Oktoberfest I
This is part 1 of my creation of my Oktoberfest braggot mead.
We are in the midst of October, one of my favorite months. I’m not a fan of the heat, and we have moments (2 to 3 days) of cooler weather here in Louisiana. I, also, become less fanatical about the temperature of my homebrew with the cooler temperatures. However, there are 2 reasons, especially, that I love about October: 1. Starr’s birthday and 2. Oktoberfest, or as the locals refer to it Wies’n. My brother, years ago, visited Oktoberfest in Munich, and knew my love for great German beer snuck out a stein from one of the beer tents. 
As you can see, the stein is no small liquid container. Neal, in fact, placed it in his pants to hide it. . . The German ladies were going wild over him, I assume, with his supposed endowments. I have cleaned and sanitized profusely after having that image seared into my brain.
I briefly visited Munich in my travels before, and enjoyed some outstanding drinks (i.e. beers). I know this is a mead blog, but just stay with me for a moment. Märzen/Oktoberfest style beers are my favorite. Oktoberfest is referred to as Märzen because before the advent of refrigeration, early German law prohibited brewing during the warm months (spring and summer) due to beer spoilage. This led to Oktoberfest brewed in March (März), laid down in icy cellars for the non-brewing months, and finished during the fall season. Paulaner has a good version that is best if you can find it on tap during the fall; otherwise, it will be an older brew and less fresh. I have looked through my old recipes and Zymurgy issues to find an Oktoberfest style beer recipe that I could translate into a braggot style mead. I have found it.
In preparation for this mead, as I have previously stated, I reviewed some of my old attempts at creating an authentic Oktoberfest styles and read some articles. One thing I had to keep in mind is a good Oktoberfest is a balance between malt and hops. However, in thinking of the braggot, the idea of using buckwheat honey floated through my mind because of the lack of fruity notes in the BJCP guidelines for Oktoberfest styles. Buckwheat honey has malty tones to it, and it tastes similar to molasses. The other notion that came across my head is the fact that this was a braggot, thus carbonation would be essential. I’m feeling that forced carbonation into a Cornelius keg might be in order. I have never attempted this, but learning is the fun part.
In honor of Starr’s birthday month (we celebrate her birthday over the course of the month), I have named this mead Starr’s Big Bottom Bounty. Is that too suggestive? Maybe Starr’s Fall Bounty might be a more suited name. I am always open to suggestions. If you have an idea for a name for this mead, please post it at the bottom. Whoever names the drink may get a bottle or two of this batch.
In the next post, I’ll discuss the ingredients I’ll be using and the recipe. So, come back soon.
Posted by admin on October 16th, 2009 :: Filed under Braggot, Mead
Tags :: Oktoberfest