Now you put me on the spot! When I want to try a new style, I look at lots of published recipes and try to pick out similarities and discard all the things that seem to be weird. I saw Caramunich in many of them. Some sources I found said a little bit of crystal was acceptable and German Caramunich seemed to fit the bill. I think it helps with the malt backbone and certainly helps give it that deep reddish copper color. I definitely don’t have a delicate enough palate to pick out all the different flavors, let alone understand what they all mean. This is a description of what a Märzen is “supposed” to be—
Appearance
The color of this beer ranges from an amber orange to a deep reddish copper. It should not be any shade of gold. Excellent clarity due to the long lagering process. Nice off white head with a good retention.
Aroma
A clean and deep malty richness will be most of the aroma. German malt has a slight toasted, bready quality, with light bread crust aroma as well. There should be no caramel, biscuit, or roasted malt aromas. Clean lager characteristics with no hop aroma.
Flavor
The flavor should be the same as the aroma. No caramel, biscuit, or roasted flavors. Complex bready and toasty malt character really carries the flavor in this beer. Hops should be low or none at all.
Any hop character should be of German noble variety, showing floral, spicy, and herbal characteristics.
I don’t do decoction mashes. Single infusion works well for me.