. This is one of the most beautiful beers you’ll ever see in a glass.
Aroma: Rich, bready malt hits you first — think fresh-baked Bavarian pretzel. Behind that, there’s a delicate floral hop note, just enough to let you know the hops are there without shoving their way forward. A hint of honey sweetness. A whisper of noble hop spice. It smells like fall in Munich, if that makes sense.
Taste: This is where the magic happens. The malt is front and center — rich bread crust, light honey, a touch of biscuit — but it’s so clean, so precise, that nothing feels heavy. The hop bitterness arrives mid-palate with perfect timing, balancing the sweetness without competing with it. There’s a cracker-like dryness in the finish that makes you immediately want another sip. And another. And another. That’s the mark of a truly great Festbier: it’s flavorful enough to stop you in your tracks, but drinkable enough that a full Mass feels effortless.
Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a carbonation that’s gentle and persistent. If you’re lucky enough to get it from a Holzfass, it’s even smoother — almost silky. There’s a richness here that belies the 6.0% ABV. This beer drinks like it weighs more than it does, and I mean that as the highest compliment.
Overall: 96. This is one of the finest Festbiers in the world, and it’s not even freakin close. Augustiner has had nearly 700 years to perfect this, and you can taste every single one of them. The balance, the restraint, the purity of flavor — it’s everything German brewing aspires to be. If you ever get the chance to drink this from a freshly tapped Holzfass at the Wiesn, you will understand why people travel from all over the world to sit in that tent.
Final Results:
Augustiner Oktoberfest Bier is “Simply The Best” – Tina Turner. Every Municher knows dat. When we brew, we should think about the Augustinians. Their approach — community first and quality above everything, And that wooden barrel, tapped by hand in a tent full of “Country Roads” singing friends? That’s not nostalgia, that’s premium. They literally let the beer speak for itself — that’s exactly what we’re building at Seelos Brauhaus. We may not have 700 years of history (give us a few years), but that’s what’s up my Brahther.
May our patron Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos pray for us that we may have the Brauhaus that will serve God’s will like Augustiner.
Prost 🍻 Mein Freund!
Dan Weimer, Brewmaster
Seelos Brauhaus
