by Casey Bloyer
For a craft beer fan like myself autumn is a wonderful time of year to celebrate with delicious fall beer and what else, Oktoberfest! The average American has attended or knows about the fall festival that has become a pilgrimage for most beer lovers, but do they know what it is really about? Oktoberfest is about a marriage that happened in 1810 in, yes you guessed, Germany!
On October 12, 1810, Crown Prince Ludwig was married to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The wedding took place in Munich, and all the citizens were invited to come celebrate the nuptials on the fields at the city gates. The fields are now named Theresinwiese in honor of the Princess, and today Oktoberfest is still held there.
The locals refer to the event just as “Wies’n” and more than six million people now attend “Wies’n” every year! The celebration in Germany has evolved into one big carnival party with something that everyone can enjoy and, of course, beer takes center stage.
You can find many more Oktoberfests across the world. Locall
y you can find several different festivals in each city in Colorado spanning from early September to the beginning of October. Also, there is that little festival at the end of September in Denver called The Great American Beer Festival.
Summer beer festivals focus on the beer but Oktoberfest is more of a celebration that usually is more family friendly than regular beer festivals. This is just one reason that as a beer lover, Fall is my favorite beer season. The air grows crisp and the colors start to change and the beer grows more hearty and rich with deep flavors!
Since we are in Colorado, one of the big four craft beer states (California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington) we are very lucky to have so many choices for outstanding beer. I can’t wait for this time of year and for seasonal beers to be released with one exception…PUMPKIN BEER!
Never has a beer been more argued than this type of beer. If you have listened to Brewski-Reviewski.podbean.com you know that I absolutely hate these beers! I have yet to try one that I like, or that I think is good. So just know you won’t get any recommendations from this writer on pumpkin beer. I will, however, let you know about my five favorite fall beers.
These are the type of beers I like to have on a cool afternoon in th
e Rockies or by a fireside at night. Here they are from 5-1:
5: Left Hand Brewing — “Oktoberfest Marzen Lager” — The maltiness of this beer is off the charts and is one beer that you can have a couple of and not feel like you just ate a full meal! This is a crisp fun lager!
4: Prost — “Marzen Oktoberfest” — If you are looking for German beer and a great fall beer for that special festival this is the beer for you! This is a more traditional Marzen with a nice orange color to it. I don’t mind having 1… or 6 of these if I’m not driving anywhere.
3: Oskar Blues Brewery — “Ten Fidy” — Get ready for a beer that will knock your socks off! This 10.5% ABV is packed with a punch of chocolate, caramel and coffee! Make sure you don’t have these on an empty stomach!
2: Black Shirt Brewing — Any beer they do! They call their beers “The Red Ale Pro
ject” and all the beers they do tie into music! I have ye
t to have a beer at BSB that is anything less than great! I recommend the Red Porter for this time of year.
1: Avery Brewing Company — The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest — This is the beer to end all fall beers! I am not surprised this is what Avery does with all their beers. The malt combined with the spiced hoppiness is fantastic. If an Oktoberfest is not serving this in Colorado then it is not the right festival.
Honorable Mention:
Bull & Bush Brewery — Hail Brau Hefeweizen — This unfiltered wheat beer is a classic Hefeweizen and great beer for any Oktoberfest festival. But make sure you swing by their brewery for any of their beers and the food as well!
Comrade Brewing — Bierstadt Lagerhaus Hefeweizen — Great beer for this time of year and a lot lighter than any other beers coming up on this list. I love the banana notes that come from this beer. Make sure you try the superpower IPA as it well may well be the best IPA in Colorado.
Fall is a wonderful time in Colorado to be able to enjoy the outdoors, and a great beer is a plus. We are just lucky to have the best of both worlds here, so get out there and try a new beer. I hope to see you at one of the many festivals this fall and please tell me if I am wrong about any of these beers. I love hearing about new beers to try, but do not bring up those evil forsaken pumpkin beers! Enjoy the outdoors, have a beer and until the next time . . . raise your glass!
Casey Bloyer is the Executive Producer of The Peter Boyles Show and The Dan Caplis Show. He is the co-host of Brewski-Reviewski with Connor Shreve who is the Sports Director at 710KNUS. Brewski-Reviewski is a bi-monthly podcast talking about all things craft beer in Colorado. Twitter @Breviewski; Facebook www. facebook.com/craftbeerradio; email brcraftbeer @gmail.com.