Oktoberfest
As if you need an excuse to break out a fine German beer, Oktoberfest is here!Celebrate with a strong, malty lager and Bavarian favorites such as pretzels, sausages, and schnitzels. Officially, this year’s festival ends October 4. Unofficially, though, you can join the party anytime.
And from Frances Crouter, we get –
Raise a stein to Bavaria, cheer the oom-pah band and celebrate Oktoberfest!
What began in 1810 as a regional celebration of the marriage of Prince Ludwig has evolved into one of the largest festivals in the world. Hungry, thirsty hordes of merrymakers descend upon Munich, Bavaria’s capital. Tents capable of seating 100,000 people offer beer from six local breweries–carried by more than 1600 strong-armed waitresses–and serve southern German specialties. The 2009 festival runs from September 19th to October 4th. If you can’t make it to Munich this year, cook up a small fest of your own.
And Bret Kimbrough adds,
Beer is almost as old as civilization itself. The ancient Egyptians left beer in the tombs of Pharaohs to ensure a happy afterlife, and barley has been cultivated for thousands of years for the purpose of brewing beer.
The Code of Hammurabi, the oldest known system of written laws, contains statutes governing the sale and brewing of beer in Mesopotamia. Those ancient brews were murky, dark, heavily spiced concoctions few of us would recognize as beer today. Fortunately, considerable energy has been devoted over the past few millennia to refining and codifying the beer brewing process.
Lagers: Clearly Refined
When most people hear the word “lager,” their thoughts immediately turn to the mass-produced stuff that comes in cans at the grocery store. While most of these are lagers, they only represent one jewel in the lager crown.
The word lager actually comes from the German word lagern, which means “to store.” Lagers are subjected to long fermentation and aging periods in order to produce a brew of exceptional clarity and refinement. (As the German saying goes, “Iss, was gar ist, trink, was klar ist, und sprich, was wahr ist:” Eat what is well cooked, drink what is clear, and speak what is true.) A true lager takes at least 30 days to prepare.
Serving Suggestion: try a clean, elegant pilsner as an aperitif–the beer’s bitterness is good for stimulating the appetite.
Beyond Blonde
Lagers include hoppy, floral Pilsners, malty helles (blonde) bocks, refreshing Dortmunders and silky Bavarian-style lagers. There are also darker offerings like schwarzbier, dunkels, and the darker bocks. While it is hard to generalize about such a diverse race of beer, all of these brews do have certain things in common: they are all fermented with lager yeast, Saccharomyces uvarum. This yeast likes to work within a range of about 35-50 degrees F and tends to yield a beer of clean, very approachable flavor. Far from being bland, this straightforward fermentation profile allows the ingredients in a beer to really shine through and let the flavors of malt, hops and the native water’s character excite the senses.
Suggested Pairing: Bock beers go well with German-style sausages.
Bacon Wrapped Bratwurst
INGREDIENTS
4 bratwurst
3 (12 ounce) cans light beer
5 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 slices bacon, cut in half
DIRECTIONS
Poke bratwurst several times with a small fork, and place into a saucepan with the beer. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the bratwurst from the beer, and allow to cool to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and place a wire rack on top.
Toss the brown sugar and cayenne pepper together in a large bowl and set aside. Cut each bratwurst into three pieces, wrap each piece with half strip of bacon, and secure with a toothpick. Toss the bratwurst with the cayenne mixture to coat, then place onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven until the bacon is brown and crisp, 25 to 35 minutes.
