Millstream Brewing Company - Oktoberfest

It's that time of year again! Finally, Oktoberfest!! Millstream B.C.'s Oktoberfest is a great, traditionally brewed beer that's just right for the celebration. This style of beer, known as Märzen, originated in Munich to celebrate the annual German Oktoberfest. In the old days before refrigeration, beer was brewed from the time of the fall barley harvest until the first warm month, March (Märzen in German). When the harvest came again, any of last year's beer was consumed before the first new batches were ready. The event officially became known as Oktoberfest in the early 1800s. The style of this beer is balanced between the desires to have a drinkable beer, and one that is strong enough to survive the long summer months in the cellar. Today we have modern refrigeration, but Millstream still makes this beer several months before the harvest so it can age properly. On the nose, expect Munich maltiness, toasted grains, heavy on the caramel, very bready, with a touch of floral hop notes. The flavor closely parallels the nose, with the sweet toasty malts ultimately mellowed by hop bitterness. Very drinkable! Pair with Bratwurst.

The Millstream Brewing Company opened up shop in 1985 in Amana, Iowa as the area's first brewery since 1884! (and their first microbrewery ever). After 101 years devoid of local brew, this was a town very ready for a new brewery. The art of brewing came back to Amana as a result of brothers James and Dennis Roemig's & Carroll F. Zuber's strong desire to create a local brewery producing hand crafted brews reminiscent of the finest in Europe. To help produce these European-style beers, they hired one of the country's most recognized masterbrewers, Joseph Pickett Sr., to develop their recipes. Joe formulated the Millstream Lager, Schild Brau Amber, and Millstream Wheat brands. These three top-notch beers comprised the brewery's primary lineup until the year 2000, when it was sold to Chris Priebe, Aaron Taubman, and Teresa Sly Albert. As you might expect, along with the new owners came new brews, as the threesome added a German Style Pilsner, Oatmeal Stout, and several other fantastic seasonals including a Maifest (a maibock beer), a Bavarian-style Hefeweissen, and an Oktoberfest (one of our featured beers this month). They've even added root beer and cream soda to their bag of tricks, but you'll have to buy those on your own as you won't be finding anything other than hand crafted, microbrewed nectar 'of the beer sort' in this here club! Chris and Aaron both trained at the Siebel Institute of Brewing Technology, so rest assured, their brewing skills make the cut on paper... But hey, paper ain't the best tasting stuff, so let's move on to the tasting notes below and pour a couple of their beers for the real proof behind their brewing prowess. Just be sure you save enough Oktoberfest for your celebrations! For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours call (319) 622-3672 or check out their web site at www.millstreambrewing.com. If you're ever in the area, stop in and visit the brewery and their gorgeous Biergarten.