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Fall in upstate NY is a beautiful season. And what better
way to enjoy the crisp air and changing colors than with a spicy pumpkin beer
or a malty Oktoberfest?
Image Credit: digboston.com
Beers of the fall are seasonal sensations but do you know
why they are so much better than their summer or winter counterparts (is there
a spring beer?)? Fall is really the start of beer-drinking season (at least it
was pre-refrigeration) since beer brewed in the summer will go funky and sour
in the hot weather.
The solution was to brew the beer in spring and let it
age in chilly cellars and caves all summer long. Oktoberfest beers are lagers
which mean they are brewed with bottom-fermenting lager yeast and they brew
best if allowed to ferment at cool temperatures. The slow brewing process used
up the last of the winter grains and guaranteed a delicious beer in the fall.
Image Credit:
Monkey Sand Mountains.com
Most Oktoberfests
have little to no hop flavor or aroma since they are a blend of primarily
pilsner malts and munich malts, with the occasional noble hop added for some
bitterness. The beer has a clean malty flavor. Since the alcohol should be no
more than 6% you can (theoretically) enjoy quite a few more than usual without
falling over.
Fun fact: Since Oktoberfest beers were
traditionally brewed in the spring, you'll sometimes hear them referred to
as "Märzens", which
means "March" in German.
The Oktoberfest event is a German festival dating from
1810 with Oktoberfestbiers being served since 1818. The beers are supplied by
six breweries: Spaten, Löwenbräu,Augustiner-Bräu, Hofbräu-München, Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr. Over the years the color of the beer has
changed from a dark lager, to an amber-red Vienna lager, and now the standard
is a golden color lager.
Image credit: Matthias Schrader / AP, Kai
Pfaffenbach / Reuters
Today, you can enjoy an Oktoberfest whenever you like
(yay refrigerators), but the beer still benefits from a long, cold brew before
serving!
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