Welcome to Barrel to Bottle, the podcast where Roger forces his strange, obscure interests on the listening audience. We’re changing things up this year though, and not sampling the same six Märzens and Festbiers. This week’s episode is a peek into Roger's Oktoberfest Celebration, which is much more than just beer. We do have some beer, but also wine, Brophy-approved cocktails, and some digestifs to help you reset after a long day of partying.

But first up, the beer, which is still the main attraction at Oktoberfest. The first beer is Hofbräu Oktoberfest, one of the few Munich breweries allowed to serve beer at the annual festival. The best way to describe the “newer” festbier style is that it’s like a Munich Helles with a little more kick. It’s also a little stronger in character and body as well. Next up, Three Floyds Munsterfest, a Märzen-style beer. While the alcohol level is about the same as the Festbier, it has a decidedly different look and flavor. It’s still especially bright and fresh for a Märzen though.

Every year when Roger is preparing for his Oktoberfest celebration, he turns to Chris for some recommendations on what to serve. Today we’re starting with a red, specifically The Daily August Pinot Noir. This wine is a lot denser and darker than most Pinot Noirs, and that’s due to the Southwest facing steep slopes that the grapes grow on.

Dr H Thanisch Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling, fun to say, fun to drink. People are often about sweetness in a Riesling. Luckily Chris is here to break all that down and help you understand it better. And what about the sulfur characteristics of Rieslings? Chris to the rescue again! The final wine is a Gewurtztraminer, which we don’t often see from Germany. Macmer Gewurztraminer Spatlese is an aromatically intense, spicy wine.

We’ve covered beers, we’ve covered wines, but now it’s time for spirits. Roger has spun up two Pat B.-approved two ingredient, half and half cocktails that have no business being as good as they are: a Diesel (Ayinger Urweisse, Fever Tree Distiller’s Cola) and a Jägermeister and root beer. The final cocktail is a fall-influenced riff on the Stone Fence, which is a hard cider and a spirit mixed together. The Oktoberfence features Roger’s favorite ingredient, pimento dram, along with Laird’s Apple Brandy, a Barrel to Bottle favorite.

Finally, after all that drinking and eating and drinking and eating, you’re going to need a reset. Pat has brought three digestifs to help you make room for more: Flimm Apfel, Gilka Kummel and one of Pat’s absolute favorite drinks, Underberg. You may have seen it at your local bar or craft brewery. But what does it taste like?

If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at comments@binnys.com, or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If we answer your question during a podcast, you’ll get a $20 Binny’s Gift Card!

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