It is October and what better way to celebrate this time of year than with a seasonal beer – Oktoberfest! According to St. Arnold® Brewery an Oktoberfest is a full bodied, malty, slightly sweet beer celebrating the Autumn harvest. This rich beer has a round malt flavor and an above average alcohol content perfect for a cool fall evening. An Oktoberfest style beer is best consumed at 40° Fahrenheit.
There are many versions of this style of beer and I have come across some that are light in flavor and pale in color. Featured are three versions of an American style Oktoberfest starting on the East coast and ending up on the West coast; Samuel Adams® Octoberfest (Boston, MA), Saint Arnold® Oktoberfest (Houston, TX) and Widmer Brothers® OKTO Oktoberfest Munich Style Ale (Portland, OR). Each has its own unique flavor, but in my opinion maintains the traditional flavor and color of an Oktoberfest. There is a vast array of Oktoberfest style beers than the ones featured, so select the kind(s) that are available to you. Have some friends over, try a few and see which one is your favorite.
Follows is a quote from St. Arnold® Brewery, Houston, TX, regarding the history of how the Oktoberfest celebration began.
“This style was originally brewed in Bavaria to celebrate the fall harvest. Then along came the wedding of the Crown Prince Leopold and his wife, Therese, and the brewers, sucking up to the royals, claimed that they had brewed this beer especially for their wedding. And what a wedding it was. It lasted two weeks. The wedding, that is. The marriage lasted longer. The wedding was such fun that they decided to celebrate it every year and thus was born Oktoberfest. Technically, the Oktoberfest celebration is the two weeks that end with the first Sunday in October, thus most of the event occurs during September. But Septemberfest just didn’t have a good ring to it, we guess.â€
Ingredients
1 bottle of Samuel Adams® Octoberfest (Boston MA)
1 bottle of Saint Arnold® Oktoberfest (Houston, TX)
1 bottle of Widmer Brothers® OKTO Oktoberfest Munich Style Ale (Portland, OR)
Bottle opener
Beer glasses
Technique
Remove cap with a bottle opener pour into glasses, drink responsibly and enjoy! To enjoy the true flavor of the beer serve at 40° Fahrenheit.
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