Celebrate Oktoberfest with Craft Beer!
September 19, 2009 | By
Oktoberfest is the world’s largest beer festival, celebrated over sixteen days in Munich, Germany from September 19 to October 4. Over six million people come to the festival each year to drink over 1.5 million gallons of beer. The festivities begin at noon, when the mayor of Munich taps the first barrel of beer and exclaims, “O’zapft is!”, or “It’s tapped!” It has become an important part of Bavarian culture and it is quickly spilling over into American culture.
The Oktoberfest style of beer is known as Märzen, and it differs from a traditional beer in that it is darker and contains a much higher alcohol content of 6%. The style was first created before refrigeration was invented, when the beer was brewed in March (hence the name “Märzen”) and then aged throughout the summer until it was ready to drink in the fall. Märzen is brewed according to strict German standards, and in Munich, only six specific breweries are deemed worthy enough to serve Märzen at Oktoberfest. You don’t have to travel all the way to Munich to join in the Oktoberfest festivities, however. Many craft brewers in America also brew the Märzen style of beer.
Craft Brewers in America
A craft brewer or microbrewery is a brewery that produces less than 15,000 barrels of beer per year. They first became popular in the 1980’s, when there were only 44 brewing companies in the U.S. and the only way people could get some variety in their beer was to brew it themselves. The New Albion Brewery in Sonoma, California is generally credited with starting the microbrew trend when they were founded in 1976, as they inspired hundreds of home brewers to start their own microbreweries in the early 1980s. They unfortunately went out of business after six years, but thanks to them there are now over 1500 craft brewers in the US, the largest being Samuel Adams in Boston, and together the craft brewers of America produce over 8.6 million barrels of craft beer each year.
Like any other crafter, craft brewers are concerned more with making an original, quality product than with mass-producing the product. Many craft brewers like to experiment with adding unique flavors to their beers, such as fruit or spices. A common tradition is reintroducing older styles of beer to the modern day beer drinker, and one of these older styles is of course, Märzen!
American Märzen
Are you ready to celebrate Oktoberfest the American way? Try out some of these Märzens from American microbreweries:
Samuel Adams Oktoberfest (Samuel Adams, Boston, MA)
Ramstein Octoberfest (High Point Brewing Company, Butler, NJ)
Staghorn Octoberfest (New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, WI)
The Big O Oktoberfest (Pennichuck Brewing Company, Milford, NH)
Great Lakes Oktoberfest (Great Lakes Brewing Company, Cleveland, OH)
Berkshire Oktoberfest Lager (South Deerfield, MA)
Thomas Hooker Octoberfest Lager (Thomas Hooker, Bloomfield, CT)
Smuttynose Octoberfest (Smuttynose Brewing Company, Portsmouth, NH)
The Kaiser (Avery Brewing, Boulder, CO)
Dogtoberfest (Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD)
Find even more Märzens and local craft breweries at Beeradvocate.com, and then take it to the next level by going to an Oktoberfest celebration near you. By drinking craft beer, you will be supporting a local crafter and experiencing a new culture at the same time. Just remember to drink responsibly.
Recommended Reading:
Taste Craft Beer Like a Pro
Ooey Gooey Cheese Pizza Recipe
Illegal Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dogs
The Twinkies Cookbook: A Delicious Review
Photos courtesy of Michal Zacharzewski, SXC, Softeis, and S. Vaka.
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S. Vaka has a love for all things creative and feline, and the only thing keeping her from becoming a crazy cat lady is her encouraging and indulgent husband. You can follow their adventures at CrochetKitten.com.
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