I missed a couple of Oktoberfest celebrations this year, and do you know why?
They had the audacity to hold them in September!
What is this?
Christmas in July?
Not just here in the greater NYC area either; it would appear that they decided to hold the original Munich event this past Saturday.
That would be September 21st.
Why would they do that, unless maybe they were trying to dodge all of the tourists?
I need to get to the bottom of this, time to check on the more reliable sources on the internet; let us put those little magnifying glasses on the mass media websites to use:
- The BBC seems to want to direct folks away from Munich, and towards Bamberg and Droitwich Spa instead; nothing useful there, unless you like your beer tasting like bacon, and your brats 40ft in length …
- CNN seems to have confused Oktoberfest with Halloween … unless I am missing something.
- FOX News reports that you can only get the authentic Oktoberfest beer here in the USA, or it would if I could get by the paywall, and I don’t think that I want to do that; however, we will be getting on to the subject of Oktoberfest Beer a little later.
- The FOX also confirms that Oktoberfest did indeed kick off in September this year, and it was moved because September is warmer than October; it also informs us that it was held despite a deadly knife attack that occurred over a month ago and almost 300 miles away, you can’t be too fearful careful folks.
- Wikipedia looks like it has the scoop, although it does waffle on a bit (worse than me, even) and gives dates all over the place; it also mentions a bombing in 1980, ostensibly carried out by a right-wing extremist attempting to influence a national election; I wonder how FOX missed that one?
Checking on the official site, this year the Munich Oktoberfest formally started on September 21st (the Saturday two weekends prior to the first Sunday in October) and will continue through October 6th (the first Sunday in October, strangely enough).
It typically runs for three weekends, or sixteen days, with some fiddly stuff if it looks like it is going to miss out on German Unity Day (i.e. October 3rd).
I say typically instead of traditionally, because as the Wiki points out, the dates and durations have shifted over the years, and as FOX has rightly claimed, it was moved forward so that everybody gets to enjoy their beers slightly warmer (mmm, warmer beer), or something like that.
Here in NYC, I remember it being celebrated originally in October and only really in the few German or Austrian restaurants that existed here back in the last century, the majority in Queens.
The celebrations mostly revolved around the food and the imported beers, with blue and white bunting and occasional Germanic folk and brass bands, and of course you did get some folk on either side of the bar that went all in on the traditional dress; it usually lasted for about a week, and I do not remember any particular kick-off day or feats of skill or strength.
It wasn’t a party; it was more of a menu change.
As breweries started to appear in these parts the dates began to shift into September and mirror the actual celebration dates in Munich; many were single-day parties and emphasized the music and dress, and of course the beer.
Don’t ask me about when, where, or how stein-holding started as an Oktoberfest tradition, I am still waiting for them to bring back the horseracing, and introduce crossbow target shooting to my local venue.
In the US these days, most Oktoberfests, at least those held at breweries, remain typically single-day events, although some do extend over a period of time, such as those at Greenpoint Beer & Ale here in Brooklyn, and Nod Hill up in Ridgefield CT.
I have hit two Oktoberfests so far this year, the opening event at Greenpoint Beer & Ale the weekend before last (a little date creep there), and the KCBC Zoktoberfest this past weekend (right on the dot of September 21st), these being selected purely based on the availability of ceremonial beers: a wooden gravity keg of Schneider Aventinus at Greenpoint, and a cask of Zoktoberfest Marzen at KCBC.
I have missed many in 2024, because almost of the breweries in town decided this year to schedule their party on September 21st and I can only walk so far; eleven and a half miles to get to KCBC and back, sheesh.
I may yet catch some of the later parties, this weekend and beyond, and will certainly be indulging in sampling as many Oktoberfest beers as I come across on my wanderings … once we figure out what actually is an Oktoberfest beer.
I think that we can all agree that it is stronger than the usual expected German lager, and here I am thinking of a Helles not a Pilsner, and … well, that’s about it.
Is it amber and malty, like a lagered version of a scotch ale (whatever that is) or a brown ale (ditto)?
Or is it pale and malty? Or pale and not malty?
Here in these parts, we see most of the beers that are designated as Oktoberfest beers by their respective brewers are indeed darker (more copper than gold) and quite malty, with many of them acknowledging that they have been brewed to Marzen recipes and Marzen schedules.
And the longer that the brewery has been in existence and brewing Oktoberfest beers in the US, the darker and sweeter (and typically stronger) is the beer.
It is only recently, I would say in the last five years or so, that we have started to see US breweries catching up on the change in style and color that has been occurring in Munich over the past few decades.
And what have they been calling these new paler beers?
Not “Oktoberfestbier”, only those brews from the six Munich-based brewers are allowed to use that designation, others have to make do with the more generic “Festbier” or just “Oktoberfest”.
And this being the US, we are also seeing some fiddling around the edges in the taste department, with some more pronounced hopping (at least they are noble hops) to balance out the malty sweetness; I do not have a problem with that at all.
This past Friday, I was summoned to the bar (at JWF) to assist in sampling and selecting Festbiers, a couple of which would be occupying tap space over the next few weeks (not at the same time), and a couple more for the fridge to provide alternatives for the fest-drinking punters.
It was quite an eye opener.
We conducted the tasting with five beers: one from Munich (Hofbrau), one from NYC (Threes), two upstate either side of the Hudson (Sloop and Catskill), and one veteran from Pennsylvania (Victory).
We had arranged them “randomly” with the exception of the Hofbrau which we placed on the left, planning on using it as essentially a benchmark; it turns out that there may have been an implicit bias based on locality.
We did not check the labels for style until afterwards, other than confirming that they were “festbiers” and not fall/harvest/holiday beers (whatever they are).
Visually, as expected, the US-brewed beers, with the exception of the Threes, were all shades of copper vs. the pale golden color of the import, and the deep gold of the Threes.
Equally expected (by me at least), the amber shades grew darker based on the age of the brewery and (strangely, or maybe not) distance from NYC.
Nose wise and palate wise, they were all over the place.
The sniff test, and I can only vouch for myself here:
- Hofbrau was a surprise right off the bat; it was giving off some grassy and herbal notes when I was expecting pure sweetness.
- Threes was not a surprise at all; like the Hofbrau it was both grassy and herbal but with additional floral notes, it was also a little more intense.
- Sloop and Catskill were balanced, and very similar, in that they were not giving out much at all; some malty sweetness and some subtle grass, but both were essentially inoffensive, particularly the Sloop.
- Victory was not a surprise at all; straight up malty (molasses?) sweetness with no sign of the hops, but a slightly sharp off-note which may have just been the particular can.
The taste test showed a similar pattern, and we pretty much noted that we had managed to arrange the beers in our order of preference.
And then Jason wandered off to get back to work, and I got distracted and went back to a couple of pints of my Old Glenham Weavers palate cleanser.
The sampling glasses remained on the bar in front of me, so I decided to grab one last taste before heading home.
All of the beers had retained their previous taste profiles, with the notable exception of the Hofbrau, which had turned into an absolute malt bomb!
Drink it fresh folks, it is not a beer for sipping over a long session.
I also examined the labels, just to satisfy my curiosity.
- The Hofbrau proudly states that it is an Oktoberfestbier.
- The Threes calls itself an Oktoberfest or Oktoberfest Lager.
- All of the others acknowledge that they are Marzens.
Of course my favorite was the Threes Hereafter, which is decidedly not traditional (German nor American), but is probably the most sessionable.
Don’t get me wrong, I do love Marzens, but I cannot see how I would manage to down even two liters in a single session and still want a third.
I can see why the good folks in Munich have drifted away from the darker Marzens, and toned down (well, disguised and delayed) the maltiness of the Oktoberfestbiers.
But what do I know, I am a bitter drinker.
Scorecard w/e 09/24/24
In the past week, The Cask Whisperer has enjoyed the following casks:
- Old Glenham Winders ESB @ Jones Wood Foundry
- Old Glenham Session Bitter @ Jones Wood Foundry
- Old Glenham Weavers Pale Ale @ Jones Wood Foundry
- KCBC Zoktoberfest @ KCBC, Bushwick NY
Upcoming Cask Events (Festivals and Otherwise)
10/5/24: Cask Day at Odd Bird Brewing in Stockton NJ
It looks like they are planning on having a handful of casks to sit alongside their handpump on the bar.
10/11/24-10/13/24: 18th Annual Cask Days at Bar Volo, Toronto ON
Yep, I know it is a long way away, but it can be reached by public transportation (well, Amtrak). I was just about to put it into my calendar but a whole bunch of conflicting events came up, so for me, next year.
10/26/24: 9th Annual NYS Cask Fest at Woodland Farm Brewery, Utica NY
Dang, it looks like I am going to miss it this year, I will be down in Virginia for a family event the night before, and it will be a long haul and big ask to go back to NYC via Utica!
They just announced that they will have a cask of Grimm Double Negative.
11/2/24: 20th Annual Blue Point Cask Ale Festival, Patchogue NY
11/8/24: Two Roads Cask Fest at Area 2, Stratford CT
4/2/25 – 4/5/25: 26th Annual NERAX will be held in Boston MA. Save the dates!
Upcoming Random NYC Casks
- None spotted so far, but keeping an eye out for KCBC again; their Shadow Crypt Festbier is rumored to be coming out on cask in the very near future.
- It looks like there will be at least one cask at Blocktoberfest 2024 at Brooklyn Brewery on Sunday, September 29th.
NYC Cask Venues
Known Operational/Active Beer Engines
- Jones Wood Foundry (x2)
- Fifth Hammer
- Wild East
- The Shakespeare (x3)
- Cask Bar & Kitchen
- Drop-off Service
Occasional Pins (worth a follow on Instagram)
- Strong Rope
- KCBC
- Tørst
- Blind Tiger Ale House
- Threes Brewing
- Brouwerij Lane (They will be starting up their First Friday Firkins again in October)
