Oktoberfest means strong, malty beers.

It’s fall once again, and there’s no better way to welcome autumn than by observing the worldwide celebration designed just for beer lovers: Oktoberfest.

Oktoberfest beers, perennial fall favorites wherever you go, were made famous by the Munich festival. But we drink them year after year because these hearty beers are just the thing to warm us up for fall.

“Once summer’s over, you start to move into some of the stronger, maltier beers,” explains Chris Firey, brewmaster at Manayunk Brewery. Oktoberfest beers are characterized by their deep copper color, medium body and malty sweetness. “It’s really smooth on the palate,” says Tim Ohst, brewery operations manager for Sly Fox Brewery in Royersford, PA.

These days, many local breweries are creating their own versions of the traditional German brew. Stoudt’s in Adamstown, PA, has an award-winning amber lager, Sly Fox crafts an Oktoberfest using imported German barley, and Cherry Hill, NJ-based Flying Fish Brewing Co. distributes its seasonal OktoberFish ale only in the fall. Other breweries depart from tradition, transforming the traditional lagers into ales. At Easton’s Weyerbacher Brewing Co., president Daniel Weirback says his “AutumnFest is sort of a twist on the Oktoberfest style… [adding] a bit of fruitiness from the yeast.” At Manayunk, fresh Washington hops are shipped directly from the fields to the brewery for the Hops Harvest Ale, a special seasonal brew. And at Downingtown’s Victory Brewing Co., they offer up both a Festbier, which is a standard Oktoberfest lager, and a Bavarian-style Moonglow Weizenbock, a dark amber, seasonal wheat beer. —Thomas Celona

JOIN THE FEST

NEWTOWN BREWFEST: Stop by the third annual outdoor tasting, which will feature food, live music and, of course, beer. Lots of it. Before the main event, at 12 p.m., the Connoisseur Tasting ($70), which is limited to 300 people, offers an opportunity to sample rare beers and interact with the brewers who make them. October 18, 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., the Stocking Works, 301 South State Street, Newtown. $30; $10 for designated drivers. 215-968-3440; www.newtownbrewfest.com.