Hey there beer people!

It’s been quite a while since my last post here. I’ve been very active with my (pretty much) daily Instagram beer reviews but have not given this website the love it deserves.

That said, I’m back with some big news. I am announcing my First Annual Master of Marzen bracket to take place this fall.

What is Master of Marzen?

The Master of Marzen is my idea to pit craft breweries’ Oktoberfest seasonal beers against each other in a one-on-one fight to be crowned champion. Taking inspiration from a popular American basketball competition that famously occurs in March, each round will see a series of head-to-head tastings with the winner progressing to the next round until only one remains.

Who is competing in this year’s bracket?

I have been in contact with several breweries with which I have worked previously, and many I have not. At the time of writing, I have many verbal commitments, but will not be publicizing breweries’ involvement until the beer arrives for the competition. As of today, I have received beer from Rahr and Sons (Fort Worth, TX), Oak Highlands (Dallas, TX), Legal Draft (Arlington, TX) and Southern Star (Conroe, TX).

I will create follow-up posts detailing other competing breweries as they confirm their entry.

All breweries are asked to supply a 6-pack of their seasonal brew (and a glass for branding if they choose) at no charge. Breweries are not charged an entry fee (beyond 6 beers and a glass).

How will the beers be judged?

Each head-to-head tasting will be judged on a best-of-five scale with equal weighting assigned to the following criteria:

• Packaging design
• Aroma
• Flavor
• Body (mouthfeel, head retention, lacing, etc.)
• People’s choice (voting will occur on the Sargent Suds Instagram story, so be sure to follow along and vote)

The winner of each round will progress until there is only one beer left.

Bracket formation

At this point, it looks like we will have enough entering beers to field a 16 competitor bracket. Beers will be “seeded” based on the order in which I receive them, with matchups decided at random through use of a bracket/random number generator.

In a situation where more or less than 16 beers are entered, the field will be adjusted as necessary. In this scenario, some beers may be allocated a first-round bye through the bracket generation.

How can you follow along?

The bracket’s progression will be updated weekly on this website and YouTube, as well as regular posts on Instagram.

The bracket will commence in the first week of September and will run through October, as needed.

Nominate a brewery!

There’s still time for new entries and I would love to hear your recommendations. Simply leave a comment on this post, contact me through the “contact” page, or through a social media message. I will happily contact your recommended brewery to invite their participation!

Happy drinking y’all!