Octoberfest: New Orleans Style

So it looks like you won't be making it to Octoberfest this year. You're going to miss out on all that wonderful German beer, hot chicks in Dirndls and the massive headache that comes after a night of complete debauchery. You're stuck at home in New Orleans(not too shabby!)and you're itching for some Octoberfest celebrations. Here is a great list of things to do to celebrate right here at home.

1) Deutsches-Haus Hello?! It's the Deutshes-Haus and it's Octoberfest. I don't think I need to say anymore.

Dates:

Friday, September 24th 4 pm till midnight
Saturday, September 25th 1pm till midnight

Friday, October 1st 4 pm till midnight
Saturday, October 2nd 1pm till midnight

Friday, October 8th 4 pm till midnight
Saturday, October 9th 1pm till midnight

Friday, October 15th 4 pm till midnight
Saturday, October 16th 1pm till midnight

Friday, October 22nd 4 pm till midnight
Saturday, October 23rd 1pm till midnight

2) The Avenue Pub - Looking for some of the best and rarest German selections in town for Octoberfest? Look no further than Avenue Pub. Polly from Avenue Pub had so much to say in her email regarding her Octoberfest selection that I just figured it would be easier for me to just cut and paste it. Here ya go!

Our October fest beers are starting to come in and we are putting them on just a little bit early! It's best to drink these while they are fresh. We will rotate the rare stuff with the great but easier to access beers like Ayinger and Spaten. You will notice some lower prices on many of our imports this year. We have lowered the price on both Schneider Aventinus and Schneider Weiss by $1.50 a pint. Craig and Kimmie will be busy in the kitchen making their German potato salad next week. Look for dinner and lunch specials like Hophenfeffer and German sausages.

The modern draft system beers are first followed by the cask lagers. These beers are expensive and we are trying to keep the cost down. Please don't ask for free tastes. Everything except the Weiss beers can be sold in 4 ounce pours.

Modern draft system beers:

On tap now:

Klosterbrauerei Weissenohe Altfränkisch - this märzen's recipe is based on that of the traditional beer made and consumed at this monastery-brewery.
Schneider Aventinus- the beer that turned my mother into a beer drinker. She just calls it 'that beer". It's a wheat dopplebock. Rich lovely and according to The Alstrom brothers a 'gift from god".
Ayinger Octoberfest - the best Octoberfest we can access on a regular basis. From the well loved Ayinger brewery its a classic american octoberfest import.
Schneider Weiss- the best Weiss beer that is easy for us to come by on draft. its an excellent beer, rich with the banana clove Schneider yeast.

On tap as space opens up:

Spaten Munich dunkel Lager - This is a fairly new release into the US market. We had it earlier in the summer and it was quite well recieved.
Kapuziner Weisse - a traditional light and refreshing, unpasteurized weissebier from Kulmbach.
Mönchshof Festbier - this märzen is brewed twice a year: once for Kulmbacher Bierwoche--Kulmbach's equivalent to Munich's Oktoberfest--and once for the Weinachtsfest. Get it while you can!
Mönchshof Kellerbier - a bit more malt-forward and sweet than traditional Franconian kellerbiers, this lager is still incredibly easy to drink.



Anstich Cask Lagers on Firkin Friday

A bit of back story on some of the beers( the names you DON'T recognize). Just like last year we have been able to get some unpasteurized German beers from small and sometimes tiny little breweries in the Francion region of Germany. We are able to serve these because the owner of Weissenhoe/Kulmbacher has made it his personal mission to export these beers to the US. In Europe the big boys run rampant over the small family owned craft breweries. Many of these little places are finding it hard to survive with all the mass produced beer that people are consuming. The owner of Weissenhoe sees export to the US craft beer market as one way to improve his fellow brewer's prospects. He brings his kegs around to these farmhouse breweries and has them filled. They then get stored in his "caves' until they are shipped on one his pallets to the US. Only 225 of these kegs came into the country and we were lucky enough to be on the allocation list with the importer. Most went to big beer markets like NYC. The closet market that got them to us is Chicago and DC. These breweries do not normally distribute outside of their little hamlets.

We got 10 Anstich (named after the region from which they originate) and we will serve them each Friday night at 630 until they are gone. We will tap one or 2 kegs per night depending on demand. They are small gravity cask lagers and they need to be drunk the night we tap them. Each holds about 35 pints of beer. Last year we served 5 of these in one night and they were gone in less than 2 hours. This year we have a few more and we are spreading them out.

We are not requiring RSVP BUT we will accept reservations. Please don't make reservations if you don't plan to be on time. I haven't been given the price on these yet so I can't say exactly how much they will cost. Look for a price between 6 and 7 dollars a pint.
These are the beers in the order we will serve them:

Brauerei Zehender Mönchsambacher Lager - a traditional kellerbier from Mönchsambach, Upper Franconia. Unfiltered, unpasteurized, well-hopped, and utterly drinkable.
Brauerei Sauer Rossdorfer Urbräu - A light, hoppy, kellerbier done in the Franconian tradition by a family-owned brewery just outside of Bamberg.
Brauerei Ahornberger Landbier Dunkel - A slightly unusual landbier in that it's made with dark roasted malts; this one is still dry and goes down way too easily.
Brauerei Bayer Ungespundetes Landbier - Another earthy, dry Franconian lager fermented ungespundet (in an open barrel) at the Bayer keller in Theinheim.
Brauerei Löwenbräu Buttenheim Kellerbier - Not the Lion's Brewery with which you're probably familiar. This one has been in the same family since 1880, passing the brewing tradition along through the generations. This characterful kellerbier is produced in minute quantity, and the care that goes into the brewing really shows.
Klosterbrauerei Weissenohe Eucharius Märzen (a.k.a. Monk's Fest) - A 5% festbier from the second-oldest brewery in the world at the monastery in Weissenohe.

3) Heiner Brau- If you're on the Northshore make sure you make your way over to check out Heiner Brau's Octoberfest celebration. I really enjoy his Covington Brewhouse Pilsner!

Covington's Microbrewery

Oktoberfest 2010


A Traditional Bavarian FAMILY Event

226 Lockwood Street, Downtown Covington

5:00 - 8:00 PM, Friday, October 8th

2:00 - 9:00 PM, Saturday, October 9th

Live Music

Bring Your Own Blankets/Chairs and Join Us, Rain or Shine!

Admission is FREE!

German-Style Catering - Covington's Beck ‘n Call Café

On Sale: Covington Brewhouse "Bayou Bock" or "Ponchartrain Pilsner", Strawberry Ale and Heiner Brau Oktoberfest

Wow. Other than the smoking hot German chicks I keep making you stare at I think staying in New Orleans might be a better deal. You save on airfare and your beer selection is frickin' incredible!!! Now we just need hot ladies in Dirndls. And for my female readers I have no idea what you want but I hope you get it too!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha