Vibrant Oktoberfest retail displays of brews deep in bold flavors are creating a buzz and adding a bounce to cash register rings. “Oktoberfest is a beer style that breaks through to the mainstream,” says Randy Wesselhoff, chief beer officer at Archer Liquors in Chicago, Illinois. “Even casual beer drinkers tune in and experiment with this seasonal style, even if they’re reluctant to do so with the ever-changing landscape of beer brewing.”

Traditional German amber Märzen and golden Festbier Oktoberfest brews set the high-quality standard, and many American breweries create their own interpretations. “It’s our favorite time of the year, when every brewery with quality lagering skills—which isn’t a skill they all can master—all attempt to make a single style of beer,” Wesselhoff says.

Indeed, it’s a magical and colorful time of year for brewers, retailers, and beer drinkers. “It’s unique in the beer calendar,” Wesselhoff says. “It’s as if every band in the USA once a year goes into the studio and tries to record a perfect version of ‘Hey Jude.’ Some nail it, many don’t. But they try and try every year to make it right.”

Archer Liquors erects a shelf system each year specifically to house Oktoberfest beers. The store’s No. 1 selling Oktoberfest brew is Ayinger ($4.29 a 500-ml. bottle/two for $8). “Hands down the crowd favorite,” Wesselhoff says. “We also sell a lot of Sam Adams ($19 A 12-pack of 12-ounce bottles) and Spaten ($11 a six-pack of 12-ounce bottles).”

Oktoberfest beer sales, as with all are seasonal releases, are an important mix of overall beer sales, according to Dustin Mitzel, CEO, Happy Harry’s Bottle Shops in North Dakota. “However, Oktoberfest releases are the biggest and most sought after of the four seasonal releases,” he says.

Like last year, the five-unit beverage alcohol retailer with three stores in Fargo and two in Grand Forks, North Dakota is carrying around 60 different Oktoberfest SKUs in each store this year. However, the retailer’s number of NA Oktoberfest beer selections has increased.

Mitzel’s approach to Oktoberfest marketing differs by year and location. “Many Oktoberfest beers arrive from late July through August, overlapping with the shift away from summer releases and sometimes disrupting merchandising flow,” he says. “For the most part we put our selections in a brand set in our coolers and on our floor displays. When space allows, we will also create a group set of Oktoberfest selections.”

The retailers top selling German Oktoberfest beers are Hacker-Pschorr and Paulaner (each $19 a 12-pack of 330-ml. bottles). Leading American Oktoberfest beers are Samuel Adams ($14.97 a 12-pack of 12-ounce bottles) and Shiner Oktoberfest ($13.97). Happy Harry’s has an additional 20 seasonal pumpkin brews and ciders. “These are all important to keeping the autumn beer selections fun, fresh, and new,” Mitzel says.

Top-selling pumpkin beers at Harry’s are Samuel Adams Jack-O ($14.97 a 12-pack of 12-ounce bottles) and Southern Tier Pumpkin Sampler Pack ($18). Southern Tier PumQueen Cider ($16 a four-pack of 16-ounce cans) is also popular. “We do see excitement from customers on these additional fall releases,” Mitzel says.

At Archer Liquors in Chicago, pumpkin beers are a divisive category. The store’s leading sellers in the segment are Southern Tier Pumking ($15 a four-pack of 12-ounce bottles), Sam Adams Jacko ($12 a six-pack of 12-ounce bottles), Brooklyn Post Road ($11), and St. Louis’ Schlafly Pumpkin Ale ($14). “You either love them or hate them,” Wesselhoff says. “A regular ‘Joe six-pack’ doesn’t look for a pumpkin beer like they would an Oktoberfest. It’s a much smaller base of drinkers. We do maybe 20% the volume of pumpkins as we do Oktoberfest.”

Meanwhile, at Premier Gourmet in the Buffalo suburb of Amherst, New York, fall and seasonal winter beers are very important to foot traffic and overall retail sales. “This is where a store like us shines,” says Mark Notarius, president, Premier Gourmet.  “Most stores carry the major brands, but we carry a much wider selection of local breweries along with craft beer from all over the United States and around the world that offer sought after limited release in the fourth quarter every year.”

Premier Gourmet promotes these brews through email, social media, in-store displays, and tastings. Similar to last year, the store is carrying about 40 SKUs of Oktoberfest and other cooler weather seasonal beers. Top sellers are German Festbier Hofbräu ($14 a six-pack of 330-ml. bottles), Buffalo’s Thin Man ($13 a four-pack of 16-ounce cans), and Founder’s Ultimate Oktoberfest ($15 a four-pack of 12-ounce beers).

Increased Oktoberfest foot traffic in the store also helps lift sales of pumpkin beers and IPAs. Led by Southern Tier Pumpking Ale ($14 a four-pack of 12-ounce bottles), pumpkin brews account for about one-third of the store’s fall seasonal beer sales. “IPAs sell a about the same or better than earlier in the year because of the increased traffic,” Notarius says, adding that he anticipates sales of Oktoberfest and fall seasonal beers to remain relatively steady this year compared to last year.

With temperatures dropping and fall activities in full gear, Mitzel is upbeat about sales of Oktoberfest and fall seasonal beers this year. “Based on how sales have been thus far, we are forecasting our Oktoberfest and fall beers to be up in sales this year,” he says.