Beer Skool--Oktoberfest Edition
by Kurt Epps—The PubScout
Tap Time’s third Beer Skool included some singing, some history and a bit of German language instruction, in addition to introducing some outstanding beers to its faithful students.
Given that the event fell during Oktoberfest, Marzen beers had the spotlight, though a Belgian-Style Brune and Tripel saw duty. A Pumpkin Pie porter also was pressed into service.
The attentive students (whose attention is always keener before the third beer) learned about Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese’s five-day wedding celebration in 1810, the Reinheitsgebot, the six official German brewers allowed to pour at the Oktoberfest event in Munich, and even how to say the word brassiere in German (Disselschtoppemfumfloppen).
A spirited Masskrugstemmen (stein-holding) contest took place, with eight stalwarts vying for the title of TTMC—TapTime Masskrugstemmen Champion by trying to hold a one-liter mug filled with liquid the longest. In Germany they use beer, but in OIB at TapTime, beer is one thing we don’t waste. So we used water. Helps in bar clean-up, as well.
It’s an equal-opportunity contest, and the one member of the fairer sex who entered acquitted herself remarkably well. But Stacy (above) fell to the eventual champion, DJ Heuser (below), who won an all-expenses paid cruise for two aboard the SS Tap Time at a future date.
Toastmaster Keith Berciunas began the Tap time parade with a golden Mason Jar Happy Place Lager, followed closely by Salty Turtle’s Oktoberfest. Attendees took note of the color variation as well as the sweeter taste of the O-fest. That prepped them for a very special tasting (imported by their “professor”) of a NJ Oktoberfest from an “old-school” German brewery called Climax Brewing, and recognized as one of the best on the East Coast.
Quarterback Berciunas then called two “audibles” replacing some IPA’s on the original list with a Belgian Brune from Munkle (Harry Joe’s favorite) and a an 11.5% Tripel from Wrightsville Beach Brewing. Both were roundly appreciated.
He then topped it off with Deep River’s Pumpkin Pie Porter, hinting that the next Beer Skool, scheduled for mid-November will be featuring special pumpkin beers and warming winter beers just before you go over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving. That gal in the middle below is a grandmother.
No matter how you slice your pumpkin pie, six pours for $5.50 is a steal any way you look at it, and with the strains of Ein Prosit der Gemutlichkeit ringing through the space, they voted for the best beer of the night using a five-point scale, with five being the highest.
They evaluated in four categories: Aroma, Color, Mouthfeel and Taste.
So how did they stack up?
Close, with a couple of ties!
1. Deep River Pumpkin Pie Porter—137
2. Climax O-Fest—136
3. Salty Turtle O-Fest—130
3. Wrightsville Belgian Tripel—130
4. Mason Jar Happy Place Lager—129
4. Munkle Belgian Brune—129
That a mere eight points separated the top beer from the bottom beer indicates two things: first that Keith Berciunas picks winners, and second, that the students are becoming VERY sophisticated in terms of their tasting skills.
