IndianaBeer: Oktoberfest

Showing posts with label Oktoberfest. Show all posts

Mollifying Oktoberfest girls

These Tyrolean dirndls may make amends.

The Dribs and Drams of the end of Oktoberfest

If you haven’t heard, Daredevil is moving to downtown Speedway. press release

The Beer Barons preview the Taxman Brewing Co. of Bargersville. link They have a Biere de Garde and a Belgian IPA.

You definitely must check out Bank Street Brewhouse’s Indiana Statutory Compliance Restaurant Menu. see it here and decide if you want your overpriced powdered milk with or without water.

Headline: Lawsuit Claims Templeton Rye Misled Drinkers Into Thinking It’s A Bootlegger’s Whiskey. Basics: Templeton Rye is distilled in Lawrenceburg Indiana, then bottled and marketed in Iowa. Lawyers in Chicago are suing claiming it misleads drinkers with to have a name the same as some booze made during prohibition. article

USA Today gives a review of the beer and wine at the State Fair. article

Booze is flowing at the fair for the first time in 67 years, but officials and fair-goers say strict drink limits and other containment measures have kept the alcohol from spoiling the family-friendly atmosphere that the legislature had long sought to protect by banning alcohol sales.

Headline: AB InBev Getting Drunk On Idea Of Buying SABMiller For $122 Billion article

Ron Smith’s Master of Beer Appreciation starts this semester on Oct 4th. website

Yr Hmbl Srvnt will host a program with the Indiana State Museum on October 23rd at the Tow Yard Brewing Co. It’s called The Rise of Craft Beer in Indiana.
Plus, Tow Yard’s Hook Up Shandler Golden Ale will be served during Colts games.
The ISM has a full line of interesting programs on tap including some on Prohibition. press release

Overseas News

Oktoberfest goes until October 5th this year. Get your plane tickets here.

Headline: Medieval Belgian Town Installing A Beer Pipeline Because — Wait, A Beer Pipeline?! article with bonus news that De Halve Maan brewery in Brugge will start bottling and exporting.

Headline: The Plot to Destroy America's Beer. Yep, Beck’s is brewed in St. Louis. article And it’s down 14% in sales.

Headline: Pabst Blue Ribbon, Schlitz Brewer Purchased By Russian Beverage Company article

Headline: Waiter Earns Eternal Bragging Rights By Carrying 27 Full Beer Mugs At Once article
Secondary: Waiter smashes world beer-carrying record by hauling nearly 30 large glasses of ale in one go article

Other stuff

Headline: Feds Pushing States To Lower The Drunk Driving Threshold To 0.05 BAC article

Headline: Someone Made Craft Beer Jelly Because That Is Clearly What Peanut Butter Has Been Missing article Made with Oatmeal Stout, Hefeweizen and IPA.

Headline: Beer and wine names it’s hard to believe really exist photo tour

And the mandatory dirndl photos (still trying to figure out the Chuck Taylors in the bottom pic):

Brew Bracket vs. Oktoberfest vs. Irvington BrewFest - 9/27/14

This coming Saturday brings along a trio of beer festivals. Unless you are great at either time management, drinking tolerance or just the easiest route - you have a clone, how do you know what festival to go to?

That is sometimes my problem. So many good events, so little time. How does one choice which even to go to?

For me, I wouldn't go to Oktoberfest this weekend. Oktoberfest is celebrated many times around this city. From more traditional styles of celebrations such as the one put on early in September by the German American Klub to Upland Brewing Co's gathering in Military Park. Some are family friendly and some are for the 21+ crowd only. As much I love to celebrate with a good lager in my hand, Prost! to those who go out from 1pm - 9pm. Have a stein for me.

I may be biased by Brew Bracket has always been one of my favorite events. I love that the drinkers get to vote who is the best and that it is tallied up right there for everyone to see. The one coming up on Saturday is a new type of Brew Bracket. Instead of taking a basic style, the team at Brew Bracket are daring 8 breweries to get crazy and experiment with an IPA style of beer. This appeals to me because it gives people the opportunity to try a beer they may never have had before and may never have again. It also gives the breweries a challenge to turn on the creativity. If I was available I'd be at Brew Bracket in a heart beat. Even if only to see what Flat 12 created for this event.

Irvington Brewfest is tempting only because it is such a small little event. With only 4 local breweries and one local meadery. You could really get to taste, talk and enjoy the music and festivities. Plus it is trying to gain some light for the up and coming Irvington community.

I used to think that so many events was a bad thing and the bubble of beer events or breweries would bust in Indianapolis given the bulge of new craft breweries but maybe sometimes too much of a good thing isn't a bad idea.

I wish I could go to at least one of these events this weekend, but I hope at least some of the readers get a chance. If you do go to Oktoberfest.. please wear a lederhosen, only cause that'd be incredible to see a local reader celebrating in German style.

Cheers!
Kathleen

Brew Bracket 8: Oktoberfest

About two years ago, I discovered the existence of Brew Bracket. I've been a hooked fan ever since.

This past weekend I was able to go to my first Brew Bracket in the Tomlinson Tap Room. Just as much bracket style, great craft beer fun as their events at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, this event is only 8 local breweries, and the blind tasting happens table side, where voters can relax, snack, and drink beer poured by the expert double pourer volunteers.

Brew Bracket 8 was right time on time with their Oktoberfest style beer challenge: right in the middle of the traditional Oktoberfest celebration going on in Munich!

The fierce competitors of this BB8 was:
Flat 12 Bierwerks
The RAM
Twisted Crew Brewery
Sun King Brewing Co.
Thr3e Wisemen
Bier Brewery
Iechyd Da Brewery
Upland Brewing

Some of the beers were really interesting. Flat 12 had their Red Oatober in the competition, and it was distinct with the hop flavor in the nose and on the tongue. Twisted Crew (I believe, based off my tally sheets) gave their Oktoberfest a coffee enhancement. Other than that the other breweries had the same malted lager, creamy traditional Oktoberfest flavor.

Being only 8 breweries the voting, and tasting went quickly and it was within no time that the RAM picked up their third win.

Every time I go to a Brew Bracket event, I can't even describe the camaraderie that just surrounds the venue. Between Mike and Ryan, the charity involved, the brewers, the sponsors, the visitors, it is just a special kind of event. There is always good music, good food and I always run into good friends there.

So if you still haven't gone to a Brew Bracket.. you must go to Brew Bracket 9 - Porters! (I'm very much looking forward to this style!)

Prost!
Kathleen

Indiana Beer News, Oct. 27-28: Festivals, new Beers and more....

Take your pick of Beer Events this weekend in Indiana!

DOWNTOWN INDY:

The first ever SunKing CANvitational includes at least THIRTY ONE breweries, all packaging in cans, on Georgia Street and PanAm Plaze from Noon (early entry $75) or 1-5PM ($50) Saturday, September 27. click here for TIX Such 'far flung' brewers as Marble of NM, Sockey of ID, Surly of MN, Tallgrass of KS, and Morgan Street of MO will participate as well as one of my favs, Revolution of Chicago and of course our home-state heros TinMan and SunKing of IN and more. There will be food, music, BEE coffee, and fun.

Within walking distance is the Upland Brewery OKTOBERFEST same day (Sat. Sept. 28) 1-9PM promising all the fun of a Munich beer tent, live music, food trucks, music and tix only $5 click HERE for Upland Oktoberfest TIX at Military Park off of West Street in Indya

BrewBracket Oktoberfest City Market Indy, 6-9 PM, Saturday, Sept. 28. $35, Brew Bracket TIX here/ Tomlinson Tap Room, 7 rounds of side by side tastings, Participating brewers include Upland, Flat 12, Bier, Twisted Crew, RAM, Granite City, Iechyd Da, and #BBPales winner Thr3e Wisemen. A portion of ticket sales will be donated directly to King Park Area Development

Connect with your Irish Roots Well, not exactly a beer fest but beer will be served and there will be hurling - you know, the sport (no not THAT kind, we hope) tonight, Friday, Sept. 27, 7-9PM at Kuntz Park, 1502 W. 16th ST, Indy. Flat12 beer will be served in a beer garden and This is the last night of the season for Indy GAA's Premiere League, which has grown into a great spectator event through the year. Info at IndyGAA

Outside downtown Indy

Irvington Brew Fest, Saturday, Sept. 28 7-10 PM (Music at 6:30), $10, 5333 E. Washington St. Indy, No advance sales, beer by Flat12, Fountain Square Brewery, Black Acre, New Day Meadery (pints $4). music and food Facebook page info

Noblesville BrewFest Saturday, Sept. 28, 3-7 PM, Forrest Park, lost of national and local breweries including Barley Island, Triton, Flat12, Cutters, Fountain Square, Half Moon (Kokomo), Upland, Union, SunKing, RAM, and (not local but....) Chimay + many more! More Info Here

We'd mention the Valpo Brew Fest but it is sold out

OTHER BEER NEWS!

Indiana Collaboration Beer: Black Acre Brewing (Indy) and Bloomington Brewing (uh, B'ton,IN) released a collaboration beer yesterday: an American cousin of a German style Roggenbier with a balanced grain bill using a lot of malt including rye malt, chocolate malt and carafa , a hefe yeast strain and variety of German and American hops. This very malty dark beer starts with just hint of yeast esters, delivers a nice rich dark flavor and finishes with a slight spice of rye. This beer is dark in color, rich in flavor and complex. It does not provide much in hop notes like most American ryes and this does not have the graininess of some. We sampled this one on the day it became avaialble and we will be going back for more. It should be on tap both at Black Acre on East Washington St. in Indy and at Lennie's in Bloomington - but don't delay, there are limited quantities.

Meanwhile we've been trying all of the pumpkin beers we can get our mouths on. Yes, we know some do not like beer with pumpkin. It only comes once a year and we enjoy! We had a delicious Pumpkin Ale by Bier Brewery (Indianapolis) the other nite and this is right up there among our favorites - a lot of delicious pie spice coming from addition to fermentation and kegs! Cutters Pumpkin Porter is a tasty spin on the traditional. We hope to get our hands on some Flat Jack Pumpkin Ale by Flat12 this weekend and it is on tap at Flat12 Bierwerks.

RateBeer reports that the top five rated pumpkin styles are mostly not out yet but their number 6 is Pumpking by Southern Tier. We had some last week and loved it but want to do a direct comparison with our favorite so far. After chatting with over a dozen patrons and bartenders at multiple craft beer establishments we select Schlafly Pumpkin as the best so far regionally. Schlafly delivers a wonderful balance of spice with malt underpinning. Smashed Pumpkin by Shipyard is an Imperial that also delivers a mouthful of flavor. Again, we felt the Bier and Cutters offerings hold their own against these widely distributed offerings. If you like less spice we suggest the Shipyard PumpkinHead or the Smuttynose Pumplin Ale (both from Maine). While I rarely rip on a great brewery, I've sampled the Brooklyn Post Road Pumpkin twice now (small tastes) and thought it lacked flavor. Clearly more research is needed... and I am waiting for the release of several more.

Upland holds lottery for Lambic's, expands beer to Chicago

Upland Kiwi, Strawberry, and Blackberry fruied Lambic-style ales will be released in limited quantities via a web site open at NOON on October 1 (an d closing at noon, Oct. 8). Lottery winners will receive notice by email on Oct. 9th. Any remaining sours available after Nov. 5th will be sold on a first-come basis in Indy and Bloomington. We had a chance to taste some of the notes sours with Head Brewer Caleb Staton recently in a project looking at flavor over time. It is quite interesting to note the differences in profile based on a few months difference in age! We had not had the chance until then to try an unfruited Upland sour but for those of us who love Belgian gueuze this was a wonderful experience! Upland Sour Lottery site is HERE

Upland beer will hit taps and shelves in greater Chicago in October starting with Upland Wheat and Upland Dragonfly IPA. Seasonals will be rotated in starting with Upland Infinite Wisdom Tripel and the wet-hopped APA Upland Harvest Ale. Upland President Doug Dayhoff shares, "the tremendous reception of Upland's recent wholesale expansion into Ohio and Kentucky has created an opportunity for even more growth....We anticipate strong reception as we move into Chicago." River North, distributors of other national and craft beer, is handling the Illinois expansion.

Daredevil starts canning Daredevil Brewing, Shelbyville, IN, will be making the popular Lift Off IPA available in cans before the end of this year. Lift Off is a well balanced IPA with West-Coast hops and has developed quite a following already in Indiana. Daredevil also has RipCord Double IPA and Seasonals that have included Muse and Carnival, a Belgian Saison now available, as well as a lighter koelsch.

Beers to you! GregKitz

Brew Bracket: Oktoberfest!

Prost!

Time for German beers!

And to celebrate and just generally drink good beer and have a crazy good time, Brew Bracket has come back with its bracket style, blind taste judging of Oktoberfest styles of beers.

8 of your local Indiana breweries will be competing at the Tomlinson Tap Room to win the best of the best of Oktoberfests!

There are 7 rounds of side by side tastings, samples from a couple home brewers showcasing their take on the style, entry into an incredible door prize raffle and a half pint of your choice at the end of the event.

Participating brewers include

Upland Brewing Co.

Flat 12 Bierwerks

The Bier Brewery

Brugge Brasserie

The RAM

Half Moon Brewing

Iechyd Da Brewery

Thr3e Wisemen Brewery

A portion of ticket sales will be donated directly to King Park Area Development Corporation (www.kpadc.org)

This is a 21+ event only. ID is required at the door. Designated driver tickets include free soda and water at the event. Additional food will be available for purchase through City Market vendors. Come join us for some great times with an intimate beer crowd tasting some limited edition Oktoberfest style beers.

Doors open at 5:45PM, first round of tasting begins at 6PM. For any more details and to purchase tickets please visit www.brewbracket.com

you can try to win tickets via IndianaBeer.com by reading our Oktoberfest blind taste testing blog and seeing how you can win two tickets to Brew Bracket: Oktoberfest!

IndianaBeer.com - Oktoberfest Styles

Indiana Beer Group Tasting and Reviews - Oktoberfests

Originally introduced as a celebration for the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese in 1810, the Oktoberfest celebration in Germany traditionally starts the third weekend in September and ends the first Sunday of October. While the festival has evolved to feature modern diversions like amusement rides, Oktoberfest is still all about the beer; featuring a maltier version of German lager that is stronger (by German standards) at about 5.8% to 6.3% alcohol by volume. As a culture that’s always looking for an excuse to party (come on now, do you even know what you’re celebrating on Cinco de Mayo?), Oktoberfest celebrations have gained popularity in America with some local large festivals and enough neighborhood celebrations to make that purchase of Lederhosen or a Dirndl worth the money.

To help you prepare for your own Oktoberfest celebration, we conducted a blind tasting of five commercial examples available in the Indiana market. Our past tastings have focused on styles that American brewers can be credited with inventing or taking in new directions. But an Oktoberfest tasting demands the inclusion of some German breweries to gauge if American brewers have caught up to their German counterparts. So the field for this tasting tapped German beers from Ayinger and Paulaner to go with American OFests from Left Hand, Sun King, and Upland. The beers were served in a random order to our tasting panel, and the identity of each was not revealed until after the panelists had submitted their individual rankings. Joining me on the panel for this session were Lafayette reporter Jason Cook and guest panelists Steven Banach and Amanda Civis. Here is a summary of each beer sampled, with the brewery’s description followed by the panel’s tasting comments.

Beer #1: Left Hand Oktoberfest – This is no festivus for the restuvus - on the contrary - we start brewing in the Spring and it takes a full two months to reach lagered perfection. Biscuity, malty goodness dominates upfront while the noble pedigree hops lend a properly spicy, dry finish. Zicke zacke, zicke zacke, hoi, hoi, hoi. 24 IBU 6.6% ABV

Amanda: Golden Amber in color. Malt forward aroma. Medium to light mouth-feel with a nice level of carbonation, giving just a slight sting on the tongue. Taste reminiscent of raisin bread with some hop bitterness towards the end and a clean finish. Buy a couple and discuss with friends.
Amanda’s Rank: 3rd

Jason: Light amber in color with a big, sweet, malty nose and body. This example had everything going for it until the finish. Some sort of lingering bitterness (not the good kind) remained that served to undermine what had started out as a nice beer.
Jason’s Rank: 3rd

Nathan: Brilliant copper color with low head and rich malt aroma. The aroma and strong toasted malt flavor with hints of caramel get this beer off to a great start. But it’s all downhill from there. The malt flavor gives way to a bit of lingering bitterness and noticeable alcohol. This is followed by a sulfur note from the lager yeast. This beer was promising, but the lack of clean finish hurts the drinkability and knocks it down on my list.
Nathan’s Rank: 5th

Steven: Pours a clear, light copper hue with no visible lacing or head. Aroma is a bit boozy with caramel notes. The taste is very malty, light amount of fruity hops, slightly nutty, touch of carmel, with a medium mouthfeel. The finish on this brew is dry, warm, and lingers for awhile. This brew is too boozy for my taste. While high on alcohol content, Lefthand's version would keep you warm on a cool, autumn day.
Steven’s Rank: 3rd

Beer #2: Sun King Oktoberfest – Sun King Oktoberfest is a traditional German-style lager. Crafted with choice German malts and noble hops, our Oktoberfest has a clean malty start with a slightly earthy hop character and a crisp, dry finish. 5.8% ABV

Amanda: Golden color. I used the word light a lot in my notes. Light sweet malt aroma. Light to medium carbonation, no extra tingle on the tongue. Light mouth-feel. Very clean and well balanced taste with no extra sweetness or bitterness. Has a crisp quality to the finish that dries your tongue just for a second before making your mouth water. This was one of my favorites and if I were out all day at a fest eating anything from German-Style Potato Salad with Ham to Every Baked Apple Dessert this is the beer I'd choose. Buy a few for your next tailgate.
Amanda’s Rank: 2nd

Jason: Deep golden in color with a light nose with some hop presence. The body had a light, sweet malt character with just enough hop flavor and bitterness. Finish was mostly clean with just a slight sweetness that lingers on the tongue. Overall a pretty solid beer that I would definitely drink again.
Jason’s Rank: 2nd

Nathan: Lighter in color and aroma with a moderate level of carbonation. This one has a softer overall profile with moderate toasted malt and a slight minty flavor. Very clean and smooth finish with no lingering bitterness or off flavors. A well made, enjoyable, easy drinking beer that just lacks a bit of the flavor complexity displayed by my top two choices. But it’s definitely a beer I would order again.
Nathan’s Rank: 3rd

Steven: This brew poured a light amber color with a small amount of lacing ring. Aroma is floral hops with caramel notes. The mouthfeel was full with plenty of munich and crystal malt flavor. Spicy noble hops balance out this beer perfectly with a toastiness, crisp finish. Sun King exemplifies a great representation of an oktoberfest beer with the alcohol content, malt, and hop profile dead on for the style.
Steven’s Rank: 2nd

Beer #3: Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier - This beer is an institution: the Oktoberfest Bier^® from Paulaner, with its full-bodied, pleasant taste definitely pairs beautifully with the hearty delicacies along with Hendln or Schweinshaxen. Its alcohol content of 6 % volume makes it somewhat stronger than the usual lager beer. With a hint of malty sweetness the Oktoberfest Beer possesses the perfect balance. 6% ABV

Amanda: Golden brunette in color. Initially I had a hard time, picking up flavor and aroma, on this one. My notes from the first pour were little to no aroma, took 3 sips before I got any flavor to stick and when it did all I really picked up was a little bitterness. The second pour was a completely different story. The aroma and flavor were both of slightly burnt toast. It made me want a pat of butter and a jar of spoon fruit. After taste was of bitter hay/grass. I couldn't get behind this one. Buy a bottle and see what you think.
Amanda’s Rank: 4th

Jason: Pours a light amber in color with a moderately sweet & hoppy nose. This beer didn’t agree with me from the very first sip. I’m not terribly familiar with the noble hop varieties but apparently the stronger hop presence of these is what had me cringing. Not much else for me to say on this one.
Jason’s Rank: 5th

Nathan: Muted copper color with a lasting head and higher carbonation than the other examples. Full-bodied toasted malt character with a clean and slightly sweet malt character in the finish. Plenty of grassy, tea-like hop character in this one that lingers through the finish. The best hop profile of the group in my opinion. Despite the prominent hop flavor, the beer has a slightly stale character from just a touch of oxidation. I really enjoyed this beer, the finish was just a bit too sweet to make the top of my list.
Nathan’s Rank: 2nd

Steven: Paulaner's Oktoberfest brew turned out to be my favorite of the flight. This beer poured a dark amber color with a malty and grassy hop aroma and was the darkest beer in the tasting. The spicy, noble hops complimented the malty, semi sweet, full body of this beer. Noble hop flavor was very apparent in this pour. Moderate alcohol content throughout from start to a dry, long finish. I would definitely seek this beer out. The flavor of this beer was able to withstand the voyage from Germany to America perfectly and still tasted fresh.
Steven’s Rank: 1st

Beer #4: Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen - Rich, golden color. Slightly sweet, malty nose. Medium to big body and alcohol. Soft dryness from long maturation. 21 IBU 5.8% ABV

Amanda: Golden brown color. Heavier mouth-feel with nice carbonation. There is a nice complexity and layering of flavors going on. Everything from fruits like peach, grape and apple to more subtle notes of ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. But the flavors of sweet malt and hop hold their own and linger on this one. I wouldn't mind killing a day with this beer, friends, a grill, bratwurst and some cabbage to braise. I could also see enjoying a couple of these all by themselves. Buy a few and invite me over.
Amanda’s Rank: 1st

Jason: This was my overall winner. Deep golden to light amber in color with a mild, unassuming nose. First sip for me and the flavor just seemed to pop. Seemed to have a bit more complex malt character than the others with a nice hop balance. Flavor seemed to linger a bit, possibly from being a bit more carbonated, but for this beer, that was a good thing. Will have to add this one to my beer shopping list.
Jason’s Rank: 1st

Nathan: Golden color that trends toward the lighter side of the style. The toasted malt character was nicely balanced with some herbal hop character. This is complemented by a slight orange peel character that gives this beer a unique twist. There is a slight touch of alcohol in the finish, but this is where the beer really shines. Clean, crisp, and dry with a fuller mouthfeel and flavor profile than the other samples; the beer finishes beautifully and leaves you wanting more. An excellent example of the style. Yeah, go get you some of this.
Nathan’s Rank: 1st

Steven: The appearance of this brew had quite a bit of lacing around the glass with a copper color. The nose on this brew was very light hops and low munich malt. The first thing I noticed when tasting this beer was the high carbonation level. In addition, Ayinger's representation of this oktoberfest had a light skunky, sour flavor that had a lemon aftertaste. Unfortunately I wasn't impressed with this beer, but it could have been a bit spoiled on its travel.
Steven’s Rank: 4th

Beer #5: Upland Oktoberfest - Our Oktoberfest is a traditional Bavarian lager featuring all-German malts and rare German hops. This dedication to authenticity produces a beer that would be as at home in Munich as it is here in the Midwest United States. The aroma is authentic, the taste sweet and malty, and the finish crisp and hoppy; perfect for a beautiful fall day! 16.5 IBU 6.5% ABV

Amanda: Golden amber color. Malt forward aroma of yeasty bread. Light to medium carbonation. I wanted more malt flavor to come through on the taste of this beer but it's not there. I get a bitter flavor start to finish, if you're a hop head you might appreciate that. Buy a bottle and see what you think.
Amanda’s Rank: 5th

Jason: Golden color with a moderate lager-y nose. Whole flavor profile of this beer seemed to be a bit thin. Lighter body allowed a more bready, pretzel-y flavor to come through with moderate hop bitterness and higher carbonation. Seems like they were almost playing it a bit safe with this one.
Jason’s Rank: 4th

Nathan: Light colored and highly carbonated with a light malt aroma. A bit more caramel flavor than most of the other examples is balanced some herbal hop character and low toasted malt. A grassy hop character shines through more prominently in the finish. The finish is clean, but doesn’t exhibit the crispness featured in the better examples leaving the flavor slightly muddled. This is a tough one to rank. I would drink this beer again, it doesn’t exhibit any notable flaws, but it’s just lacking anything remarkable in the flavor to set it apart in this field.
Nathan’s Rank: 4th

Steven: The first thing I noticed about Upland's beer was the heavy carbonation and lace ring around the tasting glass. The color was a golden, light amber color. This was also the lightest colored brew in the flight. Aroma was light carmel and a burnt toast aroma. Citra and spicy hops were low that didn't compliment the heavy malt of this beer. The brew had a medium mouthfeel with higher then normal carbonation. The finish was dry with a hint of orange. While I like most of Upland's lineup, this beer was too carbonated and high in alcohol that I prefer in my oktoberfest beers.
Steven’s Rank: 5th

And the results are in…….

Unlike a few of our past tastings, a pretty clear pecking order began to take shape based on the ranking from our individual panelists. To determine the overall results, we used a model where the lowest number of points would win (a 1st place vote = 1 point, a 2nd place vote = 2 points, etc). After tallying up the scores, our collective rankings determined the final order:

Fifth Place: Upland Oktoberfest (18 points)

Fourth Place: Left Hand Oktoberfest (14 points)

Third Place: Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier (12 points)

Second Place: Sun King Oktoberfest (9 points)

First Place: Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen (7 points)

While we could generally say the Germans schooled their American counterparts in our results, credit Sun King for delivering a pretty authentic version that scored consistently high with our panel. But Ayinger was our clear winner with three 1st place votes, which is consistent with high rankings on sites like Beer Advocate and Rate Beer. The reviews ended up a bit more mixed on Paulaner, and seemed highly influenced by how much an individual enjoys more pronounced noble hop flavor. Left Hand and Upland seemed to take different recipe approaches with Upland staying close to a traditional flavor profile; while Left Hand was going for a bigger, slightly “Americanized” version similar to a few other local examples I’ve tried recently.

When evaluating cost, our rankings suggest you get what you pay for as Ayinger and Sun King were the most expensive per ounce. Ayinger is only offered in single 500ml (16.9 ounce) bottles. At around $4 a bottle, that’s great when you’d like to try just one, and not so great when you’re trying to stock up for a party. Sun King was close behind at about $13 for a 4-pack of 16 ounce cans. I might personally make an argument for Paulaner as the value pick here at $11 for a 6-pack, but Amanda and Jason would probably disagree based on their rankings. Overall, I think it’s safe to say we recommend giving the Ayinger a try, especially if you’re in the market for just a few bottles.

Big thanks to Amanda, Jason, and Steven for serving on the panel and a bigger thanks to you for reading this far. Enjoy a few Oktoberfests at home and/or hit up an upcoming event like Upland Oktoberfest, Herron-Morton Place Oktoberfest, or Brew Bracket Oktoberfest on the 28th.

Prosit! – Nathan

BREW BRACKET OKTOBERFEST TICKET GIVEAWAY: We are giving away two passes to the upcoming Brew Bracket Oktoberfest on September 28th from 6-9pm at Tomlinson Tap Room in City Market! To enter, leave a comment on this post letting us know what you think of our panel’s rankings, or just leave a comment to brag about your personal favorite Oktoberfest. We’ll do a random drawing of everyone who enters, so feel free to offer dissenting opinions. Comments must be received by Monday, September 23rd to be eligible. And remember, if you don’t win, tickets are available here for only $35 to what should be a fantastic event.

Dribs and Drams

September is a hot time in beer tents around the world. The Hoosier Hops and Harvest Festival and Mad Anthony’s OktoBEERfest are just over. If you missed both of them, a block of events on Saturday, Sept 28th should provide your fix if you’re near Indy:

Noblesville Brewfest at Forest Park - Shelter 1, 701 Cicero Rd in Noblesville. 3-7pm. $25 in advance, $30 day of event.
Sun King CANvitational, Pan Am Plaza and 100 block of Georgia Street in downtown Indianapolis. 1-5pm. Early entry (12pm) $75, General Admission $50, Designated Driver $10.
Brew Bracket Oktoberfest at Tomlinson Tap Room, 222 E Market St in Indianapolis. 6-9pm. Participant Ticket $35, Designated Driver $5.
Upland Oktoberfest at Military Park, 601 W New York St in Indianapolis. 3-10pm. $5 in advance, $10 at the gate.
Unfortunately for northerners that day’s Valpo Brewfest is sold out.

There are lots more reasons to get out of the house on our calendar.

Meanwhile, if you were in Britain you would have a choice of

St. Alban’s Beerfest – 350 real ales in a London suburb. Plus cider, perry, and foreign beers. £3 ($4.50). Sept 25-28.
Manchester Museum of Science & Industry Real Ale and Cider Fest. 90 real ales, 25 ciders and perries. £5. Sept 26-28.
Keighley Beer Fest. 79 real ales. Theme is Old Ale. £2.50. Sept 26-28.
Louth Beer Festival. 25 beers. Cider and perry. Sept 26-29.
Scunthorpe Beer Fest. 25 real ales. Theme is Yorkshire ales. Cider/perry. £2. Sept 26-29.
Taste of Cumbria Food and Drink Fest. At Jennings Brewery, Cockermouth. City-wide celebration including downtown streets, pubs, and restaurants. Sept 27-28.
North Cotswold Beer Fest. Moreton-in-Marsh Cricket Club. 40 real ales + cider/perry. Pig roast. £3. Camping £6. Sept 27-28.

This last is put on by my “home” CAMRA chapter. They also have a pubwalk on Sept 12th that starts at the Horse and Groom in Upper Oddington.

Why are the entry prices so low (usually free to CAMRA members)? While you can get a taste the norm is to buy 1/2 or 1/3 pints rather than spend the day/evening just tasting.

And of course there’s Germany – that means Oktoberfest. Sept 21 – Oct 6th this year. It’s a pilgrimage that must, someday, be done by all beer geeks. Beer is by the mass (liter) – which the official website defines as “important Bavarian measurement”.

Beer there is by Augustiner, Hacker Pschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner and Spaten. Each has a massive “tent” that can seat up to 6,000. (click to bigify)

Meanwhile: Headlines:

Wal-Mart's New Goal: Sell All the Beer. No, really. They want to double alcohol sales by 2016. Bet that doesn’t include Indiana beers.
Researchers Brew Up A Hydrating Beer By Adding Electrolytes. Are hangovers a thing of the past?
Breweries 'fixing beer prices for decades'. German breweries, that is.
A-B InBev opening new 'Bud Lab' at University of Illinois. But this one is for data analytics. Huh?
Beer Popsicles (!) at Art on Tap. In Memphis. No, not the one in Egypt. That one is spelled differently -

Oh, that guy trapped by a croc on an island near Australia. He fell asleep just after the rescue – after the captain gave him a beer. Must have been a Fosters.

Coming Soon to A Beer Sellar Near You - Schlafly

It is safe to say, that I am a big fan of Schlafly's beer.

I'm also a big fan of our Beer Sellar located in Castleton.

Combining the two together is like having a pint of your favorite beer and drinking it too.

Which is exactly what I'll be doing on 10/3 and I hope you'll join me.

More details ? -- Let's see below -

Schlafly Night with Tom Schlafly -

at Beer Sellar in Castleton

Time : 7pm

Beer (Most important part):

Pale Ale

Kolsch

Dry-Hopped APA

Oatmeal Stout

Porter

Oktoberfest

Pumpkin Ale

Biere De Garde

Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout

Oak Aged Barleywine
Black IPA
Tasmanian IPA on cask

Great way to kick off fall and I hope to see fellow readers out there. I'll try not to drink so much pumpkin ale that I turn into a pumpkin!

Also -- Another event with Goose Island will be coming up soon on 10/19.. Look for the those details shortly.

Cheers!

- Kathleen

Oktoberfest, Munich – A few years back

This is a reprint of our trip report from 2005. Seems like a long time ago. Here's a current Oktoberfest slideshow.

We spent only one day at Oktoberfest. This included 5 one-liter mugs of beer. Guess who had to help who with hers. Take the train like we did, there's no way to drive home. Or to read your notes from later in the night.

Oktoberfest is an annual celebration started to honor some prince's wedding in 1810 (actually Ludwig I, but who cares). 16 days. 6,000,000 people, an equal number of beers (at $8.50 per), an equal number of pretzels, and an almost equal number of chickens and sausages giving their lives to honor the prince and princess. There's lots of history and tradition but Oktoberfest now is a very large carnival with very large rides, hundreds of food stalls, and 9 beer "tents" that hold up to 7,000 people each.

To grasp the experience, think of a typical midwest State Fair with the race track covered with rides and the 4H pavilions replaced by beer tents. It seems about the same size.

Two concepts to grasp about the beer. 1) Only the big 6 brewers in Munich get to sell beer. Hacker and Pschorr both have tents because they got in before they merged. Plus there's two Paulaner and two Spaten tents for some reason. 2) The beer served is not a big Oktoberfest Marzen beer that we're used to in the States. It's a slightly darker and slightly stronger Hell they call a Festbier. So if you're looking for a Oktoberfest-beer-lover's experience, wander the Indiana brewpubs in September. They almost all make an Oktoberfest and are each proud to make the best in the state.

Oktoberfest is first and foremost a party. 3/4 of the area is devoted to rides for those who don't throw up easily. The beer tents may also require a strong stomach since liter sized mugs are the only portion. After dark it's dancing on the tables (or at least on the benches) and chanting soccer cheers - or even chanting "Hang on Sloopy"). Gilley's of Bavaria.

The "tents" are really permanent structures, each with at least 3 pouring stations and at least one huge kitchen. All are flanked by outside seating - a good thing because all of the seating inside is reserved after 5pm by hotels and businesses in Munich for their guests. Oh, opening hours are 11am to 11pm.

Augustiner

At night it gets a little louder.

Augustiner served their Edelstoff Hell exclusively. A couple of others had a choice but if you ordered without specifying you got their lighter beer.

Hacker

Hacker served an Oktoberfest beer. The average age here was 15 years younger than in the Augustiner tent. Our Munchener friend, Oliver, told us in Bamberg that the Augustiner tent is where all the people who are serious about beer go, since it's the best.

Omar, this one's for you.

Hofbrau

The Hofbrau tent was very empty in the afternoon.

Hofbrau made the waitresses stand in a line to buy a ticket to get the beer or
food to serve to the patrons. This slowed down service quite a lot.

Lowenbrau

Getting on toward 5pm the tables get empty waiting for people with reservations.

The Lowenbrau lion roars, drinks his beer, and wags his tail up and down.

Paulaner

Here, three sections out of about 30 were not reserved. By 7 pm they were full. This wasn't the best beer but I'll be darned if I can read my notes - maybe "not a great beer too puppy". I can read "a table w/ 5 guys with sticks all the way up to their eyeballs" but don't know what that means either.

Armbrustschutzenzelt Paulaner

This Paulaner tent was less than half full in the afternoon.

Pschorr

A light colored hell served here.

Spaten

Schottenhamel Spaten

Food

Vendors occupy all the space in front of the tents and a lot of space in front of the rides. You could stay the entire 16 days and never eat the same food twice. Weisswurst, Maultaschen, Leberkase, Sauerkraut, Schweinswurstel, Rahmschwammerl, Jungschweinsbraten, Kalbsbrust, Haxe, Spanferkel, Sauerbraten, Tellerfleisch, Forellenfilet, Kase of all kinds, Gulasch, Hendl, Strudel, Kucherl, Dampfnudel, Fleischpflanzerl, Schlachtschussel, Gemuseeintopf, Zungenfilet, Radis, Ochsenbrust, Kalbsbraten, Roulade, Bofflamott, Schweinsbraten, Bratwurst, Leberkas, Suppes of all kinds. Even spare ribs, corn on the cob, and popcorn. Plus of course pretzels.