The extent of most people’s knowledge of Oktoberfest — that festival in Germany where people wear ridiculous clothing and are served crazy amounts of beer for days on end — comes from the photos your Facebook friends who went abroad just had to post, or from the movie “Beerfest.”

Although these photos and that classic movie do not paint a completely correct picture of Oktoberfest, they certainly get one thing right: the incredible amount of beer.

Oktoberfest is a two-week festival held in Munich, Germany that usually takes place between mid-to-late September and the first weekend of October. The festival, which is Bavarian tradition and has been held every year since 1810, attracts more than six million people a year with one goal in mind — to drink. And drink they did; 6.4 million liters of beer were consumed at the festival in 2014, the equivalent of roughly 18 million bottles of beer.

Right around this time of year many breweries will release their own Oktoberfest-inspired brews, and I decided to give Sierra Nevada Brewing Company’s Oktoberfest a try.

Sierra Nevada partnered with Brauhaus Riegele, a brewery from Augsburg, Germany, to create this year’s one-time only batch of Oktoberfest beer. Crafted using German Steffi barley, the beer has a deep golden color and smells very malty.

The first thing that struck me upon tasting the beer was its crispness. The Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest had a very sharp, malty flavor to it (thanks to the German barley), with light touches of caramel and pine, and an almost wine-like bitterness. As I continued to taste the beer I began to truly enjoy the sweet, but light, caramel flavor, which balanced out the malty bitterness nicely. In true German spirit, the beer pairs with German Weisswurst sausage, mild cheddar cheese and apple strudel.

I’ve never been to Oktoberfest, but I think that this beer from Sierra Nevada is as good as it gets this side of the Atlantic Ocean. So break out those lederhosen, grab a pint glass and embrace the Oktoberfest spirit.