If you can't make it to Germany this year for Oktoberfest festivities, you can at least drink in solidarity. We tasted twelve beers—a few traditional German märzen beers head-to-head with some American interpretations from craft brewers.
Continue reading »
[Photograph: Blake Royer] Pull out the lederhosen and kazoos for Oktoberfest, the beer-and-wurst-honoring German celebration that starts tomorrow and runs until October 4. Here are some menu-planning ideas, most of which involve some combination of: sausage, kraut, and beer. Baked Apples With Barley-Sausage Pilaf Potato Salad with Vinaigrette Beer Bread Turnip and Potato Gratin Honey-Glazed Turnips Wedges Red Cabbage With Apples and Honey Sausage Stuffed Peppers Mustard-Baked Chicken with a Pretzel Crust Pork Chops with Braised Fennel and Caramelized Onions Pork Chops with Mustard and Sour Cream Sauce Kielbasa with Pierogi and Sauerkraut Sauerkraut and Sausage Paprikash Apple Cobbler with Cheddar Biscuits Black Forest Chocolate Cookies...
Continue reading »
Last week, the Gordon Biersch Brewery in D.C. tapped its Bavarian-style "Fest Bier" to ring in another Oktoberfest season. But what most people didn't notice was the more authentic bier on tap that didn't get a party. Although the scene felt Oktoberfestive, with revelers chugging down Fest Bier in liter-sized mugs—some boot-shaped, like in the movie Beerfest—the more traditional Marzen hardly got a nod. According to Gordon Biersch brewmaster Jason Oliver, Marzen is closer to what original Oktoberfesters drank in the 1800s. With heavy wheat and malt tones, the caramel-colored beer is named after the German for March, the last month when Bavarian brewers can conceivably brew. (Warm weather ain't conducive to beer-making.) Over the summer, the liquid ages in...
Continue reading »
