The Fest Is the Best

Ahhhh, it is finally September, and I could not be happier. September brings us cooler temperatures, the start of that beautiful fall foliage, football Saturdays (go, Nittany Lions) and Sundays, and, maybe best of all, Oktoberfest (sometimes spelled Octoberfest) style beers.

Yes, some may clamor for pumpkin spice lattes, but to me the flavor of my favorite season is in those malty and rich lagers.

The funny thing is, they seem to come out earlier and earlier every year. It was on a very hot and humid July day that I got a text message from my brother, a beer delivery driver, telling me that the first cases of Oktoberfest had arrived at the warehouse. I laughed and dreamed of cooler weather, but it seemed too early.

Of course, the term Oktoberfest itself can be a bit confusing to the uninitiated. In fact, you may be wondering why I am highlighting a beer with October in its name during the month of September. Well, it all dates back to the Bavarian festival the beer is named after.

Held in Munich from mid-September to early October (September 16 to October 3 in 2023), the annual event is the world’s largest folk festival, attracting millions of visitors annually. 

The event dates back to October 12, 1810, when Crown Prince Ludwig I married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. A festival to celebrate the newlyweds ended with a horse race on October 18, and it must have been a heck of a party, because they decided to celebrate again the next year. In 1818, booths serving food (yum, bratwurst, but they weren’t on the menu until 1881) and drinks were included in the festival, and in 1819 town leaders decided to make Oktoberfest an annual event. Since then it has grown to become a huge part of Bavarian culture and is still held on the same grounds of that original fest more than 200 years ago. The horse race is no longer held, but there are parades, a carnival, and a whole lot of food and beer.

Eventually, the event was moved to September to take advantage of the warmer weather and longer days, but it still ends in October, so it is not a complete misnomer.

In the twentieth century, large beer tents and halls replaced the food stands, and the traditional one-liter beer steins that waitresses carry out by the handful to thirsty customers became iconic. 

It is said that during the event more than two million gallons of beer are consumed (that is a lot of brew), and all of it is sold by six Munich breweries: Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Löwenbräu, Paulaner, Spatenbräu, and Staatliches Hofbräu-München. The breweries must follow the Reinheitsgebot (purity law), the world’s oldest food safety law (2023 marks its 500th anniversary), which limits German beer to just four ingredients: malt, hops, yeast, and water. 

Early on, a dark lager that resembled a dunkel was likely the beer served at Oktoberfest. Legend has it that in 1872, a brewery ran out of this dark brew during an especially warm year and brought in a stronger, Vienna-style lager to quench thirsty fest-goers. It was a hit, and that beer eventually evolved into the Oktoberfest beer we know today, which falls into two camps: German and American.

Today’s German Oktoberfests tend be paler and similar to what we would consider a traditional lager, while American Oktoberfests are typically amber colored, malty Märzen lagers (such as the very popular Sam Adams variety). But, as the craft brewery scene in America continues to experiment and expand, many breweries are producing Oktoberfest beers that resemble the stronger and heavier Vienna style lager that were first introduced at the festival years ago.

Lucky for us, we get to try the many different flavors this fall, whether they are the German varieties or made by American brewers. By the time this story comes out, beer sections will surely be filled with aisles of them (and its fall seasonal cousin, pumpkin beer; I sure do love this time of year). I always enjoy getting a mixed six-pack, trying some different takes on the style, and seeing which one I like the best (pour it into a stein if you can).

Now, I have never been to the festival in Munich (I’ll get there someday), but, luckily, I can still celebrate here in Centre County.

Every year our local breweries put out their take on this classic style of beer, and many serve up German food specials to pair it with. Elk Creek Café and Aleworks and Axemann Brewery go all out with their own Oktoberfest celebrations that highlight their beer, German foods, and fun. Check your local brew pub social media pages so you don’t miss out.

After all, nothing beats a fresh beer pulled from the tap of a local brewery. I love to make my rounds and try each brewery’s yearly version of this seasonal brew, but be warned: they go fast. You don’t want to wait until the end of October to give them a try. It may be September, but Oktoberfest starts this month, so grab your lederhosen, and I’ll see you at the beer hall (we can share a pretzel). Prost! T&G

Vincent Corso enjoys drinking local and meeting new people at central Pennsylvania’s many interesting establishments.