It’s here y’all! Round 1 of the first annual Master of Marzen. This bracket has been months in the making and I’m incredibly excited.

Not only is marzen my favorite seasonal style of beer, I have held off drinking any until the bracket. As many in the craft beer community have noted, marzen season kicked off earlier than ever this year, so it’s been particularly difficult.

Before the bracket commences, I want to take a moment to acknowledge each of the breweries who agreed to take part. All beer reviewed in this tournament was provided by the breweries who decided to compete. Some of these breweries I have worked with previously, but many I have not. Thank you all for trusting me to pull this together.

With that said, here’s a breakdown of the bracket. 29 breweries have delivered their brew, or made a commitment to send their beer (in the case of it not being canned yet at time of the bracket starting) and there are a couple of breweries that have not yet made a final commitment. In the interest of fielding a balanced bracket, and allowing a few more days for the final entries to roll in, the bracket was drawn up with 32 participants.

At the time of writing, the three open slots are listed as “alternates” 1-3. When additional brews are delivered, they will be updated to take the place of the alternates in order from 1-3.

Here is the randomized round one matchups as developed by challonge.com.

Round 1 Bouts

Round 1, Bout 1

Franconia (McKinney, TX) vs. Legal Draft (Arlington, TX)

Franconia 2 def. by Legal Draft 3

Round 1, Bout 1: Full review

Round 1, Bout 2

Left Hand (Longmont, CO) vs. Hop & Sting (Grapevine, TX)

Left Hand 1 def. by Hop & Sting 4

Round 1, Bout 2 full review

Round 1, Bout 3

Belching Beaver (San Diego, CA) vs. Urban South Oktoberfest (New Orleans, LA)

Belching Beaver 2 def. by Urban South 3

Round 1, Bout 3 full review

Round 1, Bout 4

Klaus (Houston, TX) vs. 8 Bit (Murrieta, CA)

Klaus 3 def. 8 Bit 2

Round 1, Bout 4 full review coming soon.

Round 1, Bout 5

Urban South Haus Bier (New Orleans, LA) va. Third Space (Milwaukee, WI)

Urban South 3 def. Third Space 2

Round 1, Bout 5 full review

Round 1, Bout 6

Saint Arnold (Houston, TX) vs. Ale Asylum (Madison, WI)

Saint Arnold 3 def. Ale Asylum 2

Round 1, Bout 6 full review

Round 1, Bout 7

Southern Pines (Southern Pines, NC) vs. Bohemian (Midvale, UT)

Southern Pines 3 def. Bohemian 2

Round 1, Bout 7 full review

Round 1, Bout 8

Live Oak (Austin, TX) vs. Shiner (Shiner, TX)

Live Oak 3 def. Shiner 2

Round 1, Bout 8 full review

Round 1, Bout 9

Tucker (Tucker, GA) vs. Stacked Deck (St. Paul, MN)

Tucker 3 def. Stacked Deck 2

Round 1, Bout 9 full review coming soon.

Round 1, Bout 10

Dustbowl (Turlock, CA) vs. Freetail (San Antonio, TX)

Dustbowl 3 def. Freetail 2

Round 1, Bout 10 full review

Round 1, Bout 11

Due South (Boyton Beach, FL) vs. Ranger Creek (San Antonio, TX) (formerly Alternate 1)

Due South 2 def. by Ranger Creek 3

Round 1, Bout 11 full review

Round 1, Bout 12

Aviator (Fuquay-Varina, NC) (formerly Alternate 3) vs. Oak Highlands (Dallas, TX)

Aviator 3 def. Oak Highlands 2

Round 1, Bout 12 full review coming soon.

Round 1, Bout 13

Southern Star (Conroe, TX) vs. Von Trapp (Stowe, VT)

Southern Star 1 def. by Von Trapp 4

Round 1, Bout 13 full review coming soon.

Round 1, Bout 14

Coop Ale Works (Oklahoma City, OK) vs. Tupps (McKinney, TX)

Coop Ale Works 2 def. by Tupps 3

Round 1, Bout 14 full review coming soon.

Round 1, Bout 15

Real Ale (Blanco, TX) vs. Bauhaus Brewlabs (Minneapolis, MN)

Real Ale 2 def. by Bauhaus 3

Round 1, Bout 15 full review coming soon.

Round 1, Bout 16

Rahr & Sons (Fort Worth, TX) vs. The Brew Kettle (Strongsville, OH) (formerly Alternate 2)

Rahr & Sons 3 def. The Brew Kettle 2

Round 1, Bout 16 full review coming soon.

Scheduling

Where possible, each bout will be completed in listed order. If a brewery’s beer has not arrived at the preferred time of the bout, it will be delayed to the end of the round.

As noted above, matchups listed as “vs. Alternate X” will be treated as a first round bye in a situation where the alternate is not replaced by a currently pending entry.

Stay Up-To-Date

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

Be sure to check in regularly. Instagram followers can vote for their favorite beer in each of the bouts. Poll winners will receive one of the five points of adjudication with the four remaining points being awarded for packaging, aroma, flavor and body (texture, lacing, head retention, color, etc.).