It's late August, and there’s typically only one thing on the beer lover’s mind: Oktoberfest!!! Yes indeed, it is just about that time to get the Marzens and Festbiers flowing, as the weather starts to cool and our thoughts turn to fall. But are you familiar with the origins of this most joyous of beer holidays? Read on for some Oktoberfest background and some ideas on how to celebrate locally here in the Grand Valley.
Interestingly enough, the origins of Oktoberfest don’t have that much to do at all with beer. It all actually started with a horse race! Back in October of 1810, Prince Regent Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghause were to be married. A member of the Bavarian National Guard, Andreas Michael Dall’Armi had an idea of elevating the wedding celebration with a large horse race. King Max I Joseph of Bavaria was sold on the idea, and after the wedding on October 12th, the celebration (and horse race) took place on October 17th on the grounds of Theresienwiese. Oktoberfest was born!
Oktoberfest was an instant hit, yet without a wedding for it to be centered around the following year in 1811, the festival needed a new organizer. The new planning group resulted in the formation of Landwirtschaftlicher Verein in Bayern, or the Bavarian Agricultural Association, who saw the festival as the perfect opportunity to highlight Bavaria’s agricultural bounty in the form of food and drink. The festival continued to expand year after year, with rides and games being added, and finally in 1896 the first beer tents went up at the festival. Today, those beer tents dominate the annual celebration in Munich, where over 7 million liters of beer are consumed during the two week festival.
Now that you’re armed with some serious Oktoberfest knowledge, here’s a list of some local celebrations and beer releases you can attend and impress your friends with your newfound Oktoberfest mastery:
Copper Club Brewing Company in Fruita has already released their Oktoberfest Lager. Get there now for some delicious, malty goodness!
Trail Life Brewing will be releasing their Oktoberfest beer the end of September, along with a pumpkin beer. And they’ll be pouring at the Montrose Oktoberfest on September 30th.
Ramblebine Brewing will be releasing their Oktoberfest beer, Ramblefest, in early October.
Base Camp Beer Works will be releasing their Junc Fest marzen and a brand new Helles in early September. In addition, they’ll be hosting their annual Junc Fest Oktoberfest on Saturday, September 30th (they may have a Dopplebock releasing on this date as well).
Finally, if you’re looking for more Oktoberfest beers to try around the great state of Colorado, check out this release from the Colorado Brewers Guild.
Prost!
Comments