MIFFLINBURG — Clear your palates, beer lovers. There’s tasting ahead.
For the biggest selection of Munich beers in any one place in Pennsylvania, head to this German heritage town today or Saturday. And no one will tell if you make it both days.
The Mifflinburg Oktoberfest begins at 3 p.m. today and runs until 10, and the beer, food, music and dancing will continue from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday. It’s all under the big tent at the fire company grounds on Route 45 west of town, rain or shine.
While an Oktoberfest is many things — a big family event, a celebration of German heritage and lively entertainment — historically, it’s all there because of the beer.
The first Oktoberfest was held in Munich in 1810. Today, the Munich fete is considered the largest people’s festival in the world, attracting well over six million people a year. Mifflinburg’s event is in its fifth year, having doubled in participation since the first Oktoberfest in 2005. Event co-chairman Juergen Seefeldt said 2,500 people came to drink beer last year, according to wristbands given out with age checks, and an uncounted number of others attended just for the food and entertainment.
Much of the beer is imported from Munich, which only allows Munich beer at its Oktoberfest.
Here in Mifflinberg, Seefeldt said, eight beers will be sold.
Of those, three are amber ales produced in Munich exclusively for Oktoberfest: Paulaner, Spaten and Hacker-Pshorr. They are all full-bodied amber ales.
The festival also will serve Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse, a dark wheat beer also made in Munich. It has a taste more mild than the special Oktoberfest ales, he said, and a cloudy appearance.
There also will be Spaten Lager and Spaten Dark, aged and full-bodied, also brewed in Munich. The dark variety has a hefty flavor, Seefeldt said.
Finally, there are two beers made outside of Munich: Beck’s & Beck’s Oktoberfest from Bremen, Germany, and Stoudt’s Pilsner, brewed in Adamstown, Pa. A Pilsner, Seefeldt said, is a form of filtered beer originally produced in Czechoslovakia.
German-style wines from Shade Mountain Winery, Middleburg, also will be served.
Admission to the Oktoberfest is free. Patrons who obtain a wristband with proper identification will be able to purchase beer and wine as follows: $6 will get patrons a 12-ounce Mifflinburg Oktoberfest plastic mug and a ticket for one beer; $15 will buy a 24-ounce Mifflinburg Oktoberfest ceramic stein and a ticket for one beer; and $20 will get patrons a 24-ounce dated collector stein and a ticket for one beer.
Additional beer tickets are $3 each. One ticket fills the plastic mug, and two tickets fill the steins. One ticket also may be exchanged for a five-ounce glass of wine.
And with your choice of the above, you’ll want some food. Oktoberfest choices will include Bratwurst, Knockwurst, Wiener Schnitzel, Sauerbraten, Brathendl, Sauerkraut and Rotkohl.
For those interested in plumbing the depths of beer-making, Tom Sweet, of the Bald Eagle Brewing Co., Mifflinburg, will be on hand from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday to demonstrate home-brewing techniques. He said people who make their own beer can add their personalities to the brew.
He used a chocolate-chip cookie baking analogy: You have the basic recipe, he said, then you can add things like butterscotch chips, molasses, whatever strikes your mood. It’s the same with beer, he said. “Some people prefer beers you buy in the store because they are the same every time. Home brews are different each time.”
“Oktoberfest is about celebrating German heritage and beers associated with Germany,” he said. They’re usually heavier, darker and different. ... None of this is good or bad. If your tongue prefers a different taste, it doesn’t make it right or wrong.”
Sweet said he will make two batches of beer during the festival, and they will be set up and running all day. He’ll tell people about what they need to do it themselves.
For the kids, weather permitting, there will be hayrides, horse cart rides and a castle bounce. There also will be pumpkin painting and a bean bag toss.
Music and dancing will be under the big tent for the first time this year. A polka band with the “Oom Pa Pa” sound will join Walt Groller’s German band and other musicians and dancers.
The Oktoberfest will offer a shuttle service to and from area hotels for a round-trip price of $5. Return shuttles also will drop off borough residents for $2.
The event is sponsored by the Mifflinberg Heritage & Revitalization Association. Co-chairmen are Seefeldt and Larry Mitchell.
People are encouraged to come dressed in their lederhosen (German shorts with suspenders) and loden hüt (wool hat).
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Munich beer on tap at Oktoberfest
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