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.

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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.

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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.

 

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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.

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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.

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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.

 

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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.

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Armbrustschutzenzelt Paulaner

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

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Pschorr

A light colored hell served here.

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Spaten

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Schottenhamel Spaten

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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.

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Rides

A kid with a future.

The major rides looked to be about 3€ each - at least in the afternoon. Lines at that time weren't long at all. Some were very, very, tall.

 

 

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Sights

I promised Terry this picture wouldn't be put on the web site.

 

The U-Bahn terminal at the front gate was great mayhem.
Everybody too tired to fall onto the tracks but there were guards anyway.

Updates

Powerhouse has installed a hand pull and will hook up a pin of cask conditioned Two Dave's IPA on Tuesday.  Currently on draught:  Pogo Stick, Berliner Weisse, Two Dave's IPA. Also, Founder's Breakfast Stout and Nemesis! Jon has been brewing 5 days a week and went to Aurora Monday to brew a collaboration with Dan from Great Crescent!

On the CACA front, Bill Ballinger gave a talk about lagering beers, quite informative!

Misc News – Sept 19

Jerry's Rock Bottom Oktoberfest (Downtown Indy) – Bright orange copper. Malt with plenty of hoppy balance and initial kick. 6%.

Out of 516 breweries that sent 3,523 beers to the GABF, two three in Indiana brought back medals. Congratulations to them. Full results

• Sun King Golden Slumber - Belgian-Style Abbey Ale – Silver
• Sun King Dominator Dopplebock – German-Style Doppelbock or Eisbock – Bronze
• Three Floyds Munsterfest – German-Style Märzen – Bronze
• Rock Bottom, 86th St, Indy – Naked Oatmeal Stout - Silver

Sun King is getting 3 more 60bbl fermenters and bright tanks. Also an outdoor silo so the building will finally look like a brewery.

Coming to Alcatraz – Oatmeal Stout.

Coming to the Ram – Pie'd Piper Pumpkin Ale.

Anita at Great Fermentations over-ordered and still has 40 or so gallons of Early Blend Cider for your fermentation passion. It's a blend of Gala, Honey Crisp, Jonathon, Empire, and Jonagold apples and has a sweeter brightness than last year. She'll be ordering a Late Blend in a month so there's still time to do two batches this winter.

You needed to be at New Albanian's Bank Street Brewhouse's Sandkerwa NA anstich tapping right on time. (5pm). The Ahornberger Landbrauerei Strößner-Bräu's Ahornberger Landbier lasted 51 minutes. Zehendner Mönchsambacher Unfiltered Lager didn't make an hour either. and Zum Grunen Baum Landbier didn't last a half hour on Saturday. Roger is ecstatic. blog Next Thurs, Fri, Sat, more of the similar.

Mark Schiess brews with Jim Kirk's 16-year old malt extract. story so far

So a guy flies from New Mexico to Harrisburg PA to get one of 400 bottles of Troegs' Splinter Blue beers. He's 401st in line. Brewery finds one more bottle to make his trip worthwhile. article

Misc News – Sept 16

Lil' Charlie's beers are $2 on Mondays. Ram has Pie'd Piper Pumpkin Ale and Blue Pride German Pilsner coming up. We saw the manager quietly do the right thing last night so we're copying their Nuvo ad here today. The City of Franklin has officially called off the Tailgate Beer deal. The clown in California never did give them any financial information about the company. article Happy birthday to FOSSILS. They really are old. 20 years old. Gina and Matt tell us of some new brews from Cavalier: Clipper City Great Pumpkin Imperial Pumpkin Ale. CCGPIPA-Greater Pumpkin (bourbon aged pumpkin). Left Hand Twin Sisters Double IPA. Two Brothers Atom Smasher Oak-Aged Imperial Marzen. Tyranena Brewer's Gone Wild Hop Whore. Tyranena Painted Ladies Pumpkin Spice Ale. Berghoff Oktoberfest. "Two Brothers Atom Smasher Oak-Aged Imperial Marzen"? How long can a beer name go? Can all this fit on one label? No wonder my carpal tunnel is still sore. Great Crescent Brewery's American Pale Ale has organic Blue Agave added during the boil. Wandering to Cincinnati? First check out the Hoperatives to see what they're up to. Rivertown Brewing in Cincy. Here's the Longshot upshot story. Recycling returns to Broad Ripple. In a project started by Union Jack, beer bottles from these establishments head to bins for melting: Vogue, Broad Ripple Tavern, CT Peppers, Crackers Comedy Club, Barley Island, Naked Tchopstix, Ambrosia, Corner Wine Bar, Usual Suspects/Casba, Brothers Bar and Grill, The Wellington Pub, Red Mango, Old Pro’s Table. article "about 18 percent of all beverages consumed in the United States each year happen in a bar, restaurant or hotel and glass containers make up about 80 percent of the container mix beverages consumed on premise." What Would Moses Drink? Biblical Archaeology Review looks at "Did the Ancient Israelites Drink Beer?" Read when you have a half-hour to devote to it. You'll also get a chance to laugh at Ray Oliver, Esq in the comments.

NanoCollaboration – Great Crescent & Power House

Jon Meyers and Dan Valas were busy Monday producing 3 bbls of 1074 OG wort for a Belgian Abbey Ale – a style new to both of their professional careers. The Great Power House Brew.

Dan and Lani have bought an old warehouse building originally owned by the Graf distillery. It's huge. 2 3 floors on one side and 4 on the other. It's also really really sturdy with 8x8 12x12 posts and beams.

A three ten-barrel steam fired system is ready to install and a1930s art-deco barfront locally sourced will provide a great setting for a tap room down the line.

2011 is going to be an interesting year for Great Crescent. Lots of work and sweat to get everything set up but in the end the brew days will be shorter and the output greater.

(Dan, thanks for the corrections)

Misc News – Sept 14

The Hoosier Hops and Harvest in Story saw about 250 people enjoying good bluegrass and samples from Big Woods, Upland, Power House, New Albanian, Bee Creek, and World Class Beverages. Shame there weren't more people as it was a good fest in a beautiful glen. Just a little out of the way (and the 7 cop cars at the entrance didn't encourage anyone passing on Ind 135 to just drop in).

Some quick reviews:

• Bee Creek Ale – Their newest offering is 2-row and Carapils with a light Cascades touch at 17 IBU. They say there's no honey in this one but it has a nice touch of that sweetness. It will prove popular. That's their new honey-hauler at right.
• Big Woods Busted Knuckle – Dark, Malty, Light bodied. A good example of a Southern Brown.
• Big Woods Possum Trot Pale Ale – Floral and Bright.
  
• Lil' Charlie's Harry's Pale Ale - Copper, plenty hoppy, worthy of Harry's name.
• Lil' Charlies Father Franz' Hefeweizen - Liberty and Chinook in a Krystalweizen. Fresh tasting and mild.
• Lil' Charlies Red Wheat – Bolder, sweeter, maltier, and a favorite with EKG.
• Lil' Charlies Bull Ram Bock – Light copper color and a full bold malty flavor on a EKG base. 7%. This could be great if barrel aged.
• Lil' Charlies Batesville Blonde. Pilsner with liberty and EKG. Light and 4.8%.
• New Albanian Blackgrass Saison. Using lemon grass and black pepper, both of which come through. Deep chill-haze copper served appropriately with no head and no room left in the 1/2 litre glass. 5.3%.
• Power House Pogo Stick Wheat Ale – Hoppy American Hefe. Very cloudy. Lots of Simcoe.
• Upland Oktoberfest Lager – Malt to style and a perfect light orange color.
• Bell's Oarsman – Sour mash techniques with enough sour to be noticable. Another winner.

Upland will have some of the current batch of lambics out near the end of October.

NABC say their 3-head bottler will be producing bombers in November. Hoptimus and Elector are slated to debut first.

Jared Williamson, the brewer at the Grant Line NABC facility, has been running a set of brackets over the last couple of months. Cascade beat Nugget, Amarillo beat Centennial, Simcoe trounced Chinook, and next up is Summit vs Warrior. He makes an APA 4-bbl batch of each using just one hop, dry hops it likewise, releases them both on the same day, and sits back to see which empties first. In late Nov Cascades will take on Amarillo and Simcoe will meet either Summit or Warrior. The final round may coincide with the Super Bowl. The NABC 8th anniversary ale will use all 8 hops in an 8% 80 IBU special.

It's finally happened. Nick, Barnaby, and Chris of Three Floyds visited Brew Dog. By the looks of the pictures, this should end well.

If you buy a growler of Wheat from Lil' Charlies, they will, upon request, include orange slices. Neat idea.

Jim Schembre tells us a fill crew will be following him, Bob Mack and other World Class Beverages folks around for a while doing a documentary. They will start in Denver while Jim tries to bounce from place to place during his very busy GABF schedule.

This week's beer adventures: (plus a lot of liquor store tastings you can find in the Calendar. Thurs, Sept 16 Tapping of Rocktoberfest at both Indy Rock Bottoms. 6pm Feast of Fall Beers - Tasting. Keg Liquors, Clarksville. 5-8pm. Free. 20 O'fests. Bell's Night at the Chubby Trout, Elkhart. Incl Batch 9,000 and Oracle. Sandkerwa NA might will begin at New Albanian's Public House. They still have not received the Anstich kegs from Franconia so the start date is dependent on that. The casks are in. Check The Potable Curmudgeon for updates details. Fri, Sept 17 Upland Oktoberfest firkin tapping at Sonka Irish Pub, Terre Haute. Dry hopped with Magnum. Hosted by Caleb Staton. 5:30 Sept 17-18 Great Lakes Brewfest, Racine, WI. Upland will be pouring. Sat, Sept 18 Back Road Fall Fest. The Ein Prosit Band with the Alphorngruppe will be back again. Oaktoberfest party. Noon-4pm. Oaken Barrel, Greenwood Cincinatti Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati. Noon-Midnight

Bell's Brewery announces $52M expansion over next six years. article "The projects are aimed at accommodating the company’s goal of  20 percent annual growth".

If you will ever be close to a breathalyzer (and you will), you need to read "When Alcohol is Not Alcohol". 

The Zythophile has some very good points – So What Is the Difference Between Barleywine and Old Ale?

Misc News – Sept 10

A week ago we talked about the new Black Swan Brewpub coming to Plainfield. But first, another one is in the works and hoping to open the restaurant part in November and have the brewing equipment ordered. The Three Pints Brewpub will be just a half mile up the road from the Black Swan. Matt interviews the owner/brewer Tom Hynes in a HBG article. If you’re keeping count, that’s 6 new breweries planning to open in the Indianapolis area before next spring.

Hey Kentuckyanians, IUS's course "Here's To Beer" is coming up again this year. Oct 6, 13, 20, & 27. Location: New Albanian's Public House. Teacher: Roger Baylor. $65. Non-credit though. Sign up at Indiana University Southeast web site

BeerNews looks at the 3 Floyds drought (not draught). article. Also a Beer Advocate thread. "Nothing about the craft brewing business constitutes a license to print money, but people in a snit because they can’t get enough of your beer is a damned fine place to begin." So sayeth Roger Baylor in an editorial.

Kahn's says their new store at 2342 W. 86th St. in Indy will open at the end of September. Looks like they have 2500 sq ft and 8300 sq ft areas beside it to lease out. Anybody wanna start a pub?

Pssst. If you want to buy Rita Kohn's True Brew and don't have a book store near you or just like to shop online, the IU Press website is having a 60% off sale on Wed, Sept 15th. Enter the code SIXTY at checkout. That should bring the $19.95 retail down to $7.98 (plus shipping).

Some Upland beers will be available on tap at the Colts games in Sec 109 & 132. Bottles at 307, 319, 334, and 346 concessions stands.

Sun King "Blazes Past Initial Sales Goals" according to this article in the Indianapolis Business Journal. (hehe they said "jugs").

Newsweek says Mitch Daniels once fished quarters out of a toilet to pay for beer. article

Misc News – Sept 8

From the Indianapolis Business Journal: "A local liquor board cleared the way Tuesday for the Indianapolis City Market to begin selling beer there later this fall. The three-member Marion County Alcoholic Beverage Board voted unanimously to approve a carryout liquor license for the historic downtown site. The permit will allow the Indiana Brewers Guild to open a bar at the market featuring local craft beers to drink on-site and for take-out." . . .

"The bar would be open 8 p.m. or later Wednesday through Saturday. The hope is that other vendors, which typically close by mid-afternoon, also would remain open later with customers flowing into the market during the evening."

The new Tomlinson Tap Room (named after the Indy's first convention center) would occupy 1,600 sq ft on the second floor of the main hall. This is all part of a $2.7M city plan to renovate the City Market which will include tearing down the west wing. Three years ago Indy spent $2.5M on a similar renovation which has been met with yawns if not downright scorn.

Rock Bottom, Downtown Indy, now has Big Brew Special English Mild on tap. Reason enough to visit the city center. This is being sent to Denver as Jerry Sutherlin's Pro-Am beer – made with Rodney and Jessica Weaver (of HBG fame). It won them the Blue Ribbon for English Brown Ale at the 2009 Indiana State Fair Brewers Cup. Made with Maris Otter, Chocolate Malt, and others with Willamette hops (US version of Fuggles). At 3.2% ABV it's a session beer with body and malty presence befitting a Dark Mild found in the west and southwest of England.

The style originated as a weaker and cheaper version of the porters of the mid 1800s. It became popular during the heat of summer among those doing the sweatiest jobs. Less alcohol (and less £) meant it could be enjoyed in larger quantity. This one is not as hoppy or dry as, say, Brains Dark from Cardiff – more along the lines of Wizard Black Magic from Warwickshire.

At Rita Kohn's suggestion, Jerry plans to have the servers highlight the 3.2%ness for the lunch crowd. Have two beers for the BAC of one.

Ram put their Oktoberfest on last night. It has a dryness not often found in the style. Finally Free Cream Ale is also on tap.

Rumor has it the certified best homebrewer in Indiana, Bill Ballinger, may be starting up a production brewery – the Blue Republic Brewing Co. It's a full-fledged company with a full-fledged logo. Bill was named Brewer of the Year at the ISF Brewers Cup competition in 2010 and 2009.

Greg Hardman, the guy behind the Christian Moerlein restart in Cincy is going all Geraldo (or Mike Rowe) on us. He's found some tunnels under the old Kaufmann Brewery building he bought and is inviting the press to the wall-breaking. article

Earthquake in New Zealand causes a beer shortage. article

Stone 10.10.10 will be an “ale brewed with Muscat, Gewurztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc grapes and chamomile”. It will be out, on October 10th this year – or October 11th in Indiana.

If you are heading for Denver and the GABF, Beer Advocate has some crawls and stuff that are still open for more participants. Boulder Crawl, Denver Crawl, and the Great American Craft Beer Experience ($45).

Misc News – Sept 7

Bloomington Brewing will release their Homegrown Pale Ale on Wed, Sept 8th. It uses their own organic hops from the Loesch Farm that Floyd Rosenbaum has grown. That's 50 Cascade vines on 14 ft poles and harvested by hand. He planted these in 2008.

Barley Island's Damien 666 Belgian Golden Strong is on tap at both locations (Noblesville and Broad Ripple). "Spicy belgian yeast aroma, sugary sweet taste with a dry finish, 35 IBUs featuring Saphir hops, 8.9% ABV"

Scott Bort's Weekly Local Craft Beer Roundup covers Northwest Indiana. Here's a quick synopsis but htere's a lot more:

• Figure 8 Brewing – Brewing a Harvest Ale
• Crown Brewing - Oktoberfest, Oct 9th
• Three Floyds – is going to double their 2009 production
• Highland, IN – New pub, Beer Geeks, to open soon with 20 taps and cask conditioned ales.

Bob Mack dispels some Myths about Three Floyds Brewing.

Ram: coming up, a Pumpkin Ale

This Weekend is a busy one. Stuff going on all over the state - and beyond. Fri, Sept 10 Mad Anthony Oktobeerfest Golf Outing. Bridgewater East GC, Auburn. Beer Tasting. Liquor Locker, Evansville. 4-7pm Beer Sampling. Norma's Fine Wines. Indy. 6-8pm Beer Tasting. Vine and Table, Carmel, 3-7pm Beer Tasting. Moggers Restaurant, Terre Haute. 5:30pm Beer Tasting. Crown Liquors, Downtown Indy. 3-7pm Beer Tasting. 21st Amendment, Broad Ripple. 5pm. Bell's 25th Anniversary Celebration. Eccentric Cafe, Kalamazoo. 2pm Press Conference. 3pm Music starts. Sat, Sept 11 Mad Anthony Oktobeerfest. Fort Wayne. $25. 2-6pm Zoo Brew, South Bend Local/Regional Beer Class. Towle Theater, Hammond. 4pm. $25 AleFest Chicago Springfield's Oyster and Beer Festival, Springfield, IL. Noon-4pm. $15/$20 Bell's 25th Anniversary Celebration. Eccentric Cafe, Kalamazoo. 11am-4pm Brewery Tours (Galesburg), 1-4pm Wort available to homebrewers. 1pm Music starts. Sun, Sept 12 Hoosier Hops & Harvest. Story Inn, Story, IN. Noon-6pm. $20 Beginning Brewing Class. Great Fermentations, Indy. 1pm Mon, Sept 13 Granite City Oktoberfest Mug Club Party. Ft. Wayne, Mishawaka, Indy. 5-8pm. Brats and kraut. Sept 13 - 18. Indianapolis Jazz Festival. Opti-Park, Broad Ripple. BRBP, Barley Island, Brugge will be pouring.

Where to drink in Cincinnati. Unless you're heading to the GABF. In that case, where to drink in Colorado. Or better yet, where to drink in Denver.

Sam Adams' Longshot competition is down to 4 entries of which 2 will be brewed next year. Imperial IPA, Black American IPA, "Wheat ale brewed with honey and Goji berries added”, and an ale "brewed with Egyptian Chamomile, Hawaiian Honey and Heather tips.”

HowTo: Make a beer tray of solid ice. Maybe not the best idea but it will impress your Lite friends and it floats (for a while). The trial and error session is as cute as the kid.

Back in 1981 Guinness had 12 monthly ads about their stout. Jay Brooks has them on his Brookston Beer Bulletin for your enjoyment.

Misc News – Sept 3

September starts with Omar's new job at the Thr3e Wise Men. A loyal group helped him reduce some of the inventory of Devil's Ale, Bourbon American Stout, and other specials sitting in the back room.

Skip Duvall is taking over at Alcatraz and says the Search Light, Rock Bock, Weiss Guy Wheat, and Pelican Pale Ale will remain mostly unchanged while he puts his stamp on all the seasonals.

Power House and Great Crescent breweries are joining the collaboration frenzy. Jon and Dan will be co-brewing a Belgian Abbey Dark Strong at the Aurora facility.

At Power House, the Columbus Bar will be serving Dilligaf, a Rye Ale, any day now and an Oktoberfest is fermenting.

Half Moon has a Rasperry Rye Beer and Skull Splitter IIPA on tap.

Lafayette Brewing has just tapped their Star City Dark, a Schwarzbier with Styrian Goldings. "If you're looking for a lighter beer with depth of colour and taste, then don't be afraid to go dark with our darker version of our popular Star City Lager."

People's Brewing was at the Beer Sellar in Castleton this week. Sandwiched between Texas Hold'em and a pool league, Chris and Fred passed out samples, glasses, and other goodies. Cavalier is distributing People's and their IPA, Amber, ESB, and Pilsner are available to pubs over the state, not just in the Lafayette area.

• People's Pilsner – Plenty of Santium hops – a Tettnanger, Hallertauer, Mittelfruh hybrid. Noble with a touch of Saaz spicy.
• ESB – Dark red-tinged brown. Smooth. Balanced. All EKG. A+
• IPA – Dark, which means malty, but hit with 77 IBU of Columbus, Centennial, and Amarillo hops.
• Aberrant Amber – Has an up-front 48 IBU attack of citrusy Amarillo and Centennial.

Another brewpub is coming to Central Indiana. The Black Swan Brewpub at 2067 E. Hadley Rd. (the ex-Hog Heaven just north of I-70 at the Ind 267 exit) has received zoning approval from the Plainfield authorities. D J McCalister is the guy behind it and has worked with Lafayette Brewing, Oaken Barrel, Barley Island and Alcatraz. He said to zoning commission "Brewpubs in general especially in the Midwest have a long history of combining very good food, very good beer and providing excellent service to their customers." They'll be opening as an English Public House while they source brewing equipment and do all those other little details necessary to brew beer.

Black Swan Brewpub from Fork in The Road on Vimeo.
(Neil, Thanks for the tip, as always)

Indiana was represented at Beer And Sweat a week ago. Jim Matt got a Gold with his American Pale Ale and credits the filtering as being very important in a keg-based competition. Eric King and Clayton Cummings of Indy were second with a Saison and Steve Llewellyn of Bloomington got a silver with a Belgian Specialty Ale.

Quality Wine and Ale Supply has more homebrewing articles:

• How Temperature Affects Wine And Beer During Fermentation
• Get Better Results From Your Beer Brewing Kit With Recipes
• How Seasonal Beers Are Made
• An Introduction To Seasonal Beers
• Why Is Light Beer Light?
• What Makes Dark Beer Dark?
• What The Beer Lover In Your Life REALLY Wants

The Beer Sellar has raised the quality of their craft selection a lot in the past year (above). Right now it's all Monarch/WCB plus a couple of Sun King but Cavalier may make inroads with taps for People's, Mad Anthony, Crown, and New Albanian as the lineup gets more and more Indiana offerings. But please, take down this misleading sign. ==>

Great Lakes Brewing in Cleveland made 80,000 bbls in 2009 and has expanded to a 150,000 bbl capacity.

There are about 20 new breweries in the planning in the state of Washington. article

Divers in the Baltic Sea have found a shipwreck and bottles of beer from the early 1800s. sketchy article – better article

Oktoberfest Biers

It's September, time for Oktoberfest beers.

A direct descendant of Vienna Ambers which were developed by Anton Dreher in Vienna in 1841 as the first popular lager beer.

In March, 1871 Josef Sedlmayr, owner of the Franziskaner/Spaten brewery in Munich, brewed a Vienna Amber for the first time in Bavaria. It lagered until September when he had a public-relations oriented tasting which proved quite successful. Sedlmayr called this beer Märzen and it became very popular at Munich's Oktoberfest celebration. It's said his Märzen was first sold at the Oktoberfest of 1872 when the brewery ran out of other beers.

A strong beer brewed in March was suitable for a long lagering time and would be ready for the early autumn season before brewing started again with the coming of cooler weather.

From this 19th century start, Märzens brewed in Germany have evolved into slightly stronger beers with less red color and are now quite lacking in the amber color they originally had. It's no longer aged for 6 months, more like 6 weeks, but, with more modern technology, that doesn't alter the characteristics significantly.

One change in technology is the "decoction mash" which involves an early boiling of some of the beer, giving a richer, maltier, result.

The term Oktoberfestbier is only allowed to be used by the 6 big breweries within Munich. All others are Oktoberfest style beers. Versions of Oktoberfests that Germany exports are usually maltier and deeper in color than Märzens but the two are really the same within Germany.

French breweries call their Märzen "biere du Mars".

Native Territory	Munich, Bavaria, Germany Autumn seasonal.
Color (SRM)	Copper to orangish amber. (7 - 14).
Head	White and frothy.
Aromas	Some rich malt. Often toasty. Very little hop aroma.
Flavors	Mainly complex toasty malt.
Finish	Balanced drying spicy Noble hop in the aftertaste.
Mouthfeel	Medium body tending toward creaminess with softness from the water.
Carbonation	Moderate - does not get in the way.
Alcohol	Not noticeable in the mouth. 5.0 - 6.2% ABV.
Bitterness (IBU)	Spicy bitterness from Noble hops comes in late. (20-28)
Serving	German-style stein or other handled mug. Glass is normally used to show off the color. Munich's favorite glass is a 1-liter mass.
Malts	Vienna, Munich. Sometimes a touch of Caramel malt.
Hops	Noble hops such as Saaz for spiciness.
Yeast	Oktoberfest blend of yeasts.
Related Styles	Vienna Ambers beers are similar but usually redder and lighter in alcohol.
Notes	Some brewers use Caramel malts for added color. Munich's water is substantially lower in Calcium and Sulfates than the water of Vienna. This is a major factor in the difference between the two beers.

 

Bob's Pick	Augustiner Oktoberfest Bier - Munich mega-brewery - Crisp taste in a creamy body. Respected by the locals as the best at the fest.
Rare Gems	Wiltse's Brew Pub Oktoberfest - Oscoda, MI - Darkish red. Malty with a slight sweetness but well balanced. Carbonation comes through. Sudwerk Privatbrauerei Hübsch Märzen - Davis, CA brewpub - Rich with a slight apple background.
Widely Available	Ayinger, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu, Paulaner, and Spaten all make authentic export Oktoberfest beers. Just about every brewery in Indiana will be putting out an Oktoberfest this month (if they aren't already).

Oktoberfest Events in Indiana (at least those that feature beer):

• Thurs, Sept 2: Oktoberfest Tapping. Sun King, Indy. 6pm
• Thurs, Sept 2: Oktoberfest Beer Tasting. Big Red Liquors, Bloomington. 6-8pm
• Tues, Sept 7: Tapping of Oktoberfest at Ram Fishers. 6:30pm
• Thurs, Sept 9 – Sun, Sept 12: German Park Oktoberfest, Indy
• Sat, Sept 11: Mad Anthony Oktobeerfest. Fort Wayne. $25. 2-6pm
• Mon, Sept 13: Granite City Oktoberfest Mug Club Party. Ft. Wayne, Mishawaka, Indy.
• Thurs, Sept 16: Tapping of Rocktoberfest at both Indy Rock Bottoms. 6pm
• Thurs, Sept 16: Feast of Fall Beers - Tasting. Keg Liquors, Clarksville. 5-8pm. Free. 20 O'fests.
• Sat, Sept 18: Back Road Fall Fest, LaPorte.The Ein Prosit Band with the Alphorngruppe will be back. Chuck is brewing Double Back Autumn Ale for the occasion.
• Sat, Sept 18: Oaktoberfest party. Noon-4pm. Oaken Barrel, Greenwood

 

Typical 5-gallon (US) recipe

Grains	8 lb German Pils malt 3.25 lb Munich malt .75 lb Crystal 90L malt .75 lb Crystal 40L malt .75 lb Crystal 10L malt
Adjuncts, Fruit, Spices	None
Hops	2 oz Saaz hops boiled for 60 minutes 1.25 oz Saaz hops at boiled for 30 minutes 1 oz Styrian Goldings at end of boil
Yeast	Munich Lager yeast
Mash	Single Decoction.
Boil time	90 minutes A 40% decoction mash for 30 minutes
OG / FG	1052 / 1014

 

Augustiner tent at Oktoberfest

Hacker-Pschorr tent at Oktoberfest