[crummydo]

Hey guys, I recently picked up a little 1 gallon mini kig of Hofbrau Oktoberfest from Sam's Club. First I must say that having lived in Germany for 3 years and gone to many a fests, this was by far the best Oktoberfest beer I've had since being back stateside. I do however have one question about this beer. On the side of the keg can it says... ALE. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but Oktoberfest are indeed traditionally LAGER. Do you guys think this could be a typo because of the importing company in the states? Or is it possible that this particular fest beer was fermented like ale with ale yeast? I find that hard to believe given the taste.

[tommymorris]

It's possible it says ale for legal reasons. Texas used to (maybe still does) define beer over a certain ABV as ale and required it to be marked accordingly.

[lupulus]

It is most likely the law of the state you live in. It is a lager no matter what it says.

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[ethinson]

I'm pretty sure it's a label requirement for the USA (or certain states, as mentioned above).  I'm not 100% sure of the regulations, but I don't think the TTB distinguishes between "ale" and "lager".. I think all "beer" is labeled as ALE.  We have a few lagers at the brewery I work at that also say ALE on the label.. I've always wondered, but I think it's label requirement. I wouldn't be surprised if it dates back to when all the breweries in the US were German style lager brewers and then people started making ales and they had to mark it in such a way to say that "Yes, this is beer" and then it stuck.

I'm pretty sure the ALE distinction is to separate it from the other malt beverages, such as Malt Liquor, Flavored Malt Beverage etc.  It helps separate things like beer from Seagrams Escapes and Mikes Hard.  Different tax codes.

[hopfenundmalz]

Texas used to require a beer over 5% to be labeled as "Ale", even if it was a lager. It was changed in 2011. They haven't got the memo in Munich.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/food/2011/12/beer-in-tx-is-no-more/

[crummydo]

All solid possibilities. Thanks guys. To my taste buds, it was absolutely a lager. No doubt about that. I was just confused by the label. I thought maybe those Germans figured out a way to ferment Oktoberfest with ale yeast. That's more unlikely.