America’s dairyland natives love three things: beer, cheese and sausage. This coming weekend in Madison’s Central Park, Oktobeerfest will cater to all three staples of the Wisconsin palate.
Madison’s Isthmus newspaper will host the festival on Saturday, Sept. 26, which will feature more than 45 breweries and 20 artisanal sausage and cheese makers, giving the traditional German-style fest a Wisconsin makeover.
Chris Winterhack, spokesperson for Isthmus, said the combination of events like Hammerschlagen games and polka and modern music at Oktobeerfest will bring the German tradition to Madison, but with a local twist.
Most of the breweries that will appear at the event are local, and will highlight their fall seasonal offerings. Oktobeerfest seeks to give local institutions a platform to showcase their products, Winterhack said.
One of the larger local breweries setting up at Oktobeerfest is Karben4 Brewing Company. Meena Dayal, Karben4 Brewing’s director of operations, said events like Oktobeerfest are an important component in promoting their brewery.
Dayal said the local beer scene and its supporters have been integral for Karben4’s success, melding them into the company they are today.
“We love beer festivals, especially the local Madison ones,” Dayal said. “It’s a great chance to reach out and interact with beer lovers, and gives us a chance to gauge what people really think of our products. We love that we can get outside and really communicate with the customers.”
Karben4 will feature last year’s fall seasonal, Oaktober Ale, at the festival. The beer has 5.5 percent alcohol by volume, with 23 international bitterness units. Dayal said the ale is made with American and French Oak that are soaked in whisky. These are fermented into the beer, giving it a distinct flavor.
Oaktober Ale will make its second fall debut Sept. 25, the day before Oktobeerfest. In addition, we’ve decided to try some other local beers that will share the stage this weekend.
Capital Brewery — “Oktoberfest”
Style: Oktoberfest, 5.5 percent.
Aroma: Sweet and light malt smell with notes of toffee and caramel, with a faint earthy hops presence.
Appearance: Medium orange-brown body with a solid white head.
Taste: Sweet malt comes through initially, with grainy hoppy flavor dominating after hitting the palate.
Room Temperature Taste: Fainter malt taste; hoppiness is more powerful throughout.
Consensus: A great take on this classic style. Capital knows autumn beer.
Rating: 4/5
Wisconsin Brewing Company — “Patron Saint”
Style: Oktoberfest, 5.6 percent.
Aroma: Faint aroma of spicy, fruity hops with yeasty bread notes.
Appearance: Deep amber-orange color with a dark cream head.
Taste: Slight initial sweet caramel taste, but with an overpowering spicy, hoppy flavor. Features a slight malt backbone.
Room temperature taste: Hoppiness comes through even stronger, with caramel taste nearly disappearing.
Consensus: Another great take on Oktoberfest-style beer, but a little fainter taste that doesn’t sit on the palate quite as well as Capital’s. Still a solid fall seasonal that’ll satisfy Oktoberfest lovers.
Rating: 3.75/5
Steven’s Point Brewery — “Point Oktoberfest”
Style: Oktoberfest, 5.67 percent.
Aroma: Toasty warm notes dominate this brew, with a faint hint of caramel coming through.
Appearance: Deep amber coloring with a white head.
Taste: Toast flavor comes through strongly along with caramel and nutty notes.
Room Temperature Taste: Caramel and nut flavors taper off as the beer begins to sit, but overall flavor stays fairly uniform.
Consensus: Another solid seasonal out of Steven’s Point, but not as strong of a flavor as either Capital or Wisconsin Brewing Company. It’s more bland than the others but still has some great initial tastes out of the bottle.
Rating: 3.5/5
Updated September 23, 2015 at 11 a.m.
