OCTOBERFEST CELEBRATION AT THE CROSS CREEK COUNTRY CLUB RESTAURANT! SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, FROM 3:30 TO 6 p.m.
Men’s and Women’s Stein Holding Competition – who can hold up a stein of beer the longest! Register the day of the event!
50/50 raffle to support the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida
Apple Strudel making with Donna
German food and beer! One drink ticket per person for either beer, house wine or soft drink! Do not have to be a beer lover to attend!
$30 per person tax and tip included.
Reservations are required and open on September 16.
Contact the Cross Creek Clubhouse Restaurant to reserve a spot today!
Welcome to the month of October and this month is the namesake for one of the biggest beer festivals in the world, Oktoberfest, held in Munich, Germany. This is the “Super Bowl” of beer that has spawned many Octoberfest festivals across the globe.
As you are reading this, Oktoberfest in Munich will be drawing to a close – the festival runs for the last two weeks in September through the first weekend in October. During that time, over 6 million people will attend and about 6.5 million servings of beer will be consumed! There is a lot of history surrounding Oktoberfest and the types of beer served.
The first celebration of Oktoberfest was in 1810 for the wedding of Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Bavaria and was a multiday festival with free food, beer, and a horse race. The celebration was such a hit that it has continued through to today with a few years off for wars, epidemics and other political unrest. This is truly a Munich-based festival with only beers produced by brewers that are located fully within the city limits allowed to be served. The breweries are Augustiner-Brau, Munchen, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbrau, Lowenbrau, Paulaner and Spaten-Franziskaner-Brau. The beer is served in the traditional 1-liter mugs called masskrug. Only these beers can be labeled Oktoberfest because this name is protected so the beers produced outside of Munich, Germany use several names – Octoberfest, Fest Biers and possibly Marzen.
You will notice that most beer makers produce an Octoberfest beer. Some are labeled Octoberfest, some Festbier and some Marzen. Marzen and Festbier are two defined styles, but Octoberfest could be based on Marzen or Fest Beer. Marzen is copper to bronze in color with rich malt flavors of toast and biscuit (think graham cracker not buttermilk) with low hop flavor and bitterness. Samuel Adams Octoberfest and Paulaner Oktoberfest-Marzen are two great examples. Festbier is lighter in color – light gold to gold, with rich bready and cracker like malt flavor, low hops and low bitterness. Two examples are Hofbrau Festbier and Weihenstephaner Festbier. Both of these beers are easy drinking and will go well with traditional Oktoberfest foods such as grilled pork, sausages and grilled beef. The caramelization of grilled meats goes well with the malty nature of these two beers.
Someday I may be lucky enough to travel to Munich to enjoy Oktoberfest but in the meantime, there are many local Octoberfest festivals and beers to celebrate here in Southwest Florida – so enjoy and remember to drink responsibly.
