Molloys Guide to Oktoberfest

At Molloys we're all about celebrating great beers, and there are few greater beer celebrations than Munich's Oktoberfest. We now stock five of the six official Oktoberfest beers, so pick some up, find a pretzel and get in the spirit...

What is it? 

Oktoberfest is an annual 16 day festival held in Munich, Germany. It takes place in late September and ends on the first Sunday of October. Not only is Oktoberfest probably the most famous event in Germany, it is also the worlds largest fair, attracting over 6 million visitors. 

Though the focus often seems to be on great beer, that's only a part of a festival celebrating all things Bavarian. 

History

On October 12, 1810, Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen and invited the citizens of Munich along to take part in the festivities. 

At the end of the festivities there was a horse-racing event to celebrate all of Bavaria. This horse-racing was repeated and became Oktoberfest. 

To take advantage of better weather, the festival was moved to the end of September (hence Oktoberfest in September.)

By 1960, horse-racing was no longer part of the festival and the current modern Oktoberfest began to emerge, along with rising international popularity as a tourist event. 

Beers

Germany is famous for its beers and the Reinheitsgebot (German beer purity law,) but Oktoberfest kicks it up another notch.
Not only must the beers follow the Reinheitsgebot, but they must also must brew within the city limits of Munich (which is why Erdinger isn't in) and must also be of a certain strength (about 6% or so.)

The six breweries are:

• Augustiner-Brau
• Hacker-Pschorr-Brau
• Lowenbrau
• Paulaner-Brau
• Spatenbrau
• Staatliches Hofbrau-Munchen

The special Oktoberfest brew is made each year, with each batch being a bit different from one year to the next. The beers are typically stronger with a richer flavour.
If you fancy trying them, Molloys Liquor Stores now stock all but the Augustiner Oktoberfest. 

Some Handy Vocab

"Die Wiesn" is what the locals call Oktoberfest, after the nickname for the location where it takes place. 

"Maß" is the 1 litre stein of beer

"Bierleichen" or 'beer corpses' is the nickname given to those people who pass out from too much beer.

"O' zapft is!" means "it's tapped" and is shouted by the Mayor as he taps the first keg of the festival. 

"Dirndl" the traditional costume often worn by Bavarian women at the festival (making carrying 8 litres of beer even more impressive)

"Lederhosen" the traditional leather trouser costume often worn by Bavarian men at the festival. 

"Brezeln" is the German for pretzels, delicious salty pretzels. 

"Grüß Gott" is an Bavarian form of greeting, translated as "greet god"

Random Bits

• Though it's often seen as very touristy, the actual spread is usually about 70% locals and 30% tourists. 
• There are currently 14 large tents and 20 small tents, each with a character of their own. 
• A "quiet Oktoberfest" policy was developed in 2005 to accommodate older patrons. This means that no loud music can be played before 6pm. 
• 1881 saw the first booths selling bratwurst (the delicious roast German sausages)
• In 2010, 69,293 pork knuckles were consumed.
• The first glass beer mugs were used in 1892

New & Exclusive Spanish Wines to Molloys

We now have a great range of wines exclusive to Molloys.  We've sourced them directly from the vineyard, leading to lower prices for our customers.  Today we'll have a look at some of the Spanish wines that we have in our shops.

Pardal Verdejo

Pardal Verdejo is produced by Vinos & Bodegas Gallegas.  

This modern winery is based in Galicia, north west Spain, near the 

famous pilgrimage town of Santiago de Compostela.

 This wine is really enticing, with  floral and herbaceous aromas.  

Fresh, vibrant green apple flavours with some floral notes in this 

dry, medium bodied wine. Deliciously rich mouthfeel and great

 length of flavour. Discover Spain’s version of Sauvignon Blanc! 

This wine is excellent with chicken, tapas, mild curries and spicy dishes, 

white fish & meat, pork, paella. 

At only €6.49 a bottle this is superb value.

Sancho Garces, Rioja Alta 2009, Crianza                  

Sancho Garces is produced by Bodegas Patrocinio. This bodega 

was formed in 1986 when 170 grape growers came together to 

produce their own wine, instead of just selling on grapes.

Spain’s most popular wine – this is classic Rioja at a super price.  

Enjoy this smooth, medium bodied firm but silky wine, laden with 

ripe dark berry flavours, sweet vanilla, and a lick of spice.

 Gorgeous long finish.

It is made from the tempranillo grape and is aged for 12 months

 in American oak barrels and a further 6 months in the bottle.
Fantastic with roast lamb, beef, red meat or hard cheese.

Hard to beat at €9.99.

     

A Sinfully Tasty Saint

This week we're looking at BrewDog's 5 a.m. Saint

BrewDog is one of a number of exciting new breweries stocked by Molloys. Set up in 2007 by two friends fed-up with "industrially brewed lagers and stuffy ales," Scottish based BrewDog aim to make contemporary and progressive beers showcasing the world's classic styles.

5 a.m. Saint is named after its combination of five hops ( Cascade, Nelson Sauvin, Amarillo, Simcoe, and Centennial) and five malts ( Munich Malt, Caramalt, Maris Otter,  Crystal and Dark Crystal.)

5am Saint and friends

The 5am Saint experience starts once you pop the cap, with a strong and distinct aroma, conjuring images of a rich black forest gateaux, full of summer fruits and chocolate.

When poured, the ale has a deep amber colour, nearly ruby, with a large frothy head.

First taste packs a really powerful punch, nearly to the point of over overpowering the taste-buds. As with many of the more flavoursome beers in the world, you have to approach with a Guinness mentality and give it a few more tries before you judge.

Once your taste-buds are used to it, you'll find a smooth malty initial taste, where a biscuit and slight sweetness overpowers the bitterness of the hops. By the time it reaches the back of your mouth, a distinct hoppy bitterness kicks in. The bitterness lasts noticeably longer than the other flavours, but though the after-taste is quite powerful, it also fades quickly.

As you work through the beer, you'll notice the nose has changed after pouring, now quite a pleasant woody hint, with possibly herb notes. I couldn't quite pin-point it, and after asking various opinions, everyone agreed it was very familiar, but no agreement was reached.

The ale kept a head right down to the very last mouthful, retaining a consistent flavour right to the end.

Summary: Full of flavour and complexity, the bitter hit from the hops may not be for everybody, but sampling a bottle and making up your own mind is a must for beer fans.

A taste of summer from Goose Island

 This week we're going to look at a seasonal offering to go with our summer (or what's left of it,) Goose Island's Summertime.

Goose Island is a Chicago-based craft brewer, formed in 1988 as part of a movement to counter the dominance of mass-produced beers in mid-western America.

First making a mark on these shores with their IPA (India Pale Ale,) a wide range of Goose Island products can now be found in specialist craft beer stores (such as Molloys.)

Summertime pours a nice light golden colour, slightly darker than most lagers. We got a small head with very small bubbles, though that may have been our pour, the Goose Island site shows a massive frothy head at home in any German beer hall. Speaking of German beer halls, Summertime is a Kölsch style, famous around Cologne and noted for it's refreshing but not over-powering hoppiness, and it's quite a good version of the style. 


The first taste is refreshing, with the hops adding a very slight bitter taste, combined with a gentle fruity acidity. The after taste is quite pleasant and sets you up nicely for another mouthful. The mention of fruitiness can put some people off a beer, but it shouldn't be the case here. Summertime is nowhere near as fruity as popular blond beers such a Hoegaarden, as there's just enough acidity and bitterness to make it genuinely refreshing. 

Summertime with colleagues Harvest Ale and Honker's Ale. Rest of the gang out of shot.

Ideal food pairings would be salad and fish, but realistically the flavour isn't intense enough to take away from anything on a barbecue. 

At 4.7%, it's slightly stronger than most beers aimed at the lighter tasting summer market, but the extra hit of alcohol is hard to detect. 


In terms of complex flavours and long term memorability, Summertime isn't up there with some of the more serious ales, but from the bottle alone you can see it's not trying to compete. Summertime aims to be a refreshing sunny-day treat and on that count it's successful. It may not be exciting enough for the serious beer drinker, but in terms of flavour it's a step up from many of the traditional warm weather beers. 

Summary: Refreshing beer,  a stronger flavour for those who want more bite than their normal summertime Corona or Sol.

Football and Beer

Euro 2012 is upon us and we're all wondering what to drink while watching the footie.  At Molloys we've gone 'foreign' this June and really bumped up our range of European beers.  We've just launched our Euro 2012 Beer of the World Pack.  It contains 12 x 500ml beers from countries competing in the tournament.  It makes a great gift for a football loving friend, for fathers day or just to enjoy in front of the tv. Get all the details here.

 

Quinta do Cachao Douro on Newstalk's Moncrieff show

Quinta do Cachao Douro

If you missed Newstalk's Moncrieff show this afteroon, click on the link below (Part 4 of the broadcast) to hear the podcast, where wine expert Jean Smullen recommends our Quinta do Cachao Douro.

http://www.newstalk.ie/programmes/all/moncrieff/listen-back/

She describes it as being excellent value, and perfect for this rainy unseasonal weather we're having. Splash out on a good steak and pop open a bottle this weekend.

Quinta do Cachao Douro 2009

Did you catch our Quinta da Cachao Douro being reviewed on Newstalk this afternoon?

Click on the link below to hear the Podcast, where wine expert Jean Smullen recommends this popular Portuguese wine:

"a very good vintage
"wonderful concentrated wine... a very drinkable good quality wine... "


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