Raleigh microbreweries are crafting their seasonal beers for the upcoming fall, but unlike popular national trends, they are not focusing on pumpkin. Rather, they find inspiration in darker beers and the most regarded holiday of every brewer—Oktoberfest.

Mark Doble of Aviator Brewing Company in Fuquay-Varina now sells his interpretation of the quintessential German Oktoberfest beer style, Märzen . However, instead of using the lager yeast traditionally used by German breweries, Doble said he uses ale yeast, a different strand of the fungi that requires a different technique for fermenting.

“I consider the Oktoberfest at Aviator to be more in the style of a German Altbier , or old beer,” Doble said. “Despite the technicalities, it’s got a nice copper color to it and a really nice taste. We really wanted to bring in something to showcase the malt without going overboard.”

Oktoberfest, a two-week long festival from the southern German state of Bavaria, has brought Märzen to international attention. This beer—historically brewed in March, hence the name—is now available in many local breweries, including Aviator, Carolina Brewing Company and LoneRider Brewing Company.

According Kevin Boyette , cellar master and production manager from LoneRider Brewing Company, their spin on Oktoberfest goes German 100 percent.

“All the ingredients—the malt, the yeast, the hops—are German,” Boyette said.

The LoneRider Oktoberfest pays close attention to the fine details. In order to achieve a similar flavor to German breweries, brewers at LoneRider make sure their water pH is the same as that of German water, according to Boyette .

“We use a German lager yeast, which makes this beer, like other lagers and pilsners, more crisp,” Boyette said. “We get that because lager yeast ferment the beer at a lower temperature.”

Typical malts that many breweries will use include Munich and Vienna malt.

According to the German Purity Law of 1516—the Reinheitsgebot , beer can only consist of four things: malt, hops, water and yeast. The law, which still exists today, does not allow brewers to deviate and experiment with adjunts . However, brewers in North Carolina are taking full advantage to the opportunities to blend, infuse and create new flavors.

Roth Brewing Company, a Raleigh brewery started by alumni brothers Ryan and Eric Roth, embraces the advent of fall with bold and heavy flavors.

James Weber, the brewer, said fall is his favorite season for beer.

“It’s just right. The flavors and feeling of fall beers are a nice refreshment from all the summer beers that are not as bold in flavor,” Weber said.

Roth’s fall beer is the Forgotten Hallow, a porter with cinnamon.

“We added cinnamon to the boil when brewing, just so it would release all its oil and flavor in the beer,” Weber said. “You definitely can tell the taste is there, but the aroma is present too, and you can get a great sense of it when you smell the head of the beer.”

The Forgotten Hallow is the beer the Roth brothers and brewing friends first made, and for Weber, it’s stuck around for a reason.

“It’s funny—we started to brew in the middle of a hurricane years ago,” Weber said. “We were all outside standing around a big kettle, hoping it would turn out well. We’ve refined the recipe ever since.”

As Märzens close off summer, darker malts start becoming more popular, according to William Winslow, fermentation specialist at American Brewmaster homebrew store.

“People tend to think dark beer is for cold weather,” Winslow said. “I drink dark beer all the time, throughout the year, but the flavors and the dark malts are popular this time of year.”

Although pumpkin is a popular choice for fall beer enthusiasts, Weber said its popularity has made him run away from trying it out.

“We decided to go a different way,” Weber said. “Everyone is doing pumpkin, so we thought we would pioneer a different flavor.”

Pumpkin is popular, with Anheuser-Busch , Blue Moon, and Sam Adams taking the style to the national level. However, Raleigh microbrewers look at fall with a different perspective.

“Although pumpkin is fun, there are a lot of other flavors and combinations to work with,” Weber said. “But instead of flooding the market with the same stuff, we decided to establish our own niche.”