Oktoberfest - 2020
Oktoberfest is really a ‘September-fest’
So this is an odd thing, but Oktoberfest is held in September (except for this year, because it was cancelled, yes you guessed correctly, because of Covid). The reason behind it is that the people of Munich celebrate the wedding of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on the first Sunday of October every year, which is the final day of the more than two-week-long event.
Regardless that the event will not be going to go ahead this year, we will have a limited selection of Oktoberfest beers available to the lucky ones, or should I say the quick ones.
But what makes an Oktoberfest beer?
Firstly, Oktoberfest beers could be only made and sold by six Munich breweries: Augustiner-Bräu, Hacker-Pschorr-Bräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner-Bräu, Spatenbräu, Staatliches Hofbräu-München.
Secondly, the beers have to be made in a Marzen style. Marzen (meaning March in German) suggests that the beers are brewed in March and with more added hops and higher alcohol content it is preserved throughout the hot summer months without any of the modern refrigeration techniques.
Oktoberfest is a fascinating time for the lovers of good German beer, so hopefully, this long-standing tradition will resume next year. In the meantime, let’s all drink in a socially distanced way!
