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BREWS
It was one helluva royal wedding
By BERNIE KILKELLY
Oktoberfest, that annual celebration of German
beer, food and music – and short leather pants
– is a bit of a misnomer: The start of the annual
fall fete is actually in September.
Like many bits of fractured history, there was
drinking involved.
The name dates back over 200 years to the royal
hitching of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and
Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.
The big day was October 12, 1810.
The newlyweds invited everyone – literally the
entire population of Munich – and the partying
stretched on for five days on the fields in front of
the city gates, which became known as Therese’s
fields or the Theresienwiese.
The wedding celebration was such fun that it
turned into an annual party. In later years, the
festival was lengthened – it’s now to more than
two weeks and then moved to start in mid-September
to take advantage of better weather
and the longer hours of daylight. So the official
start of Munich’s Oktoberfest is now the third
Saturday of September. The festival ends on the
first weekend in October and today is enjoyed by
over 5 million visitors each year.
Beer has been an important part of the Munich
Oktoberfest since its founding and in 2016
almost 7 million liters were served. Only beer
brewed within the city limits and conforming to
the German Beer Purity Law of 1516, the Reinheitsgebot
(try pronouncing that after a liter or
two!), are designated Oktoberfestbiers. Six breweries
– Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu,
Löwenbräu, Paulaner and Spaten received this
designation in 1818 and they continue to supply
Plattduetsche Park in Franklin Square, Long Island’s premier German restaurant and biergarten,
will once again offer official German Octoberfestbier this year.
festivalgoers with the traditional amber lager
known as Märzen.
“Traditional Oktoberfestbiers were lagers that
were brewed in March, or Märzen in German,”
said Matt Buck, general manager of Plattduetsche
Park in Franklin Square, Long Island’s
premier German restaurant and biergarten. “The
beer was fermented slowly over the summer
months and developed a reddish color from the
rich Munich malts used in the recipe. The beer
is meant to be smooth and drinkable to enjoy
at a festival, so the abv (alcohol by volume) is
typically around 5.7 to 5.8 percent.”
Plattduetsche Park holds some of the biggest
German festivals on Long Island, including
its annual Ompahfest being held this year on
September 17. Ompahfest is always held the
day after the Steuben Parade in Manhattan and
features music from bands that march in the
parade, including six bands this year direct from
Germany and Austria. Plenty of Oktoberfestbier
will be served with authentic German food.
“Plattduetsche is proud to serve beers from the
original Munich breweries and this year will
feature Oktoberfestbier from Hacker-Pschorr,
which is one of our most popular year-round
breweries,” Buck said. “We also have an exclusive
partnership with Greenport Harbor Brewing
from the North Fork and will launch their
Leaf Pile Seasonal Ale at the Ompahfest.”
Several craft breweries on Long Island brew
their own version of Oktoberfest beer, including
Blue Point Brewing in Patchogue.
“I grew up drinking German beers on Long
Island, including at Fadeley’s Pub in Patchogue,”
said Mark Burford, co-founder and brewmaster
emeritus of Blue Point. “So Oktoberfest was one
of the first seasonals we brewed at Blue Point in
the early 2000s. “
According to Burford, Blue Point has always
tried to stay true to the traditional German
Märzen style in its Oktoberfest beer.
“There are so many hop-forward beers in the
craft beer world, so we didn’t want to do that
with this style and use primarily Hallertau
Continental-style hops.” Burford added, “Malt
is the star in this beer style and we strive for
the balance and bready flavor notes we get from
using German malts.”
Blue Point Oktoberfest beer will be available
in six packs at retailers across Long Island
beginning in September and will be one of the
featured beers on tap at Oktoberfest celebrations
at local beer bars.
One of the most popular local fests is at T.J.
Finley’s in Bay Shore, which will hold its 10th
annual Oktoberfest on Saturday, September
16 – the same day as the opening of the Munich
Oktoberfest.
As they say in Bavaria, “Oans, zwoa, drei! G’suffa!
Kilkelly is the publisher of the authoritative
LIBeerGuide and a frequent contributor to such
publications as Ale Street News and The Gotham
Imbiber. Reach him via libeerguide@gmail.com.
Eating something while you drink is not the
wurst thing you could do.
