Beer Buzz: Oktoberfest Style Beer and German Beer at KW Oktoberfest

The world of beer held its most well-known festival in the last month – Oktoberfest! And KW Oktoberfest is the second largest Oktoberfest festival in the world (you’ll have to go all the way to Munich, Germany to experience the biggest).

The history of the Oktoberfest beer style pre-dates the festival itself (which started in 1810). You may find it called by many names including: Oktoberfestbier, Märzen, and Märzen-Oktoberfestbier. The name Märzen translates into the English phrase March beer. In medieval Bavaria, beer could only be brewed in the colder months of October to March, due to the bacteria in the air during the summer. In order to have beer available during the summer, Bavarian brewers worked overtime in March to make and store extra beer to last them during the summer months. They stored the beer in dark caves with ice cut from nearby ponds. This beer would last them all summer, and as October approached they would hold an autumn festival to consume the remaining beer and make room for new beer in their casks.

The traditional Oktoberfestbier (or Oktoberfest Beer) name is trademarked by The Club of Munich Brewers and may only be given to lager brewed and aged within the Munich city limits. With today’s modern brewing technology, Oktoberfestbier can be brewed at any time of the year. Also, brewers usually prefer to ship their beer as soon as possible as opposed to the expensive alternative of aging it for the six or so months that used to constitute the summer. As a result, Märzen beer aged for only six to eight weeks is marketed without the Oktoberfest suffix, and beer aged 12 to 16 weeks is marketed with the Märzen-Oktoberfest suffix. Traditionaly the beer has a higher than average alcohol content in the range of 5% – 6.2%, and a deep amber colour.

Oktoberfest style beer is surprisingly hard to find at KW-Oktoberfest. This is because the beer contract was bought some years ago by the Molson Coors Brewing Company, so most festhallen (tents or halls with Oktoberfest celebrations) serve the generic Molson Canadian or Coors Light. Pitchers of these beers sell for around $20, which is way too expensive for what you are buying! However, real German Oktoberfest style beer can be found, if you know where to look (for non-beer related information about Oktoberfest see Rebecca’s article in this issue of the Iron Warrior). Generally, you can find German Oktoberfest beer by going to one of the five major German clubs: The Alpine Club, Concordia Club, Hubertushaus, Schwaben Club, or Transylvania Club. You won’t find the German Oktoberfest style beer at the bigger bars in the festhallen – you need to go and find the permanent, year-round German bar at the club. They will probably have a few choices available, and since Oktoberfest is high traffic for the clubs chances are the beer will be pretty fresh. Usually these bars are relatively quiet compared to the rest of the club – a welcome change for those who like to savour their beer!

For the last two years we have been going to the Concordia Club – it is the most massive club with a capacity of almost 4,000 people. It also boasts an enormous beer tent and excellent German music and food. At Concordia, there are tickets sold for the tent, the hall, and the Schenke. The tent and hall are both very large and serve beers from the Molson Coors lineup, but the Schenke is small and operates year-round as a bar and restaurant. Also take note that no matter which ticket you buy you can travel anywhere within the club – you just can’t bring drinks from one place to another. The Schenke typically has a few German beers and maybe one or two German Oktoberfest style beers. Sadly Eric is in BC and wasn’t able to be there, but Rebecca drank Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier and Paulaner Original Munich Premuim Lager. Neither of these beers are true Märzen-Oktoberfestbier, but with the rise of lighter flavoured beer around the world Oktoberfestbier has declined in popularity. Both of the above beers are served at Oktoberfest in Munich.

The Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier was served in a small goblet glass with a lemon. It was cloudy and orange with about an inch of thick, white head. Unfortunately the lemon served with the beer completely obscured its scent, even once the lemon was removed. The initial taste is that of banana, bread, and cloves, which fades away into a dry and slightly citrus feel.

The Paulaner Original Munich Premuim Lager was also served in a small goblet glass (disappointing as a lager should be served in a lager glass but oh well). It was a pale, straw yellow with about a third of an inch of bubbly head which did not last long. It had a faint malty, grainy aroma very characteristic of a good pilsner. The taste begins with a light malty sweetness with a hint of bitterness and transitions into a mild floral hop taste.

If you missed Oktoberfest this year we strongly encourage you to go next year – tickets go on sale online in May and sell out very quickly. Oktoberfest is a very fun experience, and if you are willing to look for them there are some good German beers available locally. Best of luck on your midterms, and, as always, fear no beer!