All things Oktoberfest

It’s September! There’s a refreshing crispness in the air, and that means one thing-Oktoberfest is just around the corner. This month will be one long party of giant pretzels, brats, German music, and all the Oktoberfest beer we can handle. This is my favorite time of the year, and I hope to see you around town to share a beer with you at one of the many Oktoberfest festivals and events. Our monthly meeting on Sept. 28 is even an Oktoberfest party, so there’s no excuse not to celebrate, Cheers!

History of Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest’s history began on October 12, 1810 in Munich, Germany as a celebration of the marriage between Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburhausen. The festival ended with a horserace on October 17th. Through the years, specialty foods and activities have been added to the festival to make Oktoberfest what we know it for today. Besides a lot of beer, when visiting Oktoberfest in Munich, you can expect to see and experience:

• Traditional costumes: dirndls for women and lederhosen for men.
• Beer tents: Beer is served by the liter only, so pony up buttercup.
• Carnival rides and games
• Parades
• Contests
• Music, singing and dancing

Beer styles of Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest is built around beer, and the Märzen lager is the original Oktoberfest beer style. This amber lager is traditionally brewed in March and ready to consume in time for the early fall festival. Märzen is a full-bodied amber lager with perfectly balanced caramel and malty flavors with hints of toastiness. Spaten brewery’s Oktoberfest set the standard for this style.

For over 100 years, Märzen was the official style served at Oktoberfest in Munich. In the 1970s, a new lighter lager style was introduced by Paulaner. This style was driven by consumer demand and evolving tastes (not to mention the massive amounts of liters consumed at Oktoberfest). In the 1990’s,this lighter style of a strong pale lager with a biscuity toasty flavor became the official Oktoberfest beer, and the only one served at Oktoberfest today.

Americans have not let go of the traditional Märzen style so easily and often serve both styles at their breweries throughout the season. I recently posted a poll on the Horsemen Facebook page of what style our members prefer, and Märzens outweighed the Festbier 66% to 33%. We all agreed in the comments that Oktoberfest beers should be accessible year-round. In the spirit of the Märzen winning our club poll, Jarrett Long has shared his winning Märzen Lager recipe below.

Oktoberfests around town

• Sept. 14: Rahr and Sons Brewing 15th annual 5K run and Oktoberfest
• Sept. 20-22: Three Wide Brewing Co. First Oktoberfest
• Sept. 21: Pantego Oktoberfest at Dr. Jekyll’s Beer Lb
• Sept. 21, 27 and 28: Maple Branch Brewing (our own Greg Smith will be slinging beers on Sept. 21- go pay him a visit!)
• Sept. 26-28: Fort Worth Oktoberfest at Trinity Park
• Sept. 28: Oktoberfest at the Scudders’ (our monthly meeting, 1513 Azalea Drive in Arlington)
• Sept. 28: Panther Island Brewing Oktoberfest

— Amanda Long, Club Secretary