An Insider’s Look At Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest, the famed German beer holiday, began on September 21 when the mayor of Munich tapped the first keg, one of so many that will be served until the party ends on October 6.
“At the festival itself, they average around seven million liters of beer every Oktoberfest,” says Steve Ha, president and chief executive officer of Paulaner USA. Ha knows Oktoberfest, as Paulaner is one of only six breweries that pour at the event. The Paulaner group, Ha says, is responsible for about 40 percent of the beers poured during the revelry. One of the company’s tents may have 7,000 partiers. “I go over every year,” says Ha.
Oktoberfest dates back to 1810, when Bavarian King Ludwig I married Princess Terese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. The king wanted to celebrate. “He challenged the breweries to brew their best beer for his wedding,” says Ha. “That grew into the Oktoberfest that we know today.” The original brew was made in what’s known as Märzen style, a heavy beer brewed in March (Märzen means March in German) and allowed to lager, or age, for months. Märzens were the beer of choice for Oktoberfest until the 1970s, when lighter lagers began to take their place. Interestingly, the long-aged Märzen-style beer was the result of safety concerns. “In those days, for fear of fire, brewing of beer was not allowed through the summer months,” says Ha.
The only beers allowed to be poured at the Munich Oktoberfest are ones that are brewed in Munich. That limits the pours to those from six breweries, and Paulaner is one. (The others are Augustiner, Hacker-Pschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu and Spaten.)
Ha, as you would expect, is an Oktoberfest purist, and is not a fan of other beers that use the name. “Any beer other than ones brewed in Munich are not Oktoberfest beers,” he says.
Oktoberfest is about beer, first and foremost, but there’s more to it than a drink. “Think of the Oktoberfest as sort of like a state fair . . . the one in Munich has rides, exhibitions and all the food and drink, but it has a whole host of things people can do while they’re there,” explains Ha.
Ha’s recommendation for pairing with a Paulaner? “In of the food, the obvious answer is a great, soft pretzel,” he says. “There’s just something about how they make them over there that’s infectious. Weiner schnitzel is also a good choice.”
As for cigars, the beer tents are now smoke free, but there are balconies where you can puff, and you can also smoke while walking the grounds between tents.
Several cigar companies have designed cigars meant for pairing with Oktoberfest-style beers. Quesada Cigars has been making an Bricktoberfest, an Oktoberfest-themed Nicaraguan smoke made with an Ecuador Havana wrapper. This is the seventh year the company has done this.
So go rent a pair of lederhosen, pick up a big stein of German beer and celebrate like they do in Munich.
