The Hunt for Oktoberfest.

It’s August , everybody, and you know what that means…time for the German population of the Midwest (and all those who wish they were German if only to wear lederhosen) to celebrate Oktoberfest. And before you ask, I did not spell Oktoberfest incorrectly. I’m normally the person who hates when people spell things with “k”s when they are supposed to be spelled with “c”s. But in this case, I’m merely spelling it Germanly, which makes it okay. Copper State Brewing Company is all about our German roots and ancestry. Ergo (what’s the German word for ergo?), one of our goals is to be as authentic as we can be when it comes to German brewing and German beer. Enter: Copper State’s Oktoberfest.

Since you did not ask, here is some history about this infamous celebration. If you don’t like history, just nod your head and smile while you gloss over this section, but then you might be left in the dark when you are drinking our Oktoberfest beer, and you won’t be able to impress your friends with your knowledge of this splendid beer and the events that surround it. Your call. So here we go:

The first Oktoberfest took place in Munich on October 12, 1810, to celebrate the marriage of Bavaria’s Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese. To honor his nuptials, the prince organized a public horse race on the site of today’s Oktoberfest, which was then a humble meadow outside the city of Munich. Ludwig was a classical history freak (much like the owners of Copper State), and so he modeled the day after the Greek Olympic Games. Everyone had such a great time with the games and races that

they decided to do it again the following year, and the tradition was born. Oktoberfest has been celebrated every year since, aside from a couple of years where it was cancelled due to unfortunate cholera outbreaks, and that one stretch of time where there was a bit of trouble known as the second world war. Towards the end of the 19th century, someone had the brilliant idea to bring the celebration forward a bit in the calendar to take advantage of the warmer September weather. Brilliant, but a bit pansy-ish. We here in the Midwest are hardy folk, so we like to celebrate far into the fall months, and if it’s cold, we will suck it up and remember that we chose to live in the frozen tundra because we were tough, and the beer will warm us up.

Back to present day. If you like beer and German brewery owners, and if you are looking for some gemütlichkeit, head on down to Copper State and give our Oktoberfest beer a try. Feel free to don your dirndls and loosen your lederhosen to fully experience it all. Prost!