Oktoberfest is in full swing, and the amber lager Americans are reaching for this season is a style Munich’s festival tents stopped featuring more than three decades ago. The golden, smooth Festbier that has been the standard pour at the Wiesn since 1990 is a different beer entirely from the rich amber lager crowding U.S. shelves right now. What Americans are actually drinking is a piece of German brewing history that Germany itself largely let go.
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