Oktoberfest celebrations ring in the fall season
As the summer starts to give way to fall, it will soon be time to grab your stein, put on your lederhosen or dirndl and celebrate the frostiest of traditions: Oktoberfest.
The Cape Region’s breweries will all have their own unique spin on the traditional Bavarian beer festival, starting with Crooked Hammock in Lewes, which is expanding its CrooktoberFest from a week-long event to 17 days.
Starting Friday, Sept. 22 and running through Sunday, Oct. 8, CrooktoberFest will see all Crooked Hammock locations adorned in Bavarian decorations. Founder Rich Garrahan said the backyard area of the Lewes brewpub will be tented to resemble an Oktoberfest beer garden.
Garrahan said Oktoberfest has become a very successful event for Crooked Hammock.
Regarding the growth of Oktoberfest events, Dewey Beer Company Events Manager Krissy McClusky said, “Oktoberfests are a time-honored tradition and allow people to have some unique beers that aren't available year-round. We have definitely seen an uptick in people enjoying unique beers in the area. Plus, the Germans make it look like so much fun!”
Dewey Beer Co. is first out of the gate with its Oktoberfest event, hosting a celebration at its Harbeson taproom from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 16. The event will feature the Pretzelvania food truck, specials at Pizza Machine and games such as a sausage toss and a stein-holding contest. The brewery will release several fall beers, including Festbier; Skelett, a German lager; Midnight Cactus, a dark lager; Barrel-Aged Midnight Cactus, which is aged in tequila barrels; and Quantum Link, a doppelbock barrel-aged in bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill Distillery in Kentucky.
Next up is Crooked Hammock, which will have a series of food and drink specials during CrooktoberFest. Among the food specials are pork tenderloin schnitzel and beer-battered bratwurst dogs, but the biggest attractions are the beers and the beer-related events. Garrahan said Crooked Hammock will have four German-style beers, including the CrooktoberFest Märzen, an amber-colored German lager; Keller Ledbetter Kellerbier, a pale lager; Sand in My Schwarz Black Lager; and VunderPumpkin, a pumpkin-spiced lager that Garrahan is particularly excited about because it is something Crooked Hammock has never done before.
Every weekend of CrooktoberFest will include live German music and games, including stein-holding contests, keg squatting, stein racing, sausage toss/lil’ brat toss, wiener dog race and a kids’ craft table. Weekdays will feature German-themed trivia and polka dance classes. The actual kickoff event Sept. 22 will have a firkin that will be tapped by a festmaster, who for the Lewes restaurant will be WRDE anchor Mallory Metzner.
On Friday, Sept. 29, Revelation Craft Brewing Company will hold a celebration at all three of its locations – Georgetown, Rehoboth and the Beer Garden at Hudson Fields. The event will feature a giveaway of Oktoberfest pint glasses to the first 50 customers who purchase Revelation’s Oktoberfest beer, a traditional Märzen lager, which co-owner Patrick Staggs said is brewed with authentic German malted barley and hops.
That same weekend, Sunday, Oct. 1, Big Oyster Brewery in Lewes will hold its daylong Oktoberfest, which will feature live music from the Schützengiggles Oompah Band, a photo booth, beer stein relay races, a costume contest, exclusive merchandise, a Bavarian buffet and German-style beers.
Finally, while not formally related to Oktoberfest, Dogfish Head in Milton will celebrate the onset of cool October weather with its very first Punkin Ale Fest, a celebration of Dogfish’s popular Punkin Ale.
Held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 14, the free event will feature local vendors, food trucks, a canned cocktail bar and live band karaoke from 2 to 4 p.m. During the event, Dogfish will release a special beer collaboration with Burnish Beer Company of Salisbury, Md., and a collaboration spirit with Fifer Orchards in Camden-Wyoming. Proceeds from the event will benefit Brandywine Valley SPCA, meaning dogs are welcome, and for those without one, dogs will be available for adoption on site.
