Oktoberfestin' it up! Soon anyways...

It is August 31st, and while that means labor day is right around the corner, I am, along with many other beer fanatics, looking forward to the beer extravaganza that is Oktoberfest. I haven't ever actually been to Germany or the real Oktoberfest, but I think I understand the concept enough to write a little about it. A two hundred year old two-week long celebration in Munich characterized by the copious amounts of beer consumed. The festival developed after a royal wedding boosted the local economy and encouraged a festival the following year with more attractions, and so on and so forth. For more on the history of Oktoberfest, check out the "official" Oktoberfest History website.

For those of us living in another country, without the means or opportunity to travel to Munich for the real thing, there are many other pseudo-Oktoberfests for us to enjoy, be it a small outdoor beer garden set up with a oompa band hosted by a local club or church, or something on a grander scale like this Okctoberfest in LaCrosse Wisconsin, there are plenty of ways to get your fest-on. I will be doing several Oktoberfest posts during the next couple of weeks, so look forward to fun stuff, like what the rules are on what beers are allowed to be served at Oktoberfest.

Pumpkin Ale for two

Another thing that I am super excited about that is starting to come out it, Pumpkin Ale! You may be with  me on this, or you may think it is one of the most disgusting things you have ever tasted (sorry Justin). I have a mild addiction to pumpkin pie... so I thought I would either absolutely LOVE or absolutely HATE pumpkin ale, and given my uneasiness with many "fruit" beers I thought it would be the latter... Boy was I surprised when I tasted Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale! It tasted like a nice, hoppy fall beer, but then suddenly,hit you with a mild pumpkin pie taste... I am now hooked! I cannot wait to try other pumpkin ales.

Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale

According to Beer Advocate, there are plenty of options this fall for you Pumpkin Ale tastings. I know that some of these beers are only released in a limited quantity, so you had better buy yours quickly!

It may seem like I am a little excited for the beginning of fall, and you would be right. I love the season so much I even named my daughter after it! I love the beer, Halloween, school starting, the harvest celebrations, the colors, the smells, the chilly weather that begs for warm cider or a hoppy cold beer.

My daughter Autumn

I have a request to make to you, send me your favorite end of summer beer. Not literally, though I wouldn't say no... email me your favorite summer beer so that I can try it before I throw myself 110% into fall and all the things I love about it. Email me your beer suggestions at sarah@hoppybeergirl.com. I will also accept pictures of you with your favorite summer brew for my reader photo gallery. Lets say good-bye to summer in a grand fashion!

Canfest 2011

Happy Monday! The first matter of business this week, I actually am submitting my blog (and therefore myself) to win a trip to Canfest in Reno Nevada. I have never done this sort of thing, and admittedly I am not the best writer in the world. I think that the closest I have ever come to winning anything for writing was in 1st grade when our class compiled a book of short stories, and my story was the third one in the book... it occurs to me that it might have been done in alphabetical order since my last name used to start with B-A...

So, Canfest is a celebration of craft beer in cans (in cans you say!?), Yes, in cans. There are many reasons why beer should be canned, rather than bottled. You can shake your head at me all you want, but the science of beer makes it true. We have all seen the Samuel Adams commercial about preserving your beer, if not, here it is.

If you understand the concept that is explained here, which is light and air contaminate your beer, change the flavor of the beer, and shorten the life of the beer. These things can make "skunky" beer that isn't even good enough to give to your unwanted guests who have the taste buds of a dung beetle... This is why more breweries use brown glass, to keep your beer tasting better than it would in clear or green glass. So based on this concept, having zero light enter your beer between brewing and consumption is the best way to have the best tasting beer, enter the can.

If cans are better for beer, why do the majority of craft breweries use bottles? Wouldn't it be best to switch to cans? Putting beer in cans is difficult, so much pressure, and a special lining had to be created in order to stop the metal from the can from contaminating the beer. In 1935, the first beer can was released.

Beer in cans are starting to make a come-back in the United States, as Canfest will attest. There is also a thriving collectors market for old beer cans. This website has some incredibly interesting old beer cans if you have time to check it out. If craft beer is the emerging trend in beer and alcoholic beverages, than craft beer in cans is the sub-craft beer culture... sort of like the New York Dolls were to Punk, the really cool band that didn't reach the same notoriety and popularity of the Ramones...That is probably the worst analogy ever by the way.

So, how does this competition work? Well Canfest and Mutineer Magazine will be accepting established beer blogs, then posting them on their websites for voting after September 15th... which means sometime around September 16th, I will start asking you to go and vote for me! If you want to read more on the competition, check it out here.

Later this week, Preparing for Fall Beers, Pumpkin Ale and sharing my enthusiasm for all things Ocktoberfest.