Tonight a friend and I did a head-to-head tasting of Ayinger’s October Fest-Märzen and Sierra Nevada’s Oktoberfest, alongside my own festbier. I’m quite happy with how my homebrewed version turned out!
I noted that the Ayinger was a bit oxidized, and probably not at its prime, although what was there originally was pretty good (including a modest yet enjoyable spicy hop note alongside the malt). The Sierra Nevada was decent, but lagged a bit in terms of head retention and overall malty character.
Results are blogged here: https://andybrews.com/2017/11/26/festbier-head-to-head/