Looking at our calendars it is hard to believe that Saturday marks October 1st and with this comes the fabulous flavor of fall and our favorite German Oktoberfest Brews. Oktoberfest is the traditional beer festival that happens every year. The festival may begin as early as the last few weeks of September and last up until Halloween.
As odd as it seems to abruptly switch from sweet corn and tomatoes to wurst and weiner schnitzel, but that’s Fall for you- no sooner that we were commenting of Labor Day do we go into Oktoberfest. The raucous celebration of Bavarian culture is far to fun to ignore and quite frankly too devious too miss. Even this most refined restaurants ploy us into believing that we just have to sample every Pilsner stain and sausages for the entire month of October.
When this 200+ year old festival began, there was no beer. Yes, you read that correct, Oktoberfest started as a wedding that was dry. The nuptials of Ludwig von Bayern, the King of Bavaria, and princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. In the old days the festival was kicked off with real horses.
The beer Americans most associate with Oktoberfest celebrations is, naturally, Oktoberfest beer. But, as any beer nerd who has made the pilgrimage to Munich in late September will tell you, the beer served at the festival is a blonde lager, not the amber Oktoberfest beer we all know and love.
What we think of as Oktoberfest beer in the United States is, strictly speaking, a Märzenbier, or “March beer.” Traditionally brewed in March, this malty amber lager would have been stored away in caves to sustain the thirsty masses throughout the summer. Come fall, any remaining Märzen would have been consumed to free up barrels for the new season’s beers.
As restaurant owners and managers we have a huge advantage at our finger tips. We are able to satisfy our consumers want to participate in tasting traditional Oktoberfest beer and food while increasing out profit margin in what may be a traditionally slower time of year.
We recommend keeping a small collection of Oktoberfest brews in house during the magical time of year and even adventuring out into the unknown and sampling traditional German food. It may not always be easy but, your clients will absolutely love if you are able to have a true sampling of beer and food even if it is for only a week. By advertising and getting the word out about the promotion your Oktoberfest will surely be a success!
